Continuing on with the in-depth look at the man- prefix, this post explores the application of the man- prefix to intransitive verbs. I lay out my own way of understanding the application of the man- prefix to intransitive verbs.

Introduction to the Man- Prefix

This was covered in my post about applying the man- prefix to transitive verbs. But as a recap, the man- prefix is used to modify words for three uses:

1. Indefinite Objects
2. Pluralizing
3. Actor Focus

In this post, I will be focusing on use #2 when applied to intransitive verbs. Use #1 does not apply to intransitive verbs because intransitive verbs do not require objects (items that receive the action of the verb). Actor focus will be covered in an entirely separate post.

What are intransitive sentences?

When we think about sentences with verbs, it’s important to distinguish between transitive and intransitive sentences. Transitive sentences require an object, or something to receive the action of the verb. Intransitive sentences are sentences that do not need an object to be complete. You have a subject doing an action, and the action does not need to be transferred to a specific object. Here are examples of basic intransitive sentences:

• I laughed.
• She lined up.
• We talked.
• You all stopped.
• We stayed.
• They stood.

Basic Sentence Structure for Intransitive Sentences

For intransitive sentences, we generally use the following parts:

• Intransitive verb
• UM infix
• Yo’ type pronouns

And the sentence structure when referring to 1 or 2 subjects is as follows:

-UM- + Intransitive Verb + Yo’ Type Pronoun

In order to use intransitive verbs in a sentence, we first need to verbalize it with the UM infix. To apply the UM infix, the general rule is to insert UM in front of the first vowel of the word. See examples below:

Root Word Not Verbalized	UM Infix Verbalized	Example Sentence 1 or 2 subjects
chålek	chumålek	Chumålek yo’. I laughed.
fila	fumila	Fumila gue’. She lined up.
kuentos	kumuentos	Kumuentos hit. We (2) talked.
påra	pumåra	Pumåra hamyo. You (2) stopped.
såga	sumåga	Sumåga ham. We (2) stayed.
tohge	tumoghe	Tumohge siha. They (2) stood.

Exceptions to UM Rule
There are exceptions to the rule of needing to verbalize intransitive verbs with the UM infix. For these exceptions, they are actually verbalized by adding the Ma- prefix instead of the UM infix. Some of these exceptions are shown below:

Root Word Not Verbalized	Ma- Prefix Verbalized	Example Sentence 1 or 2 subjects
cho’cho	macho’cho’	Macho’cho’ ham. We worked.
tå’chong	matå’chong	Matå’chong yo’. I sat.
fondo	mafondo	Mafondo siha. They (2) sank.
pokkat	mamokkat	Mamokkat hamyo. You (2) walked.

Plural Man- for Intransitive Verbs

The above examples that were verbalized with either the UM infix or the Ma- prefix are all still in singular or dual form, meaning that they refer to only 1 or 2 subjects. To make these verbs refer to plural subjects (3 or more), we must modify the root word with the Man- prefix. In general, you add man- in front of the word unless the word starts with the following letters:

If the first letter is…	Do this…	Root Word Not verbalized	Plural Man– 3+ subjects
Ch	drop the ch man becomes mañ	chålek	mañålek
F	drop the f man becomes mam	fila	mamila
K	drop the k man becomes mang	kuentos	manguentos
P	drop the p man becomes mam	påra	mamåra
S	drop the s man becomes mañ	såga	mañåga
T	drop the t add man	tohge	manoghe

Adding Plural Man- for Exceptions to UM Rule
As stated earlier, some intransitive verbs require the prefix Ma- in order to be verbalized, rather than the infix UM. To pluralize these verbs, we must first add the prefix ma- and then the plural man- as shown below. As a reminder, all verbs are in the past tense:

Root Word Not Verbalized	Ma- Prefix Verbalized	Plural Man- 3+ subjects
cho’cho	macho’cho’	manmacho’cho’
tå’chong	matå’chong	manmatå’chong
fondo	mafondo	manmafondo
pokkat	mamokkat	manmamokkat

Example Intransitive Sentences with Plural Man-
Now we will do some basic intransitive sentences with plural subjects, where the intransitive verb has been modified with the plural Man- prefix. As a reminder, all transformations are interpreted in the past tense:

Root Word Not verbalized	Plural Man- 3+ subjects	Example Sentences 3+ subjects
chålek	mañålek	Mañålek siha. They (3+) laughed.
fila	mamila	Mamila hamyo. You all (3+) lined up.
kuentos	manguentos	Manguentos hit. We (3+) talked.
påra	mamåra	Mamåra siha. They (3+) stopped.
såga	mañåga	Mañåga ham. We (3+) stayed.
tohge	manoghe	Manohge hamyo. You all (3+) stood.

Summary

• Intransitive sentences are sentences that do not require an object to receive the action of the verb. You only need the subject doing the action (i.e.: I stood; You stayed)
• The basic sentence structure for intransitive sentences is Verb–Subject
• To use intransitive verbs in sentences, they must first be verbalized. Most are verbalized with the UM infix, but some are verbalized with the Ma- prefix. When verbalized this way, all verbs refer to either 1 or 2 subjects doing the action
• To get intransitive sentences to refer to 3+ subjects, they must be modified with the plural Man- prefix.
  • For verbs that take the UM infix, you add the Man- prefix to the root word.
  • For verbs that take the Ma- prefix, you first verbalize the word with the Ma- prefix, and then add the plural Man- prefix