In this last post our series focusing on beginner sentences with intransitive verbs, we will learn how to make basic “can” statements with our intransitive verbs. We will be using the word siña to make sentences like “I can stay” or “I can go to the store.” We’ll also be looking at how to make negative statements, like “I cannot stay” and turning our statements into questions like “Can I stay?” Before reading this post, it is recommended that you have familiarity with transitive verbs and how to conjugate them to make basic sentences. To review these topics, please see my post for an Introduction to Transitive Verbs & Affixes. And to see the whole series of lessons on basic sentences with intransitive verbs, see the full list here.

Contents
Introduction to Siña Siña – “I Can Stay” Ti Siña – “I Cannot Stay” Kao Siña – “Can I Stay?” Basic Replies – “Yes, I can” Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson References

How To Use Siña With Intransitive Verbs

In Chamorro the word siña means “can” or “able”, and we use siña in front of our basic intransitive sentences to turn them into “can” statements. To get started with our basic intransitive sentences, we can use the following sentence structure:

Siña + Yu’ Type Pronoun + Verbalized Intransitive Verb*

It’s important to note that the structure can also be Siña + Verbalized Intransitive Verb + Yu’ Type Pronoun, but the more common order is for the pronoun to precede the intransitive verb. For the rest of this post, I will follow the more common order.

*Special Note: For our intransitive verbs in this sentence structure, the verbs must be affixed if necessary. For example, if an intransitive verb is “verbalized” with the UM or MA affixes, they must also be transformed in this way for these statements. Additionally, in this post all our sentences are referring only to 1 – 2 people. To get these statements refer to 3+ people, the verbs must be transformed with the plural man- prefix, which will be covered in a separate post.

Siña – I Can Stay

In the following sentence drills, we are practicing how to make basic statements with siña and instransitive verbs, following the basic sentence structure of siña + yu’ type pronoun + verbalized intransitive verb.

Chamorro	English
Siña yu’ humånao.	I can go.
Siña hao dumeskånsa.	You can rest.
Siña gue sumåga.	She can stay.
Siña hamyo matå’chong.	You (2) can sit.
Siña siha mamokkat.	They (2) can walk.
Siña hit macho’cho’.	We (2) can work.
Siña hao maigo’ñaihon.	You can nap.
Siña ham malågu.	We (2) can run.
Siña yu’ makmåta.	I can wake up.
Siña hamyo bumaila.	You (2) can dance.

Adding Location or Time

Now let’s take our simple sentence drills from above and practice adding location. To indicate that we are doing an action somewhere (i.e.: I can walk on/at the beach) we can put gi + location at the end of the sentence. To indicate a proper place name (i.e.: I can walk on/at Nimitz Beach), use giya + proper place name.

Here is the basic structure we can use:

Siña + Yu’ Type Pronoun + Verbalized Intransitive Verb* + gi / giya + location

If we want to say we are going to somewhere (i.e.: I can walk to the beach) use guatu gi + place at the end of the sentence. And for proper place names (i.e.: I can walk to Nimitz Beach) replace gi with giya and use guatu giya + proper place name. Also note that we can also use the gi marker to indicate when we do something (i.e.: I can walk in the morning; I can wake up at 6 o’clock).

Here’s the basic structure we can use:

Siña + Yu’ Type Pronoun + Verbalized Intransitive Verb* + guatu + gi / giya + location

Let’s do some practice sentences that use both of the above structures:

Chamorro	English
Siña yu’ humånao guatu gi sagan mamåhån.	I can go to the store.
Siña hao dumeskånsa gi gima’.	You can rest at the house.
Siña gue sumåga giya Hågat.	She can stay in Agat.
Siña hamyo matå’chong gi fi’on-hu.	You (2) can sit next to me.
Siña siha mamokkat guatu gi kanton tåsi.	They (2) can walk to the beach.
Siña hit macho’cho’ gi egga’an.	We (2) can work in the morning.
Siña hao maigo’ñaihon gi batkon aire.	You can nap on the plane.
Siña ham malågu guatu gi gima’ Yu’us.	We (2) can run to the church.
Siña yu’ makmåta gi oran alas siette.	I can wake up at 7 o’clock.
Siña hamyo bumaila gi gipot.	You (2) can dance at the party.

Ti Siña – I Cannot Stay

We can also put the negative marker ti at the front of these sentences to make negative “can” statements, such as “I cannot stay” or “I cannot go to the store.” The sentence drills from the first section are used in the drills below, and made into negative statements.

Here’s the basic structure:

Ti Siña + Yu’ Type Pronoun + Verbalized Intransitive Verb

Chamorro	English
Ti siña yu’ humånao guatu gi sagan mamåhån.	I cannnot go to the store.
Ti siña hao dumeskånsa gi gima’.	You cannot rest at the house.
Ti siña gue sumåga giya Hågat.	She cannot stay in Agat.
Ti siña hamyo matå’chong gi fi’on-hu.	You (2) cannot sit next to me.
Ti siña siha mamokkat guatu gi kanton tåsi.	They (2) cannot walk to the beach.
Ti siña hit macho’cho’ gi egga’an.	We (2) cannot work in the morning.
Ti siña hao maigo’ñaihon gi batkon aire.	You cannot nap on the plane.
Ti siña ham malågu guatu gi gima’ Yu’us.	We (2) cannot run to the church.
Ti siña yu’ makmåta gi oran alas siette.	I cannot wake up at 7 o’clock.
Ti siña hamyo bumaila gi gipot.	You (2) cannot dance at the party.

Kao Siña – Can I Stay?

We can also add the question word kao to the front of the sentence to make “can” questions:

Kao Siña + Yu’ Type Pronoun + Verbalized Intransitive Verb

Chamorro	English
Kao siña yu’ humånao guatu gi sagan mamåhån?	Can I go to the store?
Kao siña hao dumeskånsa gi gima’?	Can you rest at the house?
Kao siña gue sumåga giya Hågat?	Can she stay in Agat?
Kao siña hamyo matå’chong gi fi’on-hu?	Can you (2) sit next to me?
Kao siña siha mamokkat guatu gi kanton tåsi?	Can they (2) walk to the beach?
Kao siña hit macho’cho’ gi egga’an?	Can we (2) work in the morning?
Kao siña hao maigo’ñaihon gi batkon aire?	Can you nap on the plane?
Kao siña ham malågu guatu gi gima’ Yu’us?	Can we (2) run to the church?
Kao siña yu’ makmåta gi oran alas siette?	Can I wake up at 7 o’clock?
Kao siña hamyo bumaila gi gipot?	Can you (2) dance at the party?

Basic Replies – Yes, I can

Finally, here are some basic responses that you can use with siña. You can do a complete sentence by putting hunggan or åhe’ in front of your basic sentences (i.e.: Hunggan, siña ham bumaila or Åhe’, ti siña ham bumaila), or you can use these shorter responses to get started. Please note that these replies can be used for any number of people; no plural man- prefix is required in these responses:

Chamorro	English
Hunggan, siña yu’.	Yes, I can.
Åhe’, ti siña yu’.	No, I can’t.
Hunggan, siña hao.	Yes, you can.
Åhe’, ti siña hao.	No, you can’t.
Hunggan, siña gue’.	Yes, he/she/it can.
Åhe’, ti siña gue’.	No, he/she/it can’t.
Hunggan, siña siha.	Yes, they can.
Åhe’, ti siña siha.	No, they can’t.
Hunggan, siña hit.	Yes, we can.
Åhe’, ti siña hit.	No, we can’t.
Hunggan, siña hamyo.	Yes, you can.
Åhe’, ti siña hamyo.	No, you can’t.
Hunggan, siña ham.	Yes, we can.
Åhe’, ti siña ham.	No, we can’t.

Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

And this concludes our beginner series on using intransitive verbs! If you want to continue to learn about how to make other types of action sentences, click the link below to learn how to make sentences about what we want:

Basic Actions Part 16: How To Talk About What We Want in Chamorro – “I want coffee”

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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.

• Introduction to Using Siña With Intransitive Verbs: pg. 146 – 147
• Sentence Drills with Siña and Intransitive Verbs: pg. 149 – 150

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

• Siña (auxiliary verb) : pg. 91