Now we will learn how to say sentences in the present tense or continuous tense so we can say things like “I am drinking the coffee.” In this post, the main concept we will learn about is called reduplication, and we will apply this to our transitive verb to move our sentences into the present tense.

Contents
Introduction to Present Tense in Chamorro What is Reduplication? How to Reduplicate Words Practice Drills With Reduplication Example Sentences: “I am drinking the coffee” Wrapping Up: Practice on Quizlet! Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

Introduction to Present Tense in Chamorro

When we want to talk about what we are currently doing, we need to put our verbs into the present tense. This will enable us to say words like “I am drinking the coffee” or “I am reading the book”. To do this, we will need to learn and apply the following concepts:

• Reduplication

Let’s start by learning what reduplication is and how to use it in Chamorro.

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What is Reduplication?

When we take our basic action sentences and change them from the past tense to the present tense, we must reduplicate the verb. Reduplication simply means that we are repeating select syllables in a word. Chamorro has different types of reduplication, and they differ depending upon the meaning we are trying to convey. In this lesson, we will focus on the type of reduplication that allows us to talk in the present tense.

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How to Reduplicate Words

Now we will practice applying reduplication so we can speak in the present tense. To reduplicate a word in Chamorro, we do the following:

1. Find the stressed syllable in the word (typically it’s the second-to-last syllable)
2. Repeat the first vowel and any consonants attached to that vowel

When reduplicating a word, we also need to keep the following in mind:

If the stressed syllable is a vowel: If the stressed syllable in the word is just a vowel, reduplicate the vowel and add a glota after it.

• Example: the word o‘mak becomes ó’o’mak.
• Example: the word ákuentusi becomes á’akuentusi

If the stressed syllable has a combination of vowels: If the stressed syllable includes a combination of vowels, such as ao, only repeat the first vowel and the consonant attached to that first vowel. This makes the reduplicated word easier to say.

• Example: the word saonao becomes sásaonao. (Don’t say saosaonao)

If the stressed syllable ends in a consonant: If the stress syllable ends in a consonant, that final consonant is not repeated (in general). This helps to reduce the drag in our mouths, making the words easier to say.

• Example: the word na’gåsgås becomes na’gågasgas. (Don’t say na’gåsgåsgås).

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Practice Drills With Reduplication

Now that we’ve gone over the rules for how to reduplicate words, let’s do some practice drills with transitive verbs in the table below:

gimen	gígimen	drinking
kånno’	kåkånno’	eating
usa	ú‘usa	using
taitai	tátaitai	reading
fa’tinas	fa’títinas	making
fåhan	fåfåhan	buying
chule’	chúchule’	taking
li’e’	lí‘li’e’	seeing
hungok	húhungok	hearing
ekungok	é‘ekungok	listening to

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Example Sentences: “I am drinking the coffee”

To make our sentences in the present tense, we simply use the same sentence structure as for past tense sentences, but we use the reduplicated transitive verb as our verb. We will follow this word order:

Hu Type Pronoun + Reduplicated Transitive Verb + i + Object

Now that we know the word order, let’s practice with the example sentences found in the table below:

Hu gigimen i kafe.	I am drinking the coffee.
Hu kåkånno’ i hineksa’.	I am eating the cooked rice*.
Ha fåfåhan i franela.	He is buying the t-shirt.
Ha e’ekungok i dandan.	She is listening to the music.
Ta e’egga’ i mubi.	We are watching the movie. (incl.)
Ta tataitai i lepblon Harry Potter.	We are reading the Harry Potter book. (incl.)
Ma chuchule’ i kareta.	They are taking the car.
Ma fa’titinas i kelaguen uhang.	They are making the shrimp kelaguen.
In arerekla i telebikbik.	We are repairing the television. (excl.)
In hahatsa i kahon.	We are lifting the box. (excl.)
Un kuentutusi i taotao guafi.	You are talking to the fireman.
Un bebende i gima’.	You are selling the house.
En huhuchom i tenda.	You all are closing the store.
En bababa i paketi.	You all are opening the package.

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Wrapping Up: Practice on Quizlet!

In this lesson we learned how to talk in the present tense with our transitive sentences. We learned about reduplication, practiced this with transitive verbs, and went over some example sentences.

If you want additional practice with the sentences in this lesson, use this Quizlet Flashcard Deck as a supplementary study tool.

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Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

And that concludes this lesson! Click the link below to read part 4 in this blog series, where we will learn how to add locations to our action sentences:

Lesson 13: Adding Places to Your Actions – “I drank the coffee at the restaurant.”