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Questions & Answers about Ei vorbesc la telefon acum.
What does Ei mean here?
Ei is the third-person plural subject pronoun, meaning they (masculine or mixed group) in English.
Is the pronoun ei required in this sentence, or can I omit it?
Romanian is a “pro-drop” language: the verb ending -esc already tells you the subject is third-person plural, so you CAN omit ei and simply say Vorbesc la telefon acum. You include ei mainly for emphasis or clarity.
Why is vorbesc used to mean “they speak/are speaking,” and not something like “are speaking”?
Romanian expresses both the simple and the progressive aspect with the same present-tense form. Vorbesc is just the present indicative of a vorbi (“to speak”), which covers both “they speak” and “they are speaking.”
I’ve seen vorbesc used with eu. How can I tell whether vorbesc means “I speak” or “they speak” here?
The form vorbesc can be either first-person singular or third-person plural. Context or an explicit pronoun resolves the ambiguity. With ei in front, it must be third-person plural (“they”).
Why do we say la telefon and not pe telefon or just telefon?
In Romanian you use the preposition la with devices and means of communication to express “on/at” – e.g. la radio, la televizor, la telefon. Omitting the preposition or using pe here would be ungrammatical in this fixed expression.
Why is there no article before telefon? When would I use telefonul?
Here telefon is indefinite and generic (“on the phone” in general). If you want to specify a particular phone you add the definite-article suffix: telefonul (“the phone”), for example Ei vorbesc la telefonul de serviciu (“They’re speaking on the office phone”).
Can the adverb acum move to the beginning or the end of the sentence?
Yes. Adverbs like acum are flexible. You can say Acum ei vorbesc la telefon, Ei vorbesc la telefon acum, or even Ei acum vorbesc la telefon, each with slightly different emphasis.
How do I make this sentence negative?
Insert nu before the verb: Ei nu vorbesc la telefon acum.
How can I ask “Are they talking on the phone now?” in Romanian?
Use rising intonation without changing word order: Ei vorbesc la telefon acum? Or invert subject and verb: Vorbesc ei la telefon acum? Both patterns function as questions in spoken Romanian.
Where is the stress in vorbesc?
The stress is on the second syllable: vor-besc.