Learn Hardcore Romanian: Ana preferă desertul cu puțină sare și fără prea mult ulei. - Ana prefers the dessert with a little salt and without too much oil.

In Romanian, the definite article is a suffix rather than a separate word. For masculine singular nouns, you add -ul. So desert + -ul → desertul (“the dessert”). Feminine and plural nouns have different endings (e.g. carte → cartea, mărci → mărcile).

What is the function of cu in cu puțină sare?

cu is a preposition meaning “with.” It introduces an accompanying ingredient or characteristic. Here cu puțină sare literally means “with a little salt.”

Why is it puțină instead of puțin in puțină sare?

Adjectives and quantifiers in Romanian agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. sare is feminine singular, so you use the feminine form puțină of puțin. If it were a masculine noun (e.g. ulei), you’d use puțin.

Why doesn’t fără take the definite article in fără prea mult ulei?

The preposition fără (“without”) always requires the noun in its indefinite (unmarked) form. You cannot attach a definite article after fără, so it’s fără ulei not fără uleiul.

What role does prea play in prea mult ulei?

prea is an adverb meaning “too” or “excessively.” It intensifies mult, so prea mult ulei = “too much oil.” Without prea, mult ulei would simply mean “much oil” or “a lot of oil.”

Why is there no să after preferă when the object is a noun phrase?

When a prefera takes a noun (a thing), it behaves like a normal transitive verb: Ana preferă desertul. You only use the subjunctive să + verb if the object is a clause or action: Ana preferă să mănânce prăjituri (“Ana prefers to eat cakes”).

Can you switch the order of the two prepositional phrases (cu puțină sare and fără prea mult ulei), and if so, does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say Ana preferă desertul fără prea mult ulei și cu puțină sare. The meaning remains the same—just the emphasis shifts slightly. Romanian word order is relatively flexible for adverbial/prepositional phrases.

Why is there no un before desertul? When would you use un desert instead?

desertul is definite (“the dessert”), implying a specific dessert known in context. If you say un desert, you mean “a dessert” in general, without specifying which one. So:

Ana preferă desertul cu… → She prefers that dessert with…
Ana preferă un desert cu… → She prefers a dessert with… (unspecified)