Page "Grammatical aspect" Paragraph 79

An example is illustrated with the verb TELL.

The basic form of this sign is produced with the initial posture of the index finger on the chin, followed by a movement of the hand and finger tip toward the indirect object ( the recipient of the telling ).

Inflected into the unrealized inceptive aspect (' to be just about to tell '), the sign begins with the hand moving from in front of the trunk in an arc to the initial posture of the base sign ( i. e. index finger touching the chin ) while inhaling through the mouth, dropping of the jaw, directing eye gaze toward the verb's object.

The posture is then held rather than moved toward the indirect object.

During the hold, the signer also stops the breath by closing the glottis.

Other verbs ( such as ' look at ', ' wash the dishes ', ' yell ', ' flirt ') are inflected into the unrealized inceptive aspect similarly: the hands used in the base sign move in an arc from in front of the trunk to the initial posture of the underlying verb sign while inhaling, dropping the jaw, and directing eye gaze toward the verb's object ( if any ), but subsequent movements and postures are dropped as the posture and breath are held.