Bărbatul conduce mașina.

The man drives the car.

Breakdown of Bărbatul conduce mașina.

• mașina: the car
• bărbatul: the man
• a conduce: to drive

Questions & Answers about Bărbatul conduce mașina.

Why does bărbatul end in -ul?

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

• bărbat = man
• bărbatul = the man

So -ul here is the masculine singular definite article.

Why does mașina end in -a?

For the same reason: -a is the definite article attached to a feminine singular noun.

• mașină = car
• mașina = the car

So in this sentence:

• bărbatul = the man
• mașina = the car

Why isn’t there a separate word for the in Romanian?

Romanian normally uses a postposed definite article, which means the article comes after the noun, attached to it.

Compare:

• English: the man, the car
• Romanian: bărbatul, mașina

This is one of the big differences between Romanian and English, and it often feels unusual at first to English speakers.

What form is conduce?