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Ele vorbesc puțin engleză.

Ele vorbesc puțin engleză.
They speak a little English.
FromLesson 2inHardcore Romanian

Questions & Answers about Ele vorbesc puțin engleză.

What does ele mean, and why is it used here?
Ele is the third-person plural pronoun for an all-female or non-masculine group in Romanian. It means “they” when referring to a group of women (or feminine nouns). In this sentence it simply marks the subject “they.”
Why is the verb vorbesc and not vorbește?
Romanian verbs agree in number and person with their subject. Since ele is third-person plural, you use vorbesc (they speak). Vorbește is third-person singular (he/she speaks).
What is the role of puțin in this sentence?
Here puțin is a quantifier meaning “a little” or “a bit of.” It tells you how much English they speak. It modifies the noun engleză, indicating a small amount.
Why is there no article before engleză?
When naming languages as direct objects in Romanian, you do not use an article. So you say vorbesc engleză (“they speak English”), not vorbesc o engleză or vorbesc engleza.
What grammatical case is engleză in?
Engleză here is in the accusative (direct-object) form. For feminine singular nouns ending in –ă, the nominative and accusative look identical.
Could I say puțină engleză instead of puțin engleză?
No. The quantifier puțin does not change for feminine nouns. It stays puțin engleză, not puțină engleză.
If the group includes men, how would the sentence change?

You’d use the masculine/mixed-gender pronoun ei instead of ele:
Ei vorbesc puțin engleză.

How do you pronounce the ț in puțin?
The letter ț is pronounced /ts/, like the “ts” in “cats.” So puțin sounds like [puˈt͡sin].
Can I express the same idea with a different phrase?
Yes. A colloquial alternative is un pic de engleză (“a bit of English”). For example: Ele vorbesc un pic de engleză.
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