"doctor"
This is the same as the sign for "nurse" except that it is made with the "M" handshape.
"dentist"
Literally, "tooth-person."
The sign on the right is a simplification of the sign for "person" (which is made with "P" handshapes when used alone). It is called the agent sign, person marker, etc. It takes the place of the "-ist" in "dentist," the "-er" in "teacher," etc., as well as being a suffix on words that don't use a suffix to indicate agency in English, like "cook." It may be added to many nouns or verbs as long as the meaning is clear (ie, not like "lender" and "lendee").
The sign on the right is "tooth," which is just the index finger tapping the teeth.
"Dentist" can also be signed with a "D" handshape, dominant hand, palm inward, tapping the dominant side of the mouth. That sign may not be familiar to everyone, and is similar to a sign for "dinner" ("D" handshape tapping the center of the closed mouth).
"I," "me"
"he," "him," "she," "her," "it"
Where you point when using a third-person pronoun is not random. For instance, if you are talking about John and Tom, when you sign "John" you immediately follow his sign by pointing to an imaginary point in the space around you. When you sign "Tom," you point to a different space. From then on in the conversation, those spaces stand for Tom and John (until you redefine them when changing the subject). There is no ambiguity about which "he" you mean, because each has a different space. What's more, you can use "directional" verbs -- verbs that move from one place to another to show who did what to whom. So if Tom helped John, the sign "help" moves from Tom's space to John's space, and you don't need to use the pronouns at all if the meaning is clear. The same applies to first- and second-person pronouns, except that there is obviously no need to define who you are pointing to. Directional verbs are the same ("I-help-you" is the sign "help" moving from yourself to the person with whom you are signing.)
"we"
This is also done with the hand oriented with the index finger up instead of down (similar to the next movie for "us").
"us"
This is the same as the sign for "we," but is made with a "U" handshape.
"they," "them"
See the comments about third-person pronouns for "he.." above.
"your," "yours"
"his," "her," "hers," "its"
Again, the subject/object pronoun must be introduced by defining its place in the space around the signer. Then directing the open hand to that noun's space indicates its possessive.
"our," "ours"
The open "B" hand may be cupped a little like this, or flat.
"their," "theirs"
Movies displayed on this page (except as noted below) are links to the American Sign Language Browser ©2000 Michigan State University Communication Technology Laboratory. All rights reserved.
The .gif image for the person marker is a link to Harley's Public Services Pages / Begin to Learn Sign Language ©Harley R. Lee
Text of this page ©2000 Eileen K. Carpenter, MD