The prefix
ke- is used to mean "to try to" or "about to."
- Tungo' (to know) => Ketungo' (to try to know, about to know)
- Målångu (sick) => Kemålångu (to try to get sick, about to be sick)
- Chule' (to take) => Kechule' (to try to take, about to take)
- Såga (to stay) => Kesåga (to try to stay, about to stay)
It is relatively simply to use within a Chamorro sentence after you've affixed
ke- to the word, you just use the new word according to if it's a "
man-" or "
-um-" verb. So, using the above examples:
- Ketungo' ("man-" verb) => Hu ketungo' i na'ån-ña. (I tried to know his/her name.)
- Kemålångu ("-um-" verb) => Kumemålångu i patgon. (The child was about to be (getting) sick.)
- Kechule' ("man-" verb) => Ha kechule' i bola ginen i ga'chong-ña. (He tried to take the ball from his friend.)
- Kesåga ("-um-" verb) => Kumesåga si Juan giya Yoña. (Juan was trying to stay/live in Yoña.)
One thing to keep in mind is that the prefix
ke- shows up in several different forms, but they are are essentially the same:
keke- (reduplication of
ke-),
mange- (
man- +
ke-),
mangeke- (
man- +
keke-). For example:
- Ketungo' => Ha keketungo' ki ora måbaba i tenda. (He is trying to know (figure out) what time the store will be opened.)
- Kemålångu => Mangekemålångu i tres na lålåhi. (The three men were about to be (getting) sick.)
Sometimes the word "
chagi" is used to mean "to try to," however, while similar it is essentially different than the prefix
ke-. "
Chagi" does indeed mean "to try," but it is in the sense of testing, attempting, or proving.
