Constrative Structure
Author: Gavreel Asperillia-Zhu, Ed.D.
The Contrastive Structure is a great grammatical format for when you are comparing and contrasting two things or discussing two topics (you do not need to actually compare and contrast). By using this structure, you are making your message easier to produce and understand. This structure requires the use of referents.
A reminder, once a referent is established (set up) it stays there until the end of the conversation, change of topic, or until you establish (set up) something new. To establish a new topic, person, etc. repeat the same steps used to originally set up something. You do not need to state that you are ending, removing, or replacing a referent.
Last Updated: February 21, 2025
Writing Contrastive Structure in GLOSS
Use your space when writing in GLOSS. ASL and English are different, use more lines and use more physical space when you are writing your GLOSS. Long GLOSS becomes difficult to read. All the letters are in capitals, there are specific markings with specific directions, it gets confusing quickly.
Examples
ASL GLOSS
English Translation
XX
XX