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Questions & Answers about Ea nu este o prietenă bună.
What does Ea mean, and is it necessary in this sentence?
Ea means she in English. Romanian is a pro-drop language, so you can omit the subject pronoun: Nu este o prietenă bună still means “She is not a good friend.” Including Ea adds emphasis or clarity.
Why is the negative particle nu placed before este?
In Romanian, all verbal negations put nu directly before the verb. Therefore “is not” is nu este.
Could nu este be contracted in everyday speech?
Yes. Informally you often hear nu-i as a contraction of nu este. So you can say Ea nu-i o prietenă bună.
Why do we use o instead of un before prietenă?
Prietenă is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine indefinite article o. The masculine form prieten would take un.
Why does the adjective bună follow the noun prietenă?
The default word order in Romanian is noun + adjective. Hence “good friend” is prietenă bună, not bună prietenă.
What sound does the Romanian letter ă represent in bună?
The letter ă is a schwa [ə], similar to the ‘a’ in English “sofa.” So bună is pronounced [ˈbunə].
How would you say “She wasn’t a good friend” in Romanian?
You use the past tense of a fi (“to be”): Ea nu a fost o prietenă bună.
Why does prietenă end with -ă?
The -ă ending marks a feminine noun in Romanian. The masculine counterpart is prieten, without the -ă.
Can word order change for emphasis, like putting bună before prietenă?
Yes, fronting the adjective (bună prietenă) can add poetic or emphatic nuance, but in everyday speech the standard order is prietenă bună.
If I omit Ea, could there be any ambiguity?
Usually context clarifies who you’re talking about. If multiple subjects are in the discourse, adding Ea removes doubt.