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Also see: Inflection
"Verb conjugation refers to how a verb changes to show a different person,
tense, number or mood." (Source: Grammarly, 2016, Grammarly
Handbook: Verb Conjugation)
In ASL there is a sign that means "grow up" / "grew up" / raised / "become
taller." We could call that sign "RAISED." We could just as
easily refer to the sign as "GROW-UP."
For this discussion though let's call it "GROW-UP/RAISED."
The issue or question here: "Is the sign GROW-UP/RAISED present tense or
past tense?" When and how does the GROW-UP/RAISED sign become "present tense"?
When and how does the GROW-UP/RAISED sign become "past tense"?
If you are an adult and are introducing yourself or telling someone about
yourself (your background) and you sign "I/ME GROW-UP/RAISED..." it would
typically be interpreted as meaning "I was raised..." or "I grew up..."
In this situation you do not need to modify the GROW-UP/RAISED sign in
any way nor add any other sign (such as PAST) to make it past tense.
The words "in this situation" (in the explanation above) are important. The
phrase "in this situation" is another way of saying "in this context." The
context in which a sign is signed can (and usually does) affect the meaning of
that sign:
[*context]-GROW-UP/RAISED = "I grew up" or "I was raised."
*Context: An adult introducing himself/herself.
The past tense conjugation of GROW-UP/RAISED is achieved via "context."
We could call this "context-based past tense conjugation."
Now, suppose a young child signs the phrase "I/ME GROW-UP/RAISED..."
In this situation the term GROW-UP/RAISED would typically be interpreted
to mean "When I grow up...", or possibly "As I get older...".
Again do not need to modify the GROW-UP/RAISED sign in any way nor add any other
sign to make it present tense.
[*context]-GROW-UP/RAISED = "When I grow up..." or "As I get older..."
*Context: An child discussing his/her intentions.
The present tense conjugation of GROW-UP/RAISED is achieved via "context."
We could call this "context-based present tense conjugation."
What is fascinating here is that if we were all in a room and taking turns
introducing ourselves and an adult (while introducing himself/herself) signed
GROW-UP/RAISED it would be "past tense" and then later a child (while
introducing himself/herself) signed GROW-UP/RAISED it would be "present tense"
and the only difference in the context would be the age of the signers.
So we have an example of a person's age being the factor that influences
the tense of a (particular) sign.
Notes:
See: GROW-UP/RAISED