Questions & Answers about Ana cere doar apă.
Why isn’t there a preposition before 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.
Why is there no article before apă?
What does doar mean in this sentence, and can I use numai instead?
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.
Can the position of doar change in the sentence?