Leksion Chamoru: Prefix må-

The "passive marker" prefix må- is one of the most frequently used prefixes in the Chamorro language. If you like the grammar explanation, it changes a verb from the active voice to the passive. If you don't particularly care for grammatical things, then it's pretty much like adding "-ed" to an English verb.
Hopefully these examples will clear up what I mean:

• Fa'tinas = Cook, make
  Må- + fa'tinas => Måfa'tinas = Cooked, made
  
• Åligao = Search (for), look (for)
  Må- + åligao => Må'åligao = Searched (for), looked (for)
  
• Sotta = Release
  Må- + sotta => Måsotta = Released
• Li'e' = See
  Må- + li'e' => Måli'e' = Seen
• Konne' = Take (living object)
  Må- + konne' => Måkonne' = Taken
• Tuna = Bless, praise
  Må- + tuna => Måtuna = Blessed, praised
  

When you add må-, you need to follow it with a noun or yo'-type pronouns. Here are some examples with active voice, then passive following:

• Ha fa'tinas i kaddo. = He cooks (did cook) the soup.
  Måfa'tinas i kaddo. = The soup was cooked.
• Hu åligao si Juan. = I search (did search) for John.
  Må'åligao si Juan. = John was searched for.
• Ma sotta i paluma. = They release (did release) the bird.
  Måsotta i paluma. = The bird was released.
• Un li'e' i palao'an. = You see (did see) the woman.
  Måli'e' i palao'an. = The woman was seen.

The prefix må- is easy to confuse with the hu-type pronoun ma, but try not to. Just like the example above "Ma sotta" vs. " Måsotta," the meaning can have important yet subtle differences.