Nu zgâriem mobilierul.

not

Breakdown of Nu zgâriem mobilierul.

• mobilierul: the furniture
• a zgâria: to scratch

Questions & Answers about Nu zgâriem mobilierul.

What does nu do in this sentence?

Nu is the standard Romanian word for not. It normally goes directly before the verb:

Nu zgâriem = we do not scratch / we aren’t scratching

So the basic pattern is:

nu + verb

Why is the verb zgâriem and not something else?

Zgâriem is the 1st person plural present form of the verb a zgâria, meaning to scratch.

So:

• eu zgârii = I scratch
• tu zgârii = you scratch
• noi zgâriem = we scratch

In this sentence, zgâriem means we scratch or, with nu, we do not scratch.

Why isn’t the subject noi written?

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

Here, -em in zgâriem tells you the subject is we.

So both of these are possible:

• Nu zgâriem mobilierul.
• Noi nu zgâriem mobilierul.

The version without noi is very natural and common.