Bibliotecarul scanează actul de identitate.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

• bibliotecar = librarian
• bibliotecarul = the librarian

So Bibliotecarul scanează actul de identitate means The librarian scans the identity card/ID document.

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Romanian:

• carte = book
• cartea = the book
• băiat = boy
• băiatul = the boy

For the same reason: -ul is the masculine/neuter singular definite article.

• act = document / paper / record
• actul = the document

In this sentence, actul de identitate is a fixed expression meaning identity document or ID card.

So:

• un act de identitate = an identity document
• actul de identitate = the identity document

It means identity document, often understood in practice as ID card.

Breakdown:

• actul = the document
• de identitate = of identity / for identity

Romanian often uses de where English uses a noun-noun structure or an adjective:

• carte de vizită = business card
• periuță de dinți = toothbrush
• act de identitate = identity document

So although it literally looks like the document of identity, the natural English meaning is the identity document or the ID.

Because Romanian usually uses an enclitic definite article, meaning the article is attached to the end of the noun.

Compare:

• English: the librarian

• Romanian: bibliotecarul

• English: the document
• Romanian: actul

This is normal in Romanian and in some other Balkan languages. It feels unusual at first to English speakers, but it becomes very natural once you see it often.

Scanează is the 3rd person singular present tense form of a scana = to scan.

That matches the subject Bibliotecarul = the librarian, which is he/she.

So:

• eu scanez = I scan
• tu scanezi = you scan
• el/ea scanează = he/she scans

In this sentence:

• Bibliotecarul scanează = The librarian scans

So the ending -ează tells you it is a present-tense he/she form.

It is a modern borrowing, ultimately from the same international source as English scan. Romanian has adapted it to its own grammar.

So you get Romanian forms like:

• a scana = to scan
• scanez = I scan
• scanează = he/she scans
• scanat = scanned

This is very common in Romanian, especially with technological vocabulary.

A helpful approximation is:

ska-NEA-zuh

A bit more carefully:

• sca = like ska
• nea = roughly neah
• ză = zuh, but with Romanian ă, a short neutral vowel similar to the a in sofa

So:

• scanează ≈ ska-NEA-zuh

The stress is on -nea-:

• sca-NEA-ză

Ă is a very common Romanian vowel. It sounds like a short, neutral uh sound, similar to the vowel in the English a of sofa.

In this sentence, you hear it in:

• scanează

So the last syllable is not a strong za, but more like zuh.

English speakers often overpronounce it at first. It should be short and relaxed.

Because this is the most neutral Romanian word order: subject + verb + object.

• Bibliotecarul = subject
• scanează = verb
• actul de identitate = direct object

This is the same basic order as in English:

• The librarian scans the ID document

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but this version is the most straightforward and natural for a simple statement.

Yes, Romanian allows more flexibility than English, but the meaning or emphasis may change.

For example:

• Bibliotecarul scanează actul de identitate. = neutral
• Actul de identitate îl scanează bibliotecarul. = emphasizes the ID document or sounds more contrastive/literary

For learners, the basic subject + verb + object order is the safest choice.

Because it is the direct object of the verb scanează.

In English, scan also takes a direct object:

• The librarian scans the ID

Romanian works the same way here:

• Bibliotecarul scanează actul de identitate.

No preposition is needed.

• bibliotecar is masculine
• act is usually treated as neuter in Romanian

Romanian neuter behaves like:

• masculine in the singular
• feminine in the plural

That is why the singular definite form is:

• actul

Also, if the librarian is female, you would usually say:

• bibliotecara = the female librarian

So:

• Bibliotecara scanează actul de identitate.

You would usually say:

Un bibliotecar scanează un act de identitate.

Breakdown:

• un bibliotecar = a librarian
• scanează = scans
• un act de identitate = an identity document

So the difference is:

• Bibliotecarul scanează actul de identitate. = The librarian scans the identity document.
• Un bibliotecar scanează un act de identitate. = A librarian scans an identity document.

In actul de identitate, the noun after de usually stays indefinite because it functions as part of a fixed type/name expression.

So:

• act de identitate = identity document
• carte de vizită = business card
• perie de păr = hairbrush

You normally do not say actul de identitatea here, because that would sound unnatural. The whole phrase means a type of document, not the document of the identity in a literal English-style sense.

Yes. It can refer more generally to an identity document, not only one specific physical card. Depending on context, English translations could include:

• ID
• identity card
• identity document

In everyday use, people may often understand it as the person’s official ID document. The exact English translation depends on context and the country’s document system.