Learn Hardcore Romanian: Trebuie să fim gata înainte de film, altfel pierdem începutul. - We must be ready before the movie, otherwise we miss the beginning.

In Romanian trebuie is an impersonal modal verb that always appears in the 3rd person singular form. It conveys obligation or necessity without inflecting for person. The actual “we” who must be ready is expressed by the verb in the subordinate clause introduced by să.

Why does the sentence use să fim instead of suntem gata?

After an impersonal expression of obligation like trebuie, Romanian requires the subjunctive mood. You form the subjunctive with să + the base form of the verb. The subjunctive of a fi for “we” is să fim, so trebuie să fim gata literally means “it is necessary that we be ready.”

What does gata mean here? How is it used?

Gata is an adjective meaning “ready.” It follows a fi (to be) to describe the state of the subject. So a fi gata = “to be ready.”

Why is the present tense pierdem used even though in English we’d say “we’ll miss” the beginning?

Romanian often uses the simple present to express a future event, especially in consequence or conditional clauses. Here, altfel pierdem începutul literally reads “otherwise we lose the beginning,” but the sense is “otherwise we’ll miss the beginning.”

What does altfel mean, and why is there a comma before it?

Altfel is an adverb meaning “otherwise.” It introduces a contrasting or result clause. In Romanian, you separate such clauses with a comma—much like in English: “…before the film, otherwise we lose the beginning.”

Why is there no definite article before film? Shouldn’t it be filmul for “the film”?

With the fixed prepositional phrase înainte de + noun, Romanian typically leaves the noun in its base (indefinite or generic) form. You can say înainte de filmul if you want to pinpoint a specific film (e.g. înainte de filmul de diseară), but in everyday speech înainte de film is perfectly natural when context makes clear which film you mean.

Could I say înainte ca filmul să înceapă instead of înainte de film? What’s the difference?

Yes. Înainte ca filmul să înceapă is a full subordinate clause using ca + subjunctive (să înceapă = “to start”), meaning “before the film begins.” Înainte de film is a shorter prepositional phrase (“before the film”) that conveys the same idea more concisely. Both are correct; the clause version is slightly more formal or explicit.

Why does începutul have the ending -ul?

Romanian attaches the definite article to the end of nouns. Început means “beginning” (indefinite), and începutul means “the beginning” (definite). The suffix -ul marks a masculine singular noun as definite.

How do you pronounce Trebuie să fim gata înainte de film, especially the î in înainte?

Approximate pronunciation:
• Trebuie [tre-ˈbu-ye]
• să [sə]
• fim [fim]
• gata [ˈga-ta]
• înainte [ɨn-ˈin-tse]
• de [de]
• film [film]

The î in înainte is a close central unrounded vowel [ɨ], which doesn’t exist in English. Try saying the vowel in the English word roses (the second “e”), but tenser and produced with your tongue more centralized.