Legea protejează copilul.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not as a separate word before it.

• lege = law
• legea = the law

So -a here is the feminine singular definite article attached to lege.

For the same reason: Romanian adds the to the end of the noun.

• copil = child
• copilul = the child

Here the ending -ul is the masculine singular definite article.

Protejează is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a proteja (to protect).

So it means:

• (he/she/it) protects

In this sentence, the subject is Legea (the law), which is singular, so the verb is also singular: protejează.

Many Romanian verbs ending in -a in the infinitive form make the 3rd person singular present with -ează.

For example:

• a lucra → lucrează
• a conta → contează
• a proteja → protejează

So protejează is a normal conjugated form for this kind of verb.

In this sentence, the most natural reading is:

• Legea = subject
• protejează = verb
• copilul = direct object

So the structure is Subject + Verb + Object, which is also the normal word order in Romanian.

A useful point: in Romanian, forms like copilul can look the same in both nominative and accusative, so word order and context often help you identify the function.

The neutral, standard order here is:

Legea protejează copilul.

Romanian can change word order for emphasis, but that often changes the focus or makes the sentence sound more marked. For a basic statement, Subject + Verb + Object is the most straightforward choice.

Because Romanian usually uses a postposed definite article: the article is attached to the noun instead of standing alone.

So English:

• the law
• the child

becomes Romanian:

• legea
• copilul

This is one of the big differences English speakers notice early in Romanian.

Ă is a separate Romanian letter, not just an accented a.

It usually sounds like the uh sound in an unstressed English syllable, similar to the final sound in sofa for many speakers.

So protejează ends roughly like -zuh.

Yes, you may hear that too.

That version adds:

• îl = a clitic pronoun meaning him
• pe copil = a marked direct object referring to a person

This kind of structure is common with human direct objects, especially when the object is specific. But Legea protejează copilul is also a perfectly good sentence, especially as a simple, formal, or general statement.

You would use the indefinite forms instead:

• o lege = a law
• un copil = a child

So:

O lege protejează un copil. = A law protects a child.

This is a good way to see the contrast:

• legea / copilul = the law / the child
• o lege / un copil = a law / a child