How to Say “I Will Be Helped” in Chamorro – Talking About What Will Happen to You

Sometimes, we want to talk about what will happen to us — like saying we will be helped or corrected — but we don’t say who or what will be doing the helping or correcting. There is actually a simple pattern you can use to express when something will happen to you (or to someone else)! In this post, we’ll learn one pattern for making these statements and practice with sentence drills and basic examples such as “I will be corrected” or “They will be helped”.

As always, this post includes Chamorro example sentences, English translations, and Chamorro audio narrations voiced by Jay Che’le. We have also included interactive study tools to help you practice — you’ll find these activities under headings marked with a ⚡(lightning bolt). Happy studying!

Continue reading “How to Say “I Will Be Helped” in Chamorro – Talking About What Will Happen to You” →

“The Rock Was Dragged”: Saying What Happened, Not Who Did It

Ever wanted to say something happened—like “The child was found”; “I was hugged”; or “The cooking pot was taken”—but got stuck because you didn’t know how to say it without saying who did it? You’re not alone! In this post, we’re learning how to talk about actions when we don’t include the doer. This is actually a simple but powerful pattern that brings greater flexibility to our speaking and is foundational for adding a layer of complexity to our Chamorro language patterns. In this lesson, we’ll practice some basic sentence patterns and start understanding how to use contextual clues for translating the tense of these sentences.

As always, this post includes explanatory notes, example sentences, Chamorro audio pronunciations by Jay Che’le and English translations to guide your learning. Happy studying!

Continue reading ““The Rock Was Dragged”: Saying What Happened, Not Who Did It” →

Learning “Don’t” in Chamorro, Part 2: Referencing Yourself With Mungnga’ – “Don’t Ask Me”

In part 2 of this mini-series on saying “don’t” in Chamorro, we’ll learn how to tell someone not to do something to you—for example, “Don’t talk to me”, “Don’t touch me” or “Don’t ask me.” We’ll still be using mungnga’ in this post, but with a slightly different speech pattern. And if you missed it, check out Part 1 of this blog series for a brief introduction on using mungnga’.

As always, this post includes example sentences, Chamorro audio narrations by Jay Che’le and English translations. Happy studying!

Continue reading “Learning “Don’t” in Chamorro, Part 2: Referencing Yourself With Mungnga’ – “Don’t Ask Me”” →