La ora opt mergem la birou cu metroul.

At eight o'clock we go to the office by subway.

Breakdown of La ora opt mergem la birou cu metroul.

• a merge: to go
• la: to
• cu: with
• metroul: the subway

Questions & Answers about La ora opt mergem la birou cu metroul.

Why does Romanian use the present tense mergem for an action that hasn’t happened yet? Wouldn’t vom merge be more accurate?

Romanian often uses the simple present to express near-future plans or scheduled events—much like English “we’re going” instead of “we will go.” You can say La ora opt vom merge la birou cu metroul for emphasis or formality, but mergem is more idiomatic in everyday speech.

What role does la play in la ora opt? Why not just ora opt?

The preposition la means “at” when referring to time. La ora opt literally “at hour eight” corresponds to “at eight o’clock.” Omitting la would sound incomplete in Romanian.

Why is there no article before birou in la birou? Shouldn’t it be la biroul?

When talking about going somewhere to work, study or engage in a routine activity (school, church, office), Romanian uses la + a bare noun without the definite article. La birou means “to the office” (to work). La biroul would mean “to the office [we already mentioned]” in a more specific sense.

Could you say în birou instead of la birou? What’s the difference?

La birou focuses on the idea of going to work—“to the office” as a functional location. În birou emphasizes the physical location “inside the office.”
• Mergem la birou = we’re going to work.
• Suntem în birou = we’re inside the office.