Cronometrul începe acum.

The timer starts now.

Breakdown of Cronometrul începe acum.

• acum: now
• a începe: to start
• cronometrul: the timer

Questions & Answers about Cronometrul începe acum.

Why does cronometrul end in -ul?

Because -ul is the definite article attached to the end of the noun in Romanian.

• cronometru = a stopwatch / a timer
• cronometrul = the stopwatch / the timer

Unlike English, Romanian usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

So:

• cronometru = stopwatch
• cronometrul = the stopwatch

In this sentence, cronometrul is the subject: the stopwatch starts now.

What gender is cronometru?

Cronometru is a neuter noun in Romanian.

Romanian neuter nouns behave:

• like masculine nouns in the singular
• like feminine nouns in the plural

So in the singular definite form you get:

• cronometru = stopwatch
• cronometrul = the stopwatch

A learner does not usually need to worry much about the full neuter system right away, but it helps explain why the word behaves the way it does.

Why is the verb începe?