Pisica scapă din cutie.

The cat escapes from the box.

Breakdown of Pisica scapă din cutie.

• din: from
• pisica: the cat
• cutia: the box
• a scăpa: to escape

Questions & Answers about Pisica scapă din cutie.

Why is it pisica and not pisică?

Pisică means a cat or just cat as a dictionary form.

Pisica means the cat. Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• pisică = a cat
• pisica = the cat

That is why the sentence uses pisica: it is talking about the cat, not just any cat.

What form is scapă?

Scapă is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a scăpa.

Here it agrees with pisica, which is singular:

• eu scap = I escape / I get out
• tu scapi = you escape
• el/ea scapă = he/she/it escapes

So pisica scapă means the cat escapes / is escaping / gets out.

Can scapă mean both escapes and is escaping?

Yes. Romanian present tense often covers both ideas that English separates into:

• simple present: escapes
• present progressive: is escaping

So Pisica scapă din cutie could mean:

• The cat escapes from the box
• The cat is escaping from the box

The exact nuance depends on context.