Learn Hardcore Romanian: Ana și Andrei merg la oraș mâine. - Ana and Andrei are going to the city tomorrow.

In Romanian the simple present can indicate a future action when accompanied by a time adverb like mâine. You could also use the periphrastic future (ei) vor merge to say “they will go,” but for near-future plans the plain present is more common.

Why is the 3rd-person plural form merg identical to the 1st-person singular (eu merg)?

In the present indicative of verbs like a merge (“to go”), Romanian doesn’t add a distinct ending for 3rd-person plural. Both eu merg (“I go”) and ei merg (“they go”) share the same form merg; you rely on context or pronouns for clarity.

What does și mean in this sentence?

Și is the conjunction “and,” linking the two subjects Ana and Andrei.

How do you pronounce the letter ș in și and Ana și Andrei?

Ș is pronounced like the English “sh” in “shoe,” so și sounds like “shee.”

Why is the preposition la used with oraș instead of în?

When indicating movement to a generic place (to town, to school, to the mountains), Romanian usually uses la. La oraș means “to town”; în oraș would stress being inside the city rather than the act of going there.

Why isn’t there a definite article before oraș, like la orașul?

When you speak of going to “town” in general, you omit the article. If you meant a specific city (e.g. Cluj), you would say la orașul Cluj.

Why is the adverb mâine placed at the end of the sentence? Can it go elsewhere?

Time adverbs in Romanian are flexible. Placing mâine at the end is very common, but you can also say Mâine Ana și Andrei merg la oraș without changing the meaning.

Why is mâine spelled with â instead of î at the beginning?

Romanian orthography rules use î only at the very beginning or end of words, and â in other positions. In mâine, the â appears inside the word, so it’s spelled with â.