Breakdown of Apa se infiltrează prin tavan.
apa
the water
prin
through
tavanul
the ceiling
a se infiltra
to seep through
Questions & Answers about Apa se infiltrează prin tavan.
Why is it apa and not apă?
Apă is the basic form of the noun, meaning water.
Apa means the water.
Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.
So here:
- apă = water
- apa = the water
In this sentence, Romanian treats the water as specific water involved in the situation, so apa sounds natural.
Why is there se in se infiltrează? Does it mean itself?
Not really. In this sentence, se is not translated as a separate word like itself.
The verb is a se infiltra, which is a pronominal verb. Here it means something like to seep in / to leak through / to infiltrate. In many Romanian verbs, se helps form a middle or intransitive meaning.
So:
- a infiltra is usually transitive: to infiltrate something
- a se infiltra means to seep / to work its way through
In English, you normally would not translate se word-for-word here.
What tense and person is infiltrează?