ASL LOVE
🤟 How to sign
To sign "LAST WEEK" in American Sign Language (ASL), use your dominant hand in a "1" handshape to move backward over your non-dominant hand's palm, representing the week that has passed behind you in time.
📖 Word definition
The seven-day period immediately preceding the current week; the week before this one.
🎯 Detailed Hand Movement Guide
- Hand Shape: Dominant hand in "1" handshape (index finger extended), non-dominant hand flat palm up.
- Starting Position: Non-dominant hand palm up at chest level, dominant hand above it.
- Movement: Dominant hand moves backward across non-dominant palm toward your body.
- Path: Smooth backward motion showing time moving into the past.
- Hand Orientation: Index finger points down toward palm throughout movement.
- Facial Expression: Neutral, with slight backward head tilt to emphasize past time.
⚠️ Common Mistakes & What to Avoid
❌ Forward movement: Move backward toward body, not forward away from it.
❌ Wrong handshape: Use "1" handshape, not flat hand or fist.
❌ No base hand: Always use non-dominant hand as the time reference.
❌ Too fast: Make deliberate movement to show completed time period.
💬 Common Sentence Examples
"I went to the doctor last week."
How to sign: Sign "I" (point to self) → sign "go" (index fingers point forward and move) → sign "doctor" (D hand on wrist pulse) → sign "last week" (1 hand moves back over palm).
"Last week was very busy."
How to sign: Sign "last week" → sign "was" (W hand moves back to S) → sign "very" (V hands pull apart) → sign "busy" (B hands shake back and forth).
"We had a meeting last week."
How to sign: Sign "we" (index finger points to self then others) → sign "have" (fingertips to chest) → sign "meeting" (hands come together) → sign "last week".