Argentine Sign Language

The unmarked word order in LSA is subject-object-verb, akin to languages such as Turkish, Japanese, and Latin, but divergent from Spanish.

When an indirect object is present in the sentence, it precedes the direct object.

In sentences involving chains of verbs, auxiliary verbs typically appear after the main verb, contrary to English word order.

The Personal Agreement Marker (abbreviated as "PAM"), resembling the sign for "person" and sometimes accompanied by the mouthing "auf" ("on"), serves to indicate the location in signing space of animate objects when the verb in the sentence does not perform this function. It essentially fulfills the role of object pronouns, although it behaves more akin to an auxiliary verb, inflecting for person where the main verb does not. While there exists notable variation, particularly among dialects, it typically appears in positions similar to auxiliaries, following the verb rather than occupying the object slot. Similarly, the benefactive marker (labeled as "BEM") is positioned in a similar manner.

Temporal expressions (tomorrow, next week) typically precede the sentence (as a discourse topic).

Phrases specifying location often commence at the beginning of the sentence (after time information).

This adheres to the figure-ground principle, where smaller, more mobile referents (figures) typically follow larger, less mobile referents (ground).

Sentence adverbs frequently appear at the beginning of the sentence.

However, adverbs modifying the verb but which cannot be expressed non-manually follow the verb as an extra clause.

Wh-words (interrogatives) typically occur at the end of the sentence after the verb.

Some signs with a negative meaning tend to occur at the end of the sentence.

However, if the negation is not emphasized, it can also appear in the expected position.

Determiners (articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, relative pronouns) follow the noun.

Their function is to establish the location of referents within the signing space. If this is indicated instead by directional verbs, determiners can always be omitted, provided they are not required for other reasons (such as showing possession, pluralization, etc.). There is no distinction between definite and indefinite articles.

Attributive adjectives follow immediately after the noun.

The copula to be does not exist in LSA. Predicative adjectives are generally separated from the noun by a determiner.

Comparing the preceding sentence to the following noun phrase, in which the determiner follows the adjective, demonstrates a different syntactic structure.

Possessive adjectives are positioned between the possessor and the possession.

Here is an illustration of a more extended yet still straightforward, unmarked sentence.

Sections of the sentence that deviate from their typical unmarked position are accompanied by non-manual marking.

Elements of the sentence (excluding verbs) can be topicalized by relocating them to the beginning of the sentence and marking them with raised eyebrows.

Often, a topic doesn't fulfill any other function in the sentence. In such cases, it serves to restrict the scope of the sentence. Contrast the following three sentences.