Category: Chamorro Lessons: Intermediate

Speech Attribution in Chamorro part 3: The Reciprocal Á- Prefix

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Lessons: Intermediate1 Comment

Continuing our blog series on speech attribution in Chamorro, we will learn how the reciprocal á- prefix is used to indicate who is speaking in Chamorro stories. This prefix is used in sentences such as “The women asked each other” or “Juan and I sang to each other.” The reciprocal á- prefix is used in more than just speech attribution, but it can be helpful to learn this prefix in the context of storytelling. This post includes an introduction to the á- prefix, sentence drills in Chamorro with the audio, and English translations. Happy studying!

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Speech Attribution in Chamorro part 2: Using the -IN- Infix

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Lessons: Intermediate4 Comments

This post is part 2 of the blog series on Chamorro speech attribution, where we learn about the most common ways we can indicate who is speaking in a story (ie: he said, she asked, the woman asked her, etc.). Understanding speech attribution helps us if we are reading or listening to stories in the language, if we want to write our own stories, or if we are interested in translating existing works into Chamorro. It can also give our speaking and storytelling more flavor 😉 In this post we will learn about speech attribution patterns that use the -IN- infix. This post includes an introduction to the -IN- infix, how to transform words with this affix, and practice drills. All Chamorro drills include audio in Chamorro. This is a fairly long post, with 10 sections of practice drills. Happy studying!

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Intermediate Actions Part 2: Making Past Tense Sentences in Chamorro With Indefinite Objects – “I bought coffee”

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Lessons: Intermediate1 Comment

To build off of part 1 where we practiced transforming our transitive verbs with the indefinite man- prefix, in this post we will start using those transformed verbs in sentences. We will learn how to make simple sentences like “I bought coffee”; “I heard something”; or “I made some soup.” We will also add noun subjects to say things like “The woman bought coffee.” This post includes sentence drills in Chamorro with Chamorro audio, and English translations. Happy studying!

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Intermediate Actions Part 1: Introduction to Indefinite Objects in Chamorro – “The Coffee versus A Coffee”

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Lessons: Intermediate1 Comment

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!

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Quick Reference Guide: Using the Man- Prefix with Transitive Verbs

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Lessons: IntermediateLeave a comment

Here is my quick reference sheet for understanding how to apply the man- prefix (both the indefinite man- prefix and the plural man- prefix) to transitive verbs. I don’t go in-depth into any grammar rules, I just give some examples for past, present, future, and imperative tense with light notes on the differences in the structures between definite and indefinite objects. In all the examples I use the root word fa’tinas which means “to make or prepare.” For a more in-depth walkthrough of the man- prefix for transitive verbs, please see this post: Man- Prefix for Transitive Verbs. Happy reviewing!

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