Practice Sentences

 

 

 

Search  Inquiry Net

Back ] Home ] Up ] Next ]

Sign Dictionary
Introductory Notes
Asking Names
Moons/Months
Sign Simplified
Top 200 Signs
40 Native American Signs
Indian Blessing
Boy Scout Oath in Sign
Sentence Formation
Practice Sentences
Sign Synonyms
Telling Directions
Pictographs
Pictographic Story
Correspondence
Sign&Pictography
Smoke Signals
Sign History
Sign Idioms
Song "Taps" in Sign
Troop Meeting
Council Fire
Camp Ideas
Sign Play
Sign Playlet
Boy Scout Initiation
Sign Exercises
Advanced Students
Immortality Poem
Photos

Scout Books

Site Contents

by William Tomkins

Showing the English thought-and the Indian Sign equivalent.

English.  (In lower case)

bulletINDIAN SIGN. (In capitals)

 

1. I like to swim.

bulletI FOND SWIM.

 

2. You like to eat.

bulletYOU FOND EAT.

 

3. We like to walk.

bulletI ALL FOND WALK.

 

4. Fish swim under the water.

bulletFISH SWIM BELOW WATER.

 

5 Beavers swim fast.

bulletBEAVER SWIM FAST.

 

6. Scouts swim at camp.

bulletSCOUT SWIM CAMP.

 

7. Horses eat grass.

bulletHORSE EAT GRASS.

 

8. Dogs like to eat meat.

bulletDOG FOND MEAT.  EAT.

 

9. I eat with my father.

bulletWITH MY FATHER, I EAT.

 

10. Two men are walking by the river

bulletTWO MAN WALK BESIDE RIVER.

 

11. Do you like to walk in the woods?

bulletQUESTION YOU FOND, WALK AMONG TREES.

 

12. Five boys are walking to camp.

bulletFIVE BOY WALK CAMP.

 

13. The girl is running.

bulletGIRL RUN.

 

14. The dog is running with the girl.

bulletDOG RUN WITH GIRL.

 

15. Horses can run fast.

bulletHORSE KNOW RUN FAST.

 

16. Do you know how vo swim?

bulletQUESTI0N YOU KNOW SWIM.

 

17. Can they build a fire?

bulletQUESTION HE ALL KNOW MAKE FIRE.

 

18. I can read.

bulletI UNDERSTAND READ.

 

19. Do you understand Indian Sign Language?

bulletQUESTION YOU KNOW INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE?

 

20. I understand a little.

bulletI KNOW LITTLE,

 

21. Have you seen the horse?

bulletQUESTION YOU SEE HORSE.

 

22.  I have not seen the horse. 

bulletI HORSE SEE NOT.

 

23. Where are you going?

bulletQUESTION WHERE YOU GO?

 

24. I am going to my home.

bulletI GO MY HOUSE.

 

25. Your friend wants to go along.

bulletYOUR FRIEND WANT GO WITH YOU.

 

26. Do you want to eat now?

bulletQUESTION YOU WANT EAT NOW.,

 

27. Not now, I am not hungry.

bulletNOW NOT. I NO HUNGRY.

 

28. I want to get a drink of water.

bulletI WANT WATER.

 

29. I want to go to sleep.

bulletI WANT SLEEP.

 

30. Indians drink water from the river.

bulletINDIAN GO RIVER. DRINK WATER.

 

31. They catch fish in the lake.

bulletTHEY TAKE FISH LAKE.

 

32. Look, it is raining.

bulletSEE. RAIN.

 

33. Do you see the big dog?

bulletQUESTION YOU SEE BIG DOG.

 

34. A cat sees well at night.

bulletCAT SEE GOOD TOGETHER NIGHT.

 

35. I cannot see to work-now.

bulletI CANNOT SEE WORK NOW.

 

36. We like to work in summer.

bulletI ALL FOND WORK LONG-GRASS-TIME.

 

37. A girl must help her mother.

bulletGIRL MUST WORK WITH MOTHER.

 

38. A good scout likes to help others.

bulletGOOD SCOUT FOND WORK WITH ALL PEOPLE.

 

39. My sister does not want to cook supper.

bulletMY SISTER WANT NOT MAKE EAT EVENING.

 

40. Can you make coffee?

bulletQUESTION YOU KNOW MAKE COFFEE.

 

41. I will cut wood and build a fire.

bulletI CHOP WOOD. MAKE FIRE.

 

42. When do we eat, at noon?

bulletQUESTION FUTURE-TIME WE EAT.  SUN HIGH.

 

43. I do not eat much for breakfast.

bulletI EAT NOT MUCH SUNRISE.

 

44. All the smaller birds sleep at night.

bulletALL LITTLE BIRD SLEEP NIGHT.

 

45. The owl sleeps in the daytime and flies at night.

bulletOWL SLEEP DAY. FLY NIGHT.

 

46. Bears sleep all winter.

bulletBEAR MAKE BIG SLEEP COLD TIME.

 

47. How quietly the baby sleeps in its little bed.

bulletBABY SLEEP QUIET LITTLE BED.

 

48. Last summer we went to the mountains.

bulletLONG-GRASS-TIME BEYOND WE GO MOUNTAIN.

 

49. I like to see it snow in winter.

bulletI FOND SEE SNOW WINTER.

 

50. We have lived here ten years.

bulletTEN WINTER ME-ALL SIT TEEPEE HERE.

 

51. My brother is six years old.

bulletMY BROTHER HAVE SIX WINTER.

 

52. The old Indian chief is very brave.

bulletOLD INDIAN CHIEF MUCH BRAVE.

 

53. The old flag waves over the church.

bulletOLD FLAG FLY ABOVE GOD-HOUSE.

 

54. Come hene and look at the moon.

bulletCOME HERE, SEE MOON.

 

55. We see the moon and the stars at night.

bulletME ALL SEE MOON WITH MANY STAR NIGHT.

 

56. Only the sun shines today.

bulletALONE SUN WORK GOOD DAY NOW.

 

57. I would rather walk alone.

bulletI WANT WALK ALONE.

 

58. I have only one brother.

bulletI HAVE ONE ALONE BROTHER.

 

59. My only brother is very strong.

bulletMY ALONE BROTHER MUCH STRONG.

 

60. The soldier has only bne son.

bulletSOLDIER HAVE ONE ALONE SON.

 

61. Little girls often laugh.

bulletLITTLE GIRL LAUGH OFTEN.

 

62. We often see the soldiers march.

bulletWE SEE SOLDIER WALK OFTEN.

 

63. Birds sing frequently in the Spring.

bulletBIRD SING OFTEN SHORT-GRASS-TIME.

 

64. Are you an Arapahoe?

bulletQUESTION YOU ARAPAHOE?

 

65. No, I am a Cheyenne chief.

bulletNO I CHEYENNE CHIEF.

 

66. What is your. name?

bulletQUESTION YOU CALLED.

 

67. My name is Big Beaver.

bulletI CALLED BIG BEAVER.

 

68. I would like to know your name.

bulletI FOND KNOW YOU CALLED.

 

69. My name is White Crow.

bulletI CALLED WHITE CROW.

 

70. I am an Arapahoe scout.

bulletI SCOUT. ARAPAHOE.

 

71. Where do you live?

bulletQUESTION WHERE YOU SIT?

 

72. I live across the mountains.

bulletI SIT ACROSS MOUNTAIN.

 

73. What arc you doing here?

bulletQUESTION YOU WORK HERE?

 

74. I am hunting beaver.

bulletI HUNT BEAVER.

 

75. Have you caught any?

bulletQUESTION YOU TAKE BEAVER?

 

76. No, the beavers are all gone.

bulletNO. BEAVER ALL GONE.

 

77. Did you see any white men today?

bulletQUESTION YOU SEE WHITE MAN DAY NOW?

 

78. Yes, on the other side of the mountain.

bulletYES. ACROSS MOUNTAIN.

 

79. How many did you see?

bulletQUESTION MANY YOU SEE?

 

80. I saw one, alone.

bulletI SEE ONE. ALONE.

 

81. Was he a young man?

bulletQUESTION WHITE MAN FEW WINTER?

 

82. No, he was very old.

bulletNO. WHITE MAN MUCH OLD.

 

83. What was he doing?

bulletQUESTION WHITE MAN DO?

 

84. He was leading two horses.

bulletWHITE MAN LEAD TWO HORSE.

 

85. Where did he go?

bulletQUESTION WHERE HE GO?

 

86. He went up the river.

bulletWHITE MAN GO UP RIVER.

 

87. We are holding a council tonight.

bulletWE SIT COUNCIL NIGHT NOW.

 

88. Good, can I sit in?

bulletGOOD. QUESTION I SIT WITH YOU?

 

89. Yes, all chiefs are welcome us.

bulletYES. WE FOND ALL CHIEF SIT WITH.

 

90. Where does your council meet?

bulletQUESTION WHERE YOU SIT COUNCIL?

 

91. Among the trees.

bulletAMONG TREES.

 

92. Where are the trees?

bulletQUESTION WHERE TREES.

 

93. Over the river, beside the mountain.

bulletACROSS RIVER, BESIDE MOUNTAIN.

 

94. Are you hungry?

bulletQUESTION YOU HUNGRY?

 

95. Yes, I had no breakfast.

bulletYES. I NO EAT SUNRISE.

 

96. I have plenty of food.

bulletI HAVE PLENTY FOOD.

 

97. Good, where is it?

bulletGOOD. QUESTION WHERE?

 

98. At my teepee.

bulletMY TEEPEE.

 

99. All right, let's go.

bulletGOOD, WE GO.

 

100. You are my good friend.

bulletYOU GOOD FRIEND.

 

101. Before the white man came, many buffalo roamed the plains.

bulletTIME-PAST MANY BUFFALO WALK ACROSS PRAIRIE; TIME-FUTURE WHITEMAN COME.

 

102. After the white man came, the buffalo disappeared.

bulletTIME-PAST WHITEMAN COME, TIME-FUTURE BUFFALO ALL GONE.

 

103. Now cattle feed where once the buffalo roamed.

bulletNOW SPOTTED BUFFALO EAT WHERE TIME-PAST BUFFALO WALK.

 

104. Don't wait for me, I'll come pretty soon.

bulletWAIT ME NOT.  I COME SHORT-TIME FUTURE.

 

105. I will sit here and read until he finishes his work.

bulletI SIT, READ.  FUTURE-TIME HE FINISH WORK.

 

106. I should like to see a beaver when it starts to cut down a tree.

bulletI WANT SEE BEAVER TIME-FUTURE BEGIN CUT TREE.

 

107. May the Great Spirit permit your moccasins to make tracks in many snows.

bulletGREAT MYSTERY HELP YOUR MOCCASIN MAKE TRACK ABOARD SNOW LONG-TIME.

 

108. May the Great Scoutmaser of all good scouts be with us all now and forever.

bulletGREAT MYSTERY ALL GOOD SCOUT SIT WITH YOU--ALL NOW AND FOREVER.

 

109. When dowe go on our overnight hike to, scout camp?

bulletQUESTION FUTURE-TIME WE WALK SCOUT CAMP?  STAY. SLEEP CAMP.

 

110. The Pawnees had a chief whose name was Spotted Bull.

bulletTIME-PAST PAWNEE HAVE CHIEF CALLED SPOTTED-MALE-BUFFALO.

 

111. Spotted Bull aroused the Pawnees to make war on the Sioux.

bulletSPOTTED-MALE-BUFFALO MAKE BIG TALK. SAY PAWNEE MUST MAKE WAR SIOUX.

 

112. The Pawnees had many good warriors, also horses and rifles.

bulletPAWNEE HAVE MANY BRAVE WARRIOR WITH MANY HORSE MANY GUN.

 

113. The Pawnees built up their own courage by villifying the Sioux.

bulletPAWNEE MAKE OWN HEART STRONG.  ABUSE SIOUX.

 

114. The Pawnees said that the Sioux men were squaws and didn't know how to fight, and that the Sioux made weak medicine.

bulletPAWNEE SAY SIOUX MAN EQUAL WOMAN, UNDERSTAND FIGHTING.  MAKE STRONG MEDICINE NO.

 

115. Spotted Bull, the Pawnee Chief, stole many horses and took them across the little Snake River.

bulletSPOTTED M A L E BUFFALO.  CHIEF PAWNEE, STEAL MANY HORSE.  MAKE HORSE GO ACROSS LITTLE SNAKE RIVER.

 

116. The Sioux saw the trail, followed it for many days and put up a big fight.

bulletSIOUX SEE TRAIL, FOLLOW TRAIL MANY SLEEP, MAKE BIG FIGHT.

 

117. They killed nine Pawnees, took all the Sioux and Pawnee horses, and went back to the Sioux camp.

bulletTHEY KILL NINE PAWNEE, TAKE ALL  SIOUX HORSE, ALL PAWNEE HORSE, GO CAMP SIOUX.

 

118. The Pawnees were ready to quit.

bulletPAWNEE WANT STOP FIGHT.

 

119. They called a council with the Sioux and made peace.

bulletTHEY SIT COUNCIL WITH SIOUX.  ALL MAKE PEACE.

 

120. It looks like rain today, we'll start our deer hunt tomorrow.

bulletPERHAPS RAIN DAY NOW, WE GO TOMORROW HUNT DEER.

 

121. If the snow is deep the birds cannot find food to eat.

bulletPERHAPS, SNOW MUCH, BIRD CANNOT SEE TAKE EAT.

 

122. If you want to go with us, you must be ready at noon.

bulletPERHAPS YOU WANT GO WITH US, YOU MUST GO NOON.

 

123. Did you speak to me?  Yes, I told you to follow me.

bulletQUESTION YOU SPEAK ME? YES I SAY YOU FOLLOW ME.

 

124. Wait a moment. You cannot speak while everyone is chattering.

bulletWAIT LITTLE. YOU CANNOT ALL PEOPLE LITTLE TALK

 

125. Be quiet, listen to the speaker.

bulletQUIET: LISTEN: MAN TALK

 

126. Tell your secrets only to your friends.

bulletALONE WITH FRIEND TALK

 

127. Very many Sioux Indians are good singers and dancers.

bulletMANY SIOUX SING DANCE

 

128. The bird builds its nest in a tree.

bulletBIRD MAKE HOUSE ABOARD

 

129. The black bear grows very big.

bulletBEAR COLOR BLACK GROW

 

130. For many days the forest fire burned fiercely.

bulletFOREST FIRE BURN LONG TIME.

 

131. The man is poor and blind.

bulletMAN HAVE MONEY NOT, EYE WIPED OUT.

 

132. A bad man stole my fine horse today. 

bulletMAN, HEART BAD, STEAL HORSE DAY NOW.

 

133. The Indian ran all the way home, and when he reached home was very tired.

bulletINDIAN RUN HOUSE, ARRIVE MUCH TIRED.

 

134. White men labor hard to make money.

bulletWHITE MAN WORK MUCH GET MONEY.

 

135. When the wind blows hard, the fire burns brightly.

bulletWIND GO FAST. FIRE BURN

 

136. What did the dog eat last evening?

bulletQUESTION DOG EAT YESTERDAY SUN SET?

 

137. The old woman went to the farmer to get some corn.

bulletWOMAN OLD GO FARM-MAN.  CORN.

 

138. Today I saw a large flock of blackbirds roosting in a tree.

bulletDAY NOW I SEE MANY LITTLE BIRD COLOR BLACK SIT TREE

 

139. Children love to sing and dance and laugh.

bulletLITTLE BOY LITTLE GIRL FOND SING DANCE LAUGH.

 

140. The Dakota Chief, Crazy Horse, was a fearless man and lived in the Sioux country on Cheyenne River.

bulletDAKOTA CHIEF CALLED CRAZY HORSE SIT SIOUX SIDE GOOD RIVER.

 

For a long time I have been wanting to get a place for a mountain camp. Last summer I found a place that thought would do very well. It was all wooded; it had a creek running through it; and there was a beautiful spot for a camp. The owner wanted $500.00, and I bought it on the spot. LONG-TIME-PAST I WANT BUY LITTLE LAND MOUNTAIN MAKE CAMP.  LONG-GRASS-TIME BEYOND I SEE LITTLE LAND I THINK GOOD. LITTLE-LAND POSSESS MANY TREES, P0SSESS RIVER-LITTLE MAKE BEAUTIFUL CAMP.  MAN WANT SELL LITTLE-LAND FIVE HUNDRED MONEY.  I BUY LITTLE-LAND.
Two months ago I took two friends with me and went up to start the camp. The day we got there we caught some fish for supper. We were too tired when night came to put up our tents, and we didn't think it would rain anyway. We made up our beds near the fire and lay down to sleep. TWO MOON BEYOND I WITH FRIEND GO MAKE-RISE CAMP ARRIVE LITTLE-LAND; TRACK DEER, BEAR; WE TAKE FISH EAT SUNSET.  EVENING WE TIRED. WE WANT NOT MAKE RISE TENT; WE THINK RAIN NO.  WE MAKE BED NEAR FIRE, SLEEP.
In the middle of the night it began to rain. Before daylight we were soaking wet. One of my friends got sick, and there was no doctor any where near. Much to our disgust, we had to break camp and come back home. MIDDLE NIGHT BEGIN RAIN. MORNING COME, WE ALL MUCH WATER.  ONE FRIEND ARRIVE AT SICK. WHITE-CHIEF-MEDICINE NEAR NO. HEART MUCH TIRED WE MUST STOP SIT CAMP, COME HOME.

For Diagrams, See Also: 

Sentence Formation

Universal Indian Sign Language

 

 

   

 

 


Additional Information:

Peer- Level Topic Links:
Sign Dictionary ] Introductory Notes ] Asking Names ] Moons/Months ] Sign Simplified ] Top 200 Signs ] 40 Native American Signs ] Indian Blessing ] Boy Scout Oath in Sign ] Sentence Formation ] [ Practice Sentences ] Sign Synonyms ] Telling Directions ] Pictographs ] Pictographic Story ] Correspondence ] Sign&Pictography ] Smoke Signals ] Sign History ] Sign Idioms ] Song "Taps" in Sign ] Troop Meeting ] Council Fire ] Camp Ideas ] Sign Play ] Sign Playlet ] Boy Scout Initiation ] Sign Exercises ] Advanced Students ] Immortality Poem ] Photos ]

Parent- Level Topic Links:
Native Skills ] Totem Poles ] Indian Sign Language ] Indian Ceremonies ] Indian Dance ] Indian Songs ] Birch Bark Dances ] Birch Bark Songs ] Birch Bark Plays ] Indian Games for Boys ]

The Inquiry Net Main Topic Links:
 [Outdoor Skills]  [Patrol Method [Old-School]  [Adults [Advancement]  [Ideals]  [Leadership]  [Uniforms]

Search This Site:

Search Amazon.Com:

When you place an order with Amazon.Com using the search box below, a small referral fee is returned to The Inquiry Net to help defer the expense of keeping us online.  Thank you for your consideration!

Search:

Keywords:

Amazon Logo

 

 

Scout Books Trading Post

Dead Bugs, Blow Guns, Sharp Knives, & Snakes:
What More Could A Boy Want?

Old School Scouting:
What to Do, and How to Do It!

To Email me, replace "(at)" below with "@"
Rick(at)Kudu.Net

If you have questions about one of my 2,000 pages here, you must send me the "URL" of the page!
This "URL" is sometimes called the "Address" and it is usually found in a little box near the top of your screen.  Most URLs start with the letters "http://"

The Kudu Net is a backup "mirror" of The Inquiry Net.  

©2003, 2011 The Inquiry Net, http://inquiry.net  In addition to any Copyright still held by the original authors, the Scans, Optical Character Recognition, extensive Editing,  and HTML Coding on this Website are the property of the Webmaster.   My work may be used by individuals for non-commercial, non-web-based activities, such as Scouting, research, teaching, and personal use so long as this copyright statement and a URL to my material is included in the text
The purpose of this Website is to provide access  to hard to find, out-of-print documents.  Much of the content has been edited to be of practical use in today's world and is not intended as historical preservation.   I will be happy to provide scans of specific short passages in the original documents for people involved in academic research.  

 

Last modified: October 15, 2016.