In this post we’ll learn how to start using intransitive verbs in basic, past tense sentences so we can say things like “I walked” or “They stayed.” We will be looking at some commonly used intransitive verbs and how to conjugate those verbs for past tense statements. As a note, this post will be making sentences that have only 1-2 subjects doing the action. Sentences that have 3 or more subjects will be covered in a separate post. This set of notes also includes a link to a Quizlet deck to help us learn the conjugations. Happy studying!

Contents
Introduction to Intransitive Sentences Sentence Structure UM Intransitive Verbs MA- Intransitive Verbs Intransitive Verbs Without Affixes Quizlet Study Resource Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson References

Introduction to Intransitive Sentences

As a quick recap, intransitive sentences have just the subject doing an action, and the action is not being transferred to an object. Sentences like I am walking or They danced at the party are examples of intransitive sentences. In their most basic form, they just have a Verb and the Subject.

In contrast, sentences like I made the coffee or The child asked the teacher are examples of transitive sentences because the actions are being done to someone or something. In these examples, the coffee was made and the teacher was asked. These sentences, in their basic form, have a Subject, a Verb, and the Object.

Sentence Structure

For basic intransitive sentences in past tense, we must take our intransitive verbs, apply the verbalizing affix (if required), and then pair it with a yu’ type pronoun.

The basic sentence structure we can use is as follows:

Verbalized Intransitive Verb + Yu’ Type Pronoun

For Review: If you need to review what it means to verbalize an intransitive verb, please see my previous post that gives an Introduction to Intransitive Verbs and Affixes which does a walk-thru of some of the different ways to verbalize intransitive verbs.

Word Order: These sentences are in Verb – Subject order, which is different from English and different from the basic transitive sentences we’ve learned about about up until now. For an example sentence with a literal translation, let’s look at the sentence Umessalao yu’ (I shouted) to see the order:

Umessalao	yu’.
Shouted	I

Additional Notes: In general, when we apply our verbalizing affixes of UM or MA-, we interpret the verb to be in the past tense (i.e.: essalao = shout; umessalao = shouted). Verbs in these forms also refer to 1-2 people. To create sentences that refer to 3+ people, we need to use the plural MAN- prefix rather than UM or MA-. The plural MAN- prefix will be covered in a separate post, for now we are focusing on UM and MA-.

Now let’s look at some sentence drills to practice and see what these sentences look like with our different intransitive verbs.

-UM- Intransitive Verbs

These sentence drills are made with intransitive verbs that take the UM infix for verbalization. As a reminder, all of these sentences are in the past tense and only refer to 1-2 people, even when using plural pronouns. Let’s practice applying the UM infix to some intransitive verbs:

Root Word Not Verbalized	UM Infix Verbalized	Example Sentence 1 or 2 subjects
hånao	humånao	Humånao yu’. I went.
deskånsa	dumeskånsa	Dumeskånsa hao. You rested.
åsson	umåsson	Umåsson gue’. He/she rested.
tohge	tumohge	Tumohge siha. They (2) stood.
o’mak	umo’mak	Umo’mak hamyo. You (2) bathed.
tånges	tumånges	Tumånges ham. We (2) cried.
såga	sumåga	Sumåga hit. We (2) stayed.

And then for those sentences above, let’s add a little flavor by putting locations with the particles. If you want a review on how to use gi and giya, see this post about adding locations to sentences in Chamorro.

Chamorro	English
Humånao yu’ para i fañochuyan.	I went to the restaurant.
Dumeskånsa hao gi kanton tåsi.	You rested at the beach.
Umåsson gue’ gi gima’.	She laid down at the house.
Tumohge siha gi me’nan i tribunåt.	They (2) stood in front of the court.
Umo’mak hamyo gi saddok.	You (2) bathed in the river.
Tumånges ham gi gima’ Yu’os.	We (2) cried at the church.
Sumåga hit giya Hågat.	We (2) stayed in Agat.

MA- Intransitive Verbs

Next, here are sentences using intransitive verbs that take the MA- verbalizing prefix. Again, these sentences are in the past tense and refer to 1-2 subjects. To apply the MA- prefix, just add it to the front of the word. Let’s practice adding these to some intransitive verbs.

Root Word Not Verbalized	MA- Prefix Verbalized	Example Sentence 1 or 2 subjects
cho’cho	macho’cho’	Macho’cho’ yu’. I worked.
tå’chong	matå’chong	Matå’chong hit. We (2) sat.
udai	ma‘udai	Ma’udai siha. They (2) rode.
pokkat	mamokkat	Mamokkat hamyo. You (2) walked.

Intransitive Verbs Without Affixes

Finally, here are basic sentence drills for intransitive verbs that don’t require -UM- or MA- to be used in basic action sentences. It’s possible that some speakers may verbalize these ones with UM or MA, but overall I haven’t heard or read them with those affixes. These sentences also only refer to 1-2 subjects and are in the past tense:

Chamorro	English
Makmåta hao.	You woke up.
Maigo’ gue’.	He/she/it slept.
Måtai siha.	They (2) died.
Maigo’ñaihon ham.	We (2) napped.
Malågu hamyo.	You (2) ran.
Måtto hit.	We (2) arrived.

What happens if I don’t affix the verb?

In general, if you forget to apply -UM- or MA- to intransitive verbs that require them, it is likely that speakers will understand what you are trying to say, but it won’t be exact and may sound kind of funny. Take the example of baila:

Affixed?	Chamoru	English
Yes	Bumaila yu’.	I danced.
No	Baila yu’.	I am a dance.

Quizlet Study Resource

Here’s a Quizlet flashcard deck I made to help learn the verb conjugations from these notes: Intransitive Verbs – Past Tense.

Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

And that concludes this lesson! Click the link below to read the next lesson in this series and learn how to make present tense sentences with intransitive verbs:

Basic Actions Part 11: Making Present Tense Sentences in Chamorro With Intransitive Verbs – “I am staying.”

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References

Topping, D. M., & Ogo, P. M. (1980). Spoken Chamorro with Grammatical Notes and Glossary (PALI Language Texts―Micronesia) (2nd ed.). University of Hawaii Press.

• Basic Intransitive Sentence Drills (past tense): pg. 45-47

Topping, D. M., & Dungca, B. C. (1980). Chamorro Reference Grammar (PALI Language Texts―Micronesia). University of Hawaii Press.

• Intransitive Verbs Overview: pg. 82-83