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Supa are puțin ulei, dar nu este picantă.

Supa are puțin ulei, dar nu este picantă.
The soup has a little oil, but it is not spicy.
FromLesson 5inHardcore Romanian

Breakdown of Supa are puțin ulei, dar nu este picantă.

nu
not
a avea
to have
a fi
to be
puțin
a little
dar
but
supa
the soup
uleiul
the oil
picant
spicy

Questions & Answers about Supa are puțin ulei, dar nu este picantă.

What does supa mean, and why isn’t it just supă?
Supă is the indefinite form (“soup”), while supa is the definite form (“the soup”). In Romanian the article attaches to the end of the noun: for feminine nouns like supă, you add -a to get supa (the soup).
Why is are used here instead of este for “has”?
In Romanian you express possession with the verb a avea (“to have”). Are is the third-person singular present of a avea, so supa are puțin ulei literally means “the soup has a little oil.” Este is the verb “to be,” not “to have.”
Why is there no article before ulei (“oil”)?
When you quantify something with words like puțin (“a little”), you don’t use the definite article. You say puțin ulei (lit. “a little oil”), not uleiul or un ulei. That expresses an indefinite small amount.
Why is it puțin and not puțină or puțini?
As an adjective quantifier, puțin agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Ulei is masculine singular, so you use the masculine-singular form puțin. If it were a feminine noun you’d say puțină, and for plurals you’d have puțini (m.) or puține (f.).
Can puțin come after ulei, like ulei puțin?
No. Quantifiers such as puțin precede the noun in Romanian. Putting it after would sound ungrammatical. Always say puțin ulei, not ulei puțin.
Why is the adjective picantă ending in -ă instead of -t as in picant?
Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Supa is feminine singular, so picant (masculine) becomes picantă (feminine singular).
Could I use și (“and”) instead of dar (“but”)?

You can, but it changes the nuance.

  • Și just adds another fact: “The soup has a little oil and it’s not spicy.”
  • Dar introduces a contrast: “The soup has a little oil, but it’s not spicy.”
Is the comma before dar necessary?
Yes. In Romanian (as in English) you generally place a comma before the coordinating conjunction dar when it links two independent clauses.
Can I shorten este and nu este in colloquial speech?
Absolutely. Informally, este becomes e and nu este becomes nu-i. For example: Supa are puțin ulei, dar nu-i picantă. However, in formal writing, stick with este and nu este.
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