ASL generally does not use auxiliary verbs in its syntax. When needed, verbs like IS, TO BE, AM, and ARE are often just fingerspelled.
When I saw the verb IS described as a TO BE verb, I created a cartoon of Hamlet for his famous “To Be” speech. Holding the skull of Yorick, the Prince of Denmark illustrates the fingerspelling and two ASL hand signs for IS.
The I hand on the chin thrusts forward.
An old ASL hand sign, often used for Signing Exact English, has the I hand on the chest arc down and forward.
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