El minte acum.

That’s true: Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.

So Minte acum. is also a perfectly natural sentence meaning He is lying now if the context makes it clear who he is.

Using el can:

• add emphasis: He is lying now
• make the subject clearer
• create contrast: El minte, ea spune adevărul = He is lying, she is telling the truth

So el is optional in many situations, but not wrong at all.

Because minte is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb a minți = to lie.

Present tense of a minți:

• eu mint = I lie / am lying
• tu minți = you lie / are lying
• el/ea minte = he/she lies / is lying
• noi mințim = we lie / are lying
• voi mințiți = you all lie / are lying
• ei/ele mint = they lie / are lying

So with el, the correct form is minte.

It can correspond to He is lying now in natural English.

Romanian does not usually have a separate progressive form like English is lying. The simple present often covers both:

• He lies
• He is lying

Here, acum = now makes it clear that the action is happening at this moment, so He is lying now is the most natural translation.

Acum means now.

It tells you the action is happening in the present moment. Without acum, El minte could mean:

• He lies
• He is lying
• He lies habitually / He is a liar, depending on context

Adding acum makes it more specifically about what is happening right now.

Yes. Romanian word order is fairly flexible.

You can say:

• El minte acum.
• Acum minte.
• El acum minte.

These all can be correct, but the emphasis changes a little.

• El minte acum. = neutral/default
• Acum minte. = emphasis on now
• El acum minte. = emphasis on he and now, often in contrast with another time or situation

The original sentence is the most straightforward and neutral version.

A simple approximation is:

el MEEN-teh ah-KOOM

More carefully:

• el = like el in else, but shorter
• minte = MEEN-teh
• acum = ah-KOOM

Stress:

• minte → stress on the first syllable
• acum → stress on the second syllable

Yes. Minte can also be a noun meaning mind or intelligence.

For example:

• Are minte. = He/She has sense.
• Și-a pierdut mințile. = He/She lost his/her mind.

But in El minte acum, it is clearly a verb, because:

• it comes after the subject el
• it fits the verb pattern of a minți
• acum naturally modifies a verb here

So in this sentence, minte means lies / is lying, not mind.

Normally a minți means to lie, that is, to say something false intentionally.

If someone is simply wrong or mistaken, Romanian would usually use another idea, such as:

• se înșală = is mistaken
• greșește = is wrong / is making a mistake

So El minte acum strongly suggests deliberate lying, not just being incorrect.

Because Romanian does not normally build the present continuous the same way English does.

English:

• He is lying

Romanian usually just uses the present tense:

• El minte

Then words like acum help show that the action is happening right now:

• El minte acum.

So nothing is missing; this is just how Romanian expresses it.

The infinitive is a minți = to lie.

You may notice the dictionary form has ț, but the sentence form minte does not. That is normal. Romanian verbs often change slightly when conjugated.

So:

• dictionary form: a minți
• 3rd person singular present: minte

This is just part of the verb’s normal conjugation pattern.