Prietenul rotește mecanismul.

the friend (masculine)

Breakdown of Prietenul rotește mecanismul.

• mecanismul: the mechanism
• a roti: to turn; rotate

Questions & Answers about Prietenul rotește mecanismul.

Why do prietenul and mecanismul both end in -ul?

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

• prieten = friend

• prietenul = the friend

• mecanism = mechanism
• mecanismul = the mechanism

So -ul here is the masculine/neuter singular definite article.

If both nouns are definite, how do I know which one is the subject and which one is the object?

In this sentence, the normal Romanian word order tells you:

• Prietenul = the subject
• rotește = the verb
• mecanismul = the direct object

So the sentence follows the common subject–verb–object pattern:

Prietenul rotește mecanismul.
= The friend turns the mechanism.

Romanian does not always mark the direct object differently when it is inanimate, so word order and context are very important here.

What form is rotește?