Continuing with our basic action sentences, we will learn how to make must / should statements with our intransitive verbs. We will be able to say sentences like “I must sleep” or “You must/should rest” by putting the word debidi (also spelled as debi de) at the front of our future tense sentences.

Contents
Introduction to Debidi How to Use Debidi With Intransitive Verbs Practice Sentences Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson References

Introduction to Debidi

The Chamorro word debidi can be translated to either must or should, and is followed by sentences that are in the future tense. To use debidi, convert a sentence to the future tense, drop the word para, and then add debidi to the front of the sentence. If you need to review future tense constructions with intransitive verbs, see this post.

How to Use Debidi With Intransitive Verbs

To see how debidi compares with other sentences types, here’s a table that shows past tense, future tense, and then the use of debidi with a future tense construction. Note that when we use debidi, we are dropping the para:

Tense	Example Sentence
Past	Sumåga yu’. I stayed.
Continuous	Sumåsåga yu’. I am staying.
Future	Para bai hu såga. I will stay. Bai hu såga. I will stay.
Debidi + Future	Debidi bai hu såga. I must/should stay.

Practice Drills with Debidi

For this series of practice sentences, I will be using all the sentences from this post, and converting them to the structures needed for debidi. Note that for all the sentences, we simply drop the para and use debidi:

Debidi + Bai + Hu / In + Intransitive Verb

Chamoru	English
Debidi bai hu hånao. / Debidi bai hånao.	I must/should go.
Debidi bai in maigo’ñaihon.	We (2) must/should take a nap.
Debidi bai in tanges.	We (2) must/should cry.

Chamoru	English
Debidi bai hu hånao guatu gi fañochuyan.	I must/should go to the restaurant.
Debidi bai in maigo’ñaihon gi gima’.	We (2) must/should take a nap at the house.
Debidi bai in tanges gi gima’ Yu’os.	We (2) must/should cry at the church.

Debidi + Un / En + Intransitive Verb

Chamoru	English
Debidi un deskånsa.	You must/should rest.
Debidi en o’mak.	You (2) must/should bathe.
Debidi ta såga.	We (2) must/should stay.
Debidi ta fatå’chong.	We (2) must/should sit.
Debidi en famokkat.	You (2) must/should walk.
Debidi un fakmåta.	You must/should wake up.

Chamoru	English
Debidi un deskånsa agupa’.	You must/should rest tomorrow.
Debidi en o’mak gi saddok.	You (2) must/should bathe at the river.
Debidi ta såga giya Hågat.	We (2) must/should stay in Agat.
Debidi ta fatå’chong gi santåtte.	We (2) must/should sit at the back.
Debidi en famokkat para i gipot.	You (2) must/should walk to the party.
Debidi un fakmåta gi oran alas siette gi egga’an.	You must/should wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning.

Debidi u + (ha) + Intransitive Verb

Chamoru	English
Debidi u åsson.	She must/should lie down.
Debidi u maigo’.	He must/should sleep.
Debidi u ma’udai gi kareta.	She must/should ride in the car.
Debidi u ha falågu.	They (2) must/should run.
Debidi u ha fåtto.	They (2) must/should arrive.
Debidi u ha facho’cho’.	They (2) must/should work.

Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

And that concludes this lesson! Click the link below to read the next lesson, where we will learn to make statements about what we can and can’t do, using intransitive verbs:

Basic Actions Part 15: How to Talk About What You Can and Can’t Do with Intransitive Verbs – “I can stay.”

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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.

• Intro to Debidi : pg. 294
• Drills for Debidi: pg. 298 – 299