In this post, we’ll start our journey on learning how to talk about indefinite objects or non-specific objects in Chamorro. A couple of years ago I wrote a rather long post about using the man- prefix with transitive verbs, back when I was first working toward a clearer understanding of indefinite objects. Now I’ll be exploring the man- prefix more systematically, starting with our transitive verbs. The use of the man- prefix surfaces repeatedly in our practice groups these days, so I guess it’s finally time to dive in!

This post is meant to be an introduction to indefinite objects and how to transform verbs with the indefinite man- prefix. If you need a more general overview of transitive verbs, I suggest starting at my Intro to Transitive Verbs post before continuing. In this post, we’ll focus primarily on practicing how to transform transitive verbs with the indefinite man- prefix. We will also talk about what learners often call “the double man-” prefix and when it is used. The post will conclude with notes about the transitive verbs that don’t take the indefinite man- prefix and how to transform them. It’s a fairly long post, but hopefully it will make clear a complicated and confusing topic. Happy studying!

Contents
Introduction to Indefinite Objects Applying the Indefinite Man- Prefix The “Double Man-“ Prefix Transformation Drills With Indefinite Man- Exceptions to the Rule A Note About The Use of Un A Special Note About Ékungok References

Introduction to Indefinite Objects

When we first learned how to make basic action sentences with objects, we focused entirely on talking about definite objects or specific objects such as “the coffee” or “this plant”. And our sentences often sounded like Hu fåhan i kafe or Un pacha este na tinanom.

But now we are going to learn how to talk about indefinite or non-specific objects. To understand what this means, let’s first do a quick comparison in English of what definite versus non-definite objects look like:

Definite Object	Indefinite Object
I bought the coffee.	I bought coffee.
I made this soup.	I made some soup.
I saw your child.	I saw a child.
I heard him.	I heard someone.
I cleaned the house.	I cleaned.
I took it.	I took something.

As we can see in English, we usually keep the word order in our sentences exactly the same, and then just change the words we use. (the word the becomes a, for example)

But in Chamorro, we need to make a lot more changes to our verbs and sentences to shift between talking about definite objects to indefinite objects. In general, we must do the following:

1. Transform our transitive verbs
2. Account for the number of subjects
3. Use different word order and pronouns

We will look at steps 1 and 2 in more detail in the rest of this post. Step 3 will be covered in later posts when we start practicing our sentence structures.

Applying the Indefinite Man- Prefix

First, we must transform our transitive verbs with an affix called the indefinite man- prefix. This enables us to use the transitive verbs to talk about indefinite or non-specific objects. Note that the function of the indefinite man- prefix is in its name, as it’s only used with transitive verbs to enable us to talk about things that are indefinite or non-specific.

To use this prefix, we attach it to the front of our transitive verbs. In general, for many words we can just add the man- to the front of the word. But if the verb starts with the letters b, ch, f, g, k, p, s, or t, then there are special rules to follow. Here is a table of those special rules:

If the 1st letter is:	Do this:	Root Word	Indefinite Man-
B	keep the b man becomes mam	bende	mambende
Ch	drop the ch man becomes mañ	chule’	mañule’
F	drop the f man becomes mam	fa’gåsi	mama’gåsi
G	keep the g man becomes mang	guaddok	mangguaddok
K	drop the k man becomes mang	konne’	mangonne’
P	drop the p man becomes mam	puno’	mamuno’
S	drop the s man becomes mañ	sodda’	mañodda’
T	drop the t add man	taitai	manaitai

Study Tip: I don’t recommend trying to memorize these rules. Instead, we will practice the transformations multiple times to help our brains learn the patterns more naturally.

Important Note About Native Speech: Please make allowances for differences when you hear our native speakers talk, or when you read native Chamorro content, as their pronunciation may not adhere to these rules perfectly. For example, they may say things like mampopble or manpopble instead of mamopble.

The “Double Man-” Prefix

The other main distinction between talking about indefinite versus definite objects in Chamorro is that we must start paying attention to the number of subjects in our sentences. In other words, we need to be aware of the number of people doing the action.

This is very different from our beginner sentences, such as with the sentence In fahan i kafe. We can use this sentence regardless of if there are 2, 3, or 5 people who bought the coffee. But with sentences that have indefinite objects, we must also add the plural man- prefix to our word if there are 3 or more people doing the action.

This application of two man- prefixes is what learners often refer to as “the double man- prefix.”

So if we want to say “We bought the coffee” and there are 3 or more people in that “we”, then we use the word manmamåhån rather than just mamåhån. The “double man-” tells us there’s 3 or more people did the action, while the application of a single man- tells us there were only 1 or 2 people.

In general, we see this “double man-” applied only to transitive verbs, which makes sense when we remember that the indefinite man- prefix is only needed for transitive verbs.

Important Note About Native Speech: We may read native content or hear speakers use two man- prefixes with verbs that are not transitive verbs. My teacher Ray Barcinas says this usually happens when a speaker is really trying to emphasize something, or when they are speaking in a state of heightened emotion, like anger. But for us learners, it helps knowing that we use the double man- prefix with just transitive verbs.

Finally, one more note about the usage of the “Double Man-“: My teacher Ray Barcinas has told me that the double man- prefix is not necessary, unless the word is also reduplicated. However, I frequently see the “Double Man-” in many Chamorro texts from native or near-native speakers, in both reduplicated and non-reduplicated forms. Therefore, I will continue to learn, use and highlight the “Double Man-” in my own speech, writing and in our weekly practice groups. We usually see this word transformation in the materials we use, making this grammar structure too common for us to ignore.

Transformation Drills With Indefinite Man-

Now we will practice transforming our transitive verbs with the man- prefixes. In the tables below, we start with the root word and then apply the indefinite man- prefix first, according to the rules in the table from the previous section.

Then we will add the plural man- prefix on top of those already transformed words to put them in the form needed for talking about 3+ people with indefinite objects. Since at this stage we are applying a man- prefix to words that all start with the letter “m”, we don’t need to do anything special.

And here’s a little visual guide to see the order in which we apply our man- prefixes to transitive verbs:

Root Word + Indefinite Man- Prefix + Plural Man- Prefix

Now let’s start practicing. In the tables below, I’ve put the affix in bold so we can clearly see the word transformation taking place:

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
adahi	manadahi	manmanadahi
aligao	manaligao	manmanaligao
apåsi	manapåsi	manmanapåsi
atan	manatan	manmanatan
atkila’	manatkila’	manmanatkila’
ayao	manayao	manmanayao
ayek	manayek	manmanayek

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
bende	mambende	manmambende

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
chuda	mañuda	manmañuda
chule’	mañule’	manmañule’

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
dulalak	mandulalak	manmandulalak
egga	manegga	manmanegga
ékungok*	manékungok	manmanékungok

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
fa’gåsi	mama’gåsi	manmama’gåsi
fåhån	mamåhån	manmamåhån
faisen	mamaisen	manmamaisen
fa’nå’gue	mama’nå’gue	manmama’nå’gue
fa’tinas	mama’tinas	manmama’tinas

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
gagao	manggagao	manmanggagao
gote	manggote	manmanggote

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
hasso	manhasso	manmanhasso
håtsa	manhåtsa	manmanhåtsa
hokka	manhokka	manmanhokka
hongge	manhongge	manmanhongge
hungok	manhungok	manmanhungok
li’e’	manli’e’	manmanli’e’
nginge’	mannginge’	manmannginge’
oppe’	manoppe’	manmanoppe’

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
konne’	mangonne’	manmangonne’
kumbida	mangumbida	manmangumbida

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
pacha	mamacha	manmamacha
paki	mamaki	manmamaki
puno’	mamuno’	manmamuno’
pulan	mamulan	manmamulan

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
sakke’	mañakke’	manmañakke’
sodda’	mañodda’	manmañodda’

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
tågo’	manågo’	manmanågo’
taitai	manaitai	manmanaitai
tånom	manånom	manmanånom
tokcha’	manokcha’	manmanokcha’
tungo’	manungo’	manmanungo’

Special Applications of the Indefinite Man- Prefix

And then for this last group of transitive verbs, the way we apply the indefinite man- prefix is slightly different. For example, with the word tuge’ we don’t necessarily say manuge’ according to the transformation rules. Instead, it collapses a bit to become mångge’. If we pay attention to the sound placements in our mouth, it is definitely less work for us to say, which could be why these words take these forms.

Root Word	Indefinite Man- (1-2)	Plural Man- (3+)
tuge’	mångge’	manmångge’
tufok	mamfok	manmamfok
tife’	mamfe’	manmamfe’
tufong	mamfong	manmamfong

Exceptions to the Rules

It’s also important to know that there are some transitive verbs that don’t use the indefinite man- prefix because they don’t follow the same pattern of usage as most transitive verbs. They follow different rules altogether, and many of the more common words are shown below:

Chamorro	English
maleffa	forget
malago’	want
monhåyan	finish
mañotsot	repent
gimen	drink, to drink
kånta	sing, to sing
kånno’	eat
bisita	visitor, to visit

In the following sections we will go over each of these verbs, grouped by transformation pattern, to learn the forms they take when we are talking about indefinite objects.

Kånno’

The word kånno’ which means “to eat” is under its own section because it is rather unique amongst the transitive verbs. Rather than transforming kånno’ so we can use it to talk about indefinite objects, we actually need to use a different word entirely, which is chochu. This word also means “to eat” but is the word we must use when talking about eating indefinite, or non-specific things.

When we use chochu to refer to 1-2 people, we transform it with the um infix. To make it refer to 3+ people, we transform it with the plural man- prefix.

Definite	Indefinite, 1-2	Indefinite, 3+
kånno’	chumocho	mañochu

The Verbs That Take -UM- or Plural Man-

Next are the verbs that take the um infix when referring to 1-2 people and take the plural man- prefix when referring to 3+ people when we need to talk about indefinite objects. The more common of these verbs are below:

Definite	Indefinite, 1-2	Indefinite, 3+
kånta	kumånta	mangånta
gimen	gumimen	manggimen
bisita	bumisita	mambisita

Lesson Study Tip: If you are using your physical copy of the CHAMORRO-ENGLISH DICTIONARY by Topping, Ogo, and Dungca, in general, the words that fall under this category have both a number 1 and 2 after them.

The Verbs That Only Need the Plural Man-

This last group of transitive verbs do not need any affix when used to talk about indefinite objects when there are 1-2 subjects. But they must take the plural man- prefix when referring to 3+ people. These are the following:

Definite	Indefinite, 1-2	Indefinite, 3+
maleffa	maleffa	manmaleffa
malago’	malago’	manmalago’
monhåyan	monhåyan	manmonhåyan
mañotsot	mañotsot	manmañotsot

A Note About the Use of Un

When we talk about making sentences with indefinite objects, we may also come across people who will take basic sentences (ie: “Hu fåhan i lepblo”) and replace the i with an un (the Spanish article un, not the pronoun un) in front of the noun. So they may say things like Hu fåhan un lepblo to mean “I bought a book.”

However, it’s important to note that this is a more English sentence structure rather than a Chamorro one, and has likely arisen because of the impact of English becoming the more dominant language in our lives and influencing how some people (particularly learners) speak Chamorro.

It’s good to know that some people will speak like this, but I will not be emphasizing this structure in my own learning and will strive, instead, to use the indefinite man- prefix when needed.

Special Note for ékungok

The word ékungok can technically be classified as an exception because of its structure. This is due to its construction, as a combination of the prefix é- which means “to search for” and the word hungok which means “to listen”. When we put the prefix é- in front of a word, it changes how we can use it, and therefore how we must transform it.

In Chamorro speech today we use ékungok as a transitive verb (ie: Hu ékungok i rediu). Yet because of its structure I’ve seen it treated differently. Some people will only use the plural man- prefix with it, while others will use the indefinite man- prefix and the plural man- prefix when referring to 3 or more subjects. It can definitely get confusing!

For the purposes of my blog, I will be treating it like most transitive verbs and conjugating it both man- prefixes because I want to be consistent with the materials I reference, mainly the books by Topping, Ogo and Dungca, which do have sentence drills that treat ékungok this way.

Study Tip: Try putting these words into a flashcard deck with the root word on the front and the transformed word on the back. You can also download the audio from this post, split it into smaller audio files and attach them to the front and back of your flashcards to practice saying these words.

And that concludes our introduction to indefinite objects in Chamorro! In the next posts, we’ll start to apply what we’ve learned here and learn foundational sentence structures so we can start using these transformed verbs in our speaking and writing.

Click on the link below to read part 2 in this blog series, where we will start using these transformed verbs in past tense sentences:

https://atomic-temporary-145232137.wpcomstaging.com/2024/04/04/intermediate-actions-part-2-making-past-tense-sentences-in-chamorro-with-indefinite-objects-i-bought-coffee

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References

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

• Definite and Indefinite Objects: pg. 239-242
• Double man- prefix: pg. 240 (bottom of page)
• Special word transformations with the indefinite man- prefix: pg. 241 (item 1)
• Transitive verbs that don’t take the indefinite man- prefix : pg. 241 (items 2 and 3)

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

• Notes about definite and indefinite objects : pg. 78 (bottom of page)
• Grammar notes about indefinite objects: pg. 87