Questions & Answers about Compresa și bandajul sunt pe rană.
Why are compresa and bandajul written with endings instead of using a separate word for the?
In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.
- compresă = a compress / a dressing
- compresa = the compress / the dressing
- bandaj = a bandage
- bandajul = the bandage
So Romanian often does with endings what English does with the separate word the.
Why does one noun end in -a and the other in -ul if both are definite?
Because the article changes depending on the noun’s gender and form.
- compresă is a feminine noun, so its singular definite form is compresa
- bandaj is a neuter noun, and in the singular neuter nouns behave like masculine nouns, so the definite form is bandajul
This is very normal in Romanian: different noun types take different definite endings.
Why is the verb sunt used here?