Breakdown of Dacă ușa este închisă, pot să deschid fereastra frumoasă.
a fi
to be
dacă
if
a putea
to be able to
ușa
the door
închis
closed
frumos
beautiful
a deschide
to open
fereastra
the window
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Questions & Answers about Dacă ușa este închisă, pot să deschid fereastra frumoasă.
Why is there a să after pot?
In Romanian, modal verbs like pot are typically followed by să plus the subjunctive form of the next verb. This construction (modal + să + subjunctive) is analogous to English modals plus bare infinitive (“can open”). You can also drop să and use the infinitive deschide after pot, but pot să deschid is more common in everyday speech.
Why is the verb deschid not in the infinitive form deschide?
Because once you introduce să, you enter the subjunctive mood. The verb after să must be in the subjunctive form, which for a deschide is deschid. If you don't use să, you must use the infinitive: pot deschide.
Why does închisă have an –ă ending?
Închisă is the past participle of a închide used as an adjective (“closed”). It agrees in gender and number with ușa, which is a feminine singular noun. Feminine singular adjectives and participles in Romanian end in –ă in the standard form.
Why is the adjective frumoasă placed after fereastra?
Romanian normally puts adjectives after the noun they modify. So fereastra frumoasă literally reads “the window beautiful.” Placing frumoasă before fereastră is possible for poetic or emphatic effect—frumoasa fereastră—but feels less neutral.
What is the difference between fereastra frumoasă and o fereastră frumoasă?
Fereastra frumoasă uses the definite article (enclitic -a) to mean the beautiful window. O fereastră frumoasă uses the indefinite article o to mean a beautiful window.
Why is the definite article attached to the end of fereastră rather than placed before it?
Romanian attaches its definite article to the end of nouns (enclitic article). So fereastră (“window”) + -a becomes fereastra (“the window”). This is a hallmark of Romanian grammar, unlike most other Romance languages.
Can you say Dacă ușa e închisă instead of Dacă ușa este închisă?
Yes. e is the colloquial contraction of este (“is”). In spoken and informal writing, Dacă ușa e închisă is perfectly acceptable. In formal contexts, you might prefer the full form este.
Why is there a comma after închisă?
The comma separates the subordinate conditional clause Dacă ușa este închisă (“If the door is closed”) from the main clause pot să deschid fereastra frumoasă. Standard Romanian punctuation calls for a comma when a sentence begins with dacă and is followed by the main clause.