Learn Hardcore Romanian: În weekend prefer un drum liniștit prin parc. - On the weekend I prefer a quiet road through the park.

“În weekend” translates to “on the weekend(s)” or “at the weekend.” In Romanian, în is regularly used with periods of time (days, months, seasons) to mean “during” or “on.” Although some speakers say la weekend, în weekend is more neutral and widely accepted.

Why is there no article before weekend? Can I say În weekendul?

Here weekend functions like an adverbial time expression and remains bare (no article) when you mean “at weekends” in general. If you want to refer to one specific upcoming weekend, you can say în weekendul acesta (“this weekend”) or în weekendul viitor (“next weekend”).

Why is the verb prefer and not preferă? How is a prefera conjugated in the present tense?

Prefer is the first-person singular present form of a prefera (“to prefer”), so it already means “I prefer.” In the present tense you get:

eu prefer
tu preferi
el/ea preferă
…etc.

Why don’t we see eu before prefer?

Romanian is a pro-drop language: you omit the subject pronoun when the verb ending makes the person clear. Since prefer ends in –ø for “I,” eu is unnecessary and usually left out.

What does drum mean here? Doesn’t it normally mean “road”?

While drum can mean “road,” it also means “route,” “trip,” or “ride.” In this sentence, un drum liniștit conveys “a peaceful little trip/stroll,” not just a fixed road.

Why is there un before drum? Could we drop it?

Un is the indefinite article (“a”) for masculine singular nouns. You need it because you’re talking about one unspecified trip. Omitting it would leave the phrase ungrammatical in this context.

Why is the adjective liniștit in that form?

Liniștit is the masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “quiet” or “peaceful.” It agrees in gender (masculine) and number (singular) with drum, which is masculine singular.

What does prin mean, and what case does it govern?

Prin means “through” or “across” when indicating movement inside or among something. It governs the accusative case, so the noun after it appears without any prepositional article or special ending: prin parc.

Why isn’t it prin parcul with the definite article?

Using prin parc speaks of “going through a park” in general—no specific park in mind. If you wanted to say “through the park” (a definite, known park), you would use prin parcul.