The right sign for "didn't" depends on the situation.
● Often the concept of "didn't" is
expressed via a negative shake of the head while
signing that which you didn't do or which didn't happen.
For example, to sign, "I didn't go" -- you would shake
your head negatively while signing "GO."
This is sometimes written (glossed) as "PRO-1 GO-[neg]"
That "PRO-1" can be thought of as meaning "first person pronoun"
which means "I or me."
●
In addition to using the negative head shake you can
add the "NOT" sign to your sentence.
For example: "PRO-1 NOT GO-[neg]."
● Sometimes the concept of "didn't"
is incorporated into the movement of the sign. This happens with the
following signs:
WANT + a reversal
of orientation becomes "don't-WANT" -- which can be included in such
sentences as: "PRO-3 don't-WANT GO" -- which could be interpreted
as, "He (or she) didn't want to go."
KNOW + a reversal of orientation
becomes "don't-KNOW"
-- which can be included in such sentences as: "PRO-3 don't-KNOW
HOW" -- which could be interpreted as, "He (or she) didn't know
how."
LIKE + a reversal of orientation
becomes "don't-LIKE"-- which can be included in such sentences as:
"PRO-3 don't-LIKE I-T" -- which could be interpreted as, "He (or
she) didn't like it."
● Another
way the "didn't" concept might come up is in the sign for
"don't-MIND." If asked if you found something annoying
(BOTHER), you might reply "I don't-MIND" which could be interpreted
as "I didn't mind it."
Some
examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_J3PgQ6GZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGiLPwMUquI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVzafnAfFr0
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxlUs6u0C04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i-gc1CHjtY
You can learn
American Sign Language (ASL) online at American Sign Language University ™
ASL resources by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars
