Questions & Answers about Vârsta este importantă aici.
Why is it vârsta and not vârstă?
Because vârsta is the definite form of the noun.
- vârstă = age / an age
- vârsta = the age
In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun, not placed before it as a separate word like English the.
Here, vârsta can mean either:
- age in a general sense, or
- the age in a specific context, such as someone’s age
So Vârsta este importantă aici is a natural Romanian sentence for the idea Age is important here.
Why does importantă end in -ă?
Because it has to agree with vârsta, which is feminine singular.
In Romanian, adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number.
The adjective important changes like this:
- masculine singular: important
- feminine singular: importantă
- masculine plural: importanți
- feminine plural: importante
Since vârsta is feminine singular, the correct form is importantă.
What does este mean, and can I say e instead?
Este means is. It is the 3rd person singular form of a fi, which means to be.
Yes, you can very often say e instead of este in everyday Romanian:
- Vârsta este importantă aici.
- Vârsta e importantă aici.
Both are correct.
Este sounds a little fuller or slightly more formal, while e is very common in normal speech.
What does aici mean?
Is the word order fixed?
Not completely. Romanian word order is more flexible than English, although the version you have is the most neutral and straightforward:
- Vârsta este importantă aici.
You can move things around for emphasis:
- Aici, vârsta este importantă. = emphasizes here
- Importantă este vârsta aici. = more emphatic or literary, less neutral
For a learner, the original order is the safest and most natural choice.
Do adjectives always agree with the subject after a fi?
How do I pronounce the special letters â and ă in this sentence?
These two vowels are very common in Romanian and can be tricky for English speakers.
- â in vârsta: a central vowel that does not exist exactly in English
- ă in importantă: similar to the weak vowel sound in the last syllable of sofa
A rough learner-friendly guide:
- vârsta ≈ VÎR-sta
- importantă ≈ im-por-TAN-tuh, but with the last vowel very short and weak
Also, the stress is roughly:
- VÂR-sta
- im-por-TAN-tă
- a-ICI
Can this sentence mean both Age is important here and The age is important here?
Yes. Context decides.
Romanian often uses the definite form where English might use either:
- a general noun, as in Age is important here
- or a specific noun, as in The age is important here
For example:
- in a general rule or policy, it may mean Age matters here
- in a conversation about one person, it may mean The person’s age is important here
So the Romanian sentence can cover both ideas, depending on the situation.
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