Pe măsură ce cărăm fotoliul, pragul devine mai zgâriat.

It means as, while, or more specifically in proportion as / as it happens progressively.

In this sentence, pe măsură ce cărăm fotoliul suggests a gradual process:

• As we carry the armchair,
• the threshold gets more and more scratched.

So it is not just simple simultaneity. It gives the idea that one thing changes progressively while another action continues.

Because Romanian often uses a longer fixed expression where English can use a short word.

• pe măsură ce = as / as... progressively / to the extent that
• It is a set phrase.

Literally, măsură means measure, but in this expression you should learn it as a whole chunk: pe măsură ce.

A good way to remember it is:

• În timp ce = while (mainly simultaneous actions)
• Pe măsură ce = as / gradually while / as something develops

So here pe măsură ce is a very natural choice because the scratching increases during the carrying.

Romanian often uses the simple present where English uses the present progressive.

So:

• cărăm = we carry / we are carrying

In context, it clearly means an action happening right now or during an ongoing situation.

This is very common in Romanian:

• Mănânc. = I eat / I am eating
• Citim. = We read / We are reading
• Cărăm fotoliul. = We are carrying the armchair

Cărăm comes from the verb a căra, which means:

• to carry
• to haul
• to lug

It often suggests carrying something somewhat bulky or heavy, so it fits well with fotoliul.

Here is the relevant present-tense form:

• eu car = I carry
• tu cari = you carry
• noi cărăm = we carry

Notice that the ă appears in cărăm. Romanian verb forms sometimes change their stem vowel like this.

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

So:

• fotoliu = armchair
• fotoliul = the armchair

and

• prag = threshold / doorstep
• pragul = the threshold

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Romanian says:

• băiatul = the boy
• scaunul = the chair
• pragul = the threshold

So in your sentence:

• fotoliul = the armchair
• pragul = the threshold

Prag usually means threshold, doorstep, or the lower part of a doorway that you pass over when entering or leaving a room.

In this sentence, the image is probably that while the armchair is being moved through a doorway, it keeps scraping against the threshold.

So pragul devine mai zgâriat means the threshold is getting more scratched.

Because devine means becomes or is becoming, while este just means is.

Compare:

• Pragul este zgâriat. = The threshold is scratched.
• Pragul devine mai zgâriat. = The threshold is becoming more scratched.

So devine shows a change of state, which matches the idea of gradual damage during the action.

Mai is the usual word used to make the comparative in Romanian.

So:

• zgâriat = scratched
• mai zgâriat = more scratched

This is very similar to English more + adjective.

Examples:

• mai mare = bigger / larger
• mai greu = heavier / more difficult
• mai zgâriat = more scratched

Here it describes pragul, so the full phrase means:

• pragul devine mai zgâriat = the threshold becomes more scratched

It is functioning as an adjective here, although historically it is also the past participle of a zgâria (to scratch).

So:

• a zgâria = to scratch
• zgâriat = scratched

In the sentence, zgâriat describes the condition of the threshold, so for a learner it is easiest to think of it as an adjective meaning scratched.

No. In this sentence, the pe belongs to the fixed expression pe măsură ce.

So you should understand:

• pe măsură ce = one unit

It is not the same thing as the pe used in examples like:

• Îl văd pe Andrei. = I see Andrei.

That is a different grammatical use.

So here, do not try to analyze the first pe separately. Just learn the whole phrase pe măsură ce.

You could, but the meaning would shift a little.

• În timp ce cărăm fotoliul... = While we are carrying the armchair...
• Pe măsură ce cărăm fotoliul... = As we carry the armchair / as the carrying goes on...

În timp ce mainly emphasizes that two things happen at the same time.

Pe măsură ce emphasizes progressive change during that time.

Since the threshold is becoming increasingly scratched, pe măsură ce is the better choice.

Because devine agrees with its own subject, which is pragul, not with noi understood in cărăm.

So the two clauses have different subjects:

1. (noi) cărăm fotoliul = we carry the armchair
2. pragul devine mai zgâriat = the threshold becomes more scratched

Since pragul is singular, the verb is singular:

• pragul devine

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural:

• Pragurile devin mai zgâriate. = The thresholds become more scratched.

It sounds quite natural and descriptive. It paints a scene where moving the armchair is causing increasing damage to the doorway threshold.

The sentence suggests:

• an ongoing action
• a gradual result
• probably repeated scraping or friction

So the structure is very well chosen for the situation:

• ongoing action: cărăm fotoliul
• gradual consequence: pragul devine mai zgâriat

That connection between action and increasing result is exactly what pe măsură ce expresses well.