Motion diagram. This sign is outside the licensed video corpus, so the diagram is its full record here.
HE / SHE / IT
“he, she, it”
How to make it
Point your index finger at the person or thing, or at the spot in space where you've placed them.
Grammar
If the person isn't present, you first place them at a point in space, then point back to it. That set-up is the foundation of ASL grammar.
Where the sign comes from
IconicThe sign visibly depicts its meaning — a present-day resemblance, not a historical claim.
Pointing. ASL third-person pronouns do not mark gender — one point covers he, she and it.
Sources
- ASL-LEXSehyr, Zed Sevcikova, Naomi Caselli, Ariel Cohen-Goldberg, and Karen Emmorey. "The ASL-LEX 2.0 Project: A Database of Lexical and Phonological Properties for 2,723 Signs in American Sign Language." Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 26, no. 2 (2021): 263–277. link
The sign, taken apart
Every ASL sign is built from a handshape, a place it's made, and a movement. Learn to see these three and you can read and store any sign.
Location
Neutral space
Made at the neutral space.
Movement
a straight path
One-handed.
Palm facing down.