Questions & Answers about Ana cere doar apă.
In English you say “ask for water,” but in Romanian the verb a cere is direct-transitive. It takes a direct object without any preposition:
• Subject (Ana) + verb (cere) + direct object (apă)
No pe, pentru or other preposition is needed.
Because apă here is an uncountable, indefinite mass noun meaning “some water.” In Romanian:
• Indefinite form (no article) = apă (“some water”)
• Definite form = apa (“the water”), used only when referring to specific water.
doar means “only” or “just,” limiting the request to water alone. You can replace it with the synonym numai:
• Ana cere doar apă.
• Ana cere numai apă.
Both are correct; doar is slightly more common in spoken Romanian.
Yes, but the emphasis shifts:
• Ana cere doar apă. (Focus on what she asks for: only water, not other drinks.)
• Ana doar cere apă. (Focus on the action: she is merely asking for water, not doing something else.)
Putting doar after apă (e.g. Ana cere apă doar) is unusual and may sound awkward.
cere is the 3rd person singular present of a cere (“to ask for”). Present-tense conjugation:
• eu cer
• tu ceri
• el/ea cere
• noi cerem
• voi cereți
• ei/ele cer
• a cere = “to ask for something” (a request)
Example: Ea cere apă. (“She asks for water.”)
• a întreba = “to ask a question”
Example: Ea îl întreabă pe profesor. (“She asks the teacher [a question].”)
Yes, but vrea (3rd person singular of a vrea) means “wants,” not “asks for.”
• Ana vrea doar apă. = “Ana only wants water.”
• Ana cere doar apă. = “Ana is asking just for water.”
apă is a feminine noun.
• Singular: apă
• Plural: ape
In practice, water is often treated as a mass noun, so you rarely use the plural except in specific contexts (e.g. ape minerale for “mineral waters”).