title: Tense marking by Brazilian deaf signers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  tense marking by deaf signers, in the Brazilian Sign Language and in written Portuguese.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to analyze verbal tense inflection in written Portuguese, to verify the relationship between the performance in using verbal tense inflexion and the educational status, and to verify tense marking in the production of sentences in the Brazilian sign language and in written Portuguese.
  
  
  METHODS
  participants were 18 deaf signers ranging in age from 15 to 23 years, and with an educational status varying from 3rd to 7th grade of elementary school. Participants were assessed for their knowledge of nine action verbs. Following that, they were asked to elaborate three sentences with each verb using written Portuguese and using Brazilian sign language, one in the past tense, one in the present tense and one in the future tense. Data were analyzed qualitative and quantitatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regarding the written productions, there was a predominance of the verb in the infinitive nominal form. Participants adequately used tense markers in most of the sentences produced when using the Brazilian sign language. Four subjects used sign language markers to indicate tense in their written sentences. There was a significant statistical relationship between the use of verbal inflexion in the present tense and higher educational status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the deaf participants of the study presented and adequate use of tense markers in most of the sentences produced using Brazilian sign language, however difficulty was observed when using written Portuguese.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. aline.crato@bol.com.br
authors.forename: Aline Nascimento
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Crato
authors.forename: Maria Silvia
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cárnio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D003638:Deafness; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D012813:Sign Language; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014956:Writing / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult