Substratul are pietriș.

In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like the in English.

So:

• substrat = substrate
• substratul = the substrate

The ending -ul is the masculine/neuter singular definite article here.

Are is the 3rd person singular form of the verb a avea, which means to have.

So:

• eu am = I have
• tu ai = you have
• el/ea are = he/she/it has

In Substratul are pietriș, are means has.

Romanian often leaves out an article in cases where English might say some or use a bare noun.

Here, pietriș means gravel, which is usually treated like an uncountable material noun, similar to sand or water in English.

So:

• Substratul are pietriș = The substrate has gravel
• It can also feel like The substrate contains gravel

You do not need an article before pietriș in this sentence.

Pietriș means gravel.

It refers to small stones, often used in construction, roads, gardening, or aquarium/flooring contexts depending on the situation.

It is a noun naming a material, so in many contexts it behaves like an uncountable noun.

In this sentence, pietriș is best understood as a mass noun or material noun, like gravel in English.

That means it is grammatically singular in form, but it refers to a substance made up of many small pieces.

So it is not really functioning like a normal countable singular such as stone, and it is not a regular plural either.

This is the normal Romanian word order: subject + verb + object/complement.

• Substratul = the subject
• are = the verb
• pietriș = what it has

So the structure is very similar to English:

• The substrate
  • has
    • gravel

Romanian word order can sometimes be flexible, but this version is the most neutral and natural.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

soob-STRAH-tool AH-reh pyeh-TREESH

A few notes:

• u is like oo in food
• ă is a short central vowel, something like the a in sofa
• ș is pronounced sh
• The stress in substratul is on stra
• The stress in pietriș is usually on the last syllable: -triș

Substrat is a neuter noun in Romanian.

Romanian neuter nouns behave:

• like masculine in the singular
• like feminine in the plural

That is why the singular definite form is substratul, using the same kind of ending you often see with masculine nouns.

Yes. Literally, are means has, but in natural English, depending on context, you might translate it as:

• The substrate has gravel
• The substrate contains gravel
• The substrate includes gravel

All of these can fit, depending on what kind of substrate is being discussed.

Normally, no.

Un means a/an, and pietriș is usually treated as a material noun, so un pietriș sounds unnatural in most contexts.

You would normally just say:

• Substratul are pietriș

If you wanted to talk about a specific kind of gravel, you might restructure the sentence instead, for example with an adjective or another phrase.

Not always. Substrat can be used in technical, scientific, biological, chemical, linguistic, or figurative contexts.

Depending on context, it might mean:

• a physical base layer
• a growing medium
• a chemical substrate
• an underlying layer or foundation

But in this sentence, because of pietriș, it most naturally sounds like a physical material layer or medium that contains gravel.

Yes, Romanian often allows the subject to be omitted because the verb form already shows the person and number.

So Are pietriș could be understood in context as It has gravel, but without context it may sound unclear.

Using Substratul makes the sentence clear and natural:

• Substratul are pietriș = The substrate has gravel