Eu plec târziu la şcoală.

I leave late for school.

Breakdown of Eu plec târziu la şcoală.

• eu: I
• la: to
• a pleca: to leave
• școala: the school
• târziu: late

Questions & Answers about Eu plec târziu la şcoală.

Why is the verb plec in the present tense even though I’m leaving right now?

Romanian does not have a separate continuous (progressive) aspect like English “I am leaving.” The simple present tense in Romanian covers both “I leave” and “I am leaving.” If you need to stress that it’s happening at this very moment, you can add adverbs or periphrastic constructions (e.g. tocmai plec “I’m just leaving” or sunt pe cale să plec “I’m about to leave”), but plec by itself is perfectly normal.

What is the function of the pronoun eu here? Is it necessary?

The subject pronoun eu (“I”) is optional in Romanian because the verb ending -c in plec already tells you the subject is first person singular. You can safely drop it in most contexts:
• Eu plec târziu la școală. (with emphasis or clarity)
• Plec târziu la școală. (more natural in everyday speech)

Why is târziu placed after plec? Can I move it around?

Târziu is an adverb of time meaning “late.” Romanian word order is fairly flexible, but the neutral position for an adverb of manner or time is after the verb. You could also say:
• Târziu plec la școală. (more poetic or emphatic on “late”)
• La școală plec târziu. (puts focus on the destination)
In conversation, Plec târziu la școală is the most straightforward.

What does the preposition la do in la școală?

In this sentence, la marks the destination or goal (comparable to English “to” in “to school”). It’s used with locations and institutions:
• la școală (to school)
• la serviciu (to work)
• la magazin (to the store)

How do you pronounce the letter ș in școală?

The letter ș (s with a comma below) represents the voiceless postalveolar fricative [ʃ], the same sound as English sh in “shoe.” So școală is pronounced roughly SHKO-ah-luh.

Are there any synonyms for plec in this context?

Yes, you could also use:
• pornesc (I set off/depart) – Pornesc târziu la școală.
• mă duc (I go) – Mă duc târziu la școală.
Each carries a slightly different nuance:
– plec emphasizes the act of leaving.
– pornesc focuses on starting the journey.
– mă duc simply means “I go.”

How do you conjugate the verb a pleca in the present tense?

A pleca is a regular first-conjugation verb (-a verb). Present tense:
• eu plec
• tu pleci
• el/ea pleacă
• noi plecăm
• voi plecați
• ei/ele pleacă

Does târziu change form for gender or number?

No. Târziu is an indeclinable adverb, so it never changes for gender, number, or case. It always stays târziu.

Could I say Plec prea târziu la școală to mean “I leave too late for school”?

Absolutely. Adding prea (“too”) intensifies târziu:
• Plec prea târziu la școală. – “I leave too late for school.”
If you want “I leave later than usual,” you might say:
• Plec mai târziu la școală. – “I leave later for school.”