Vacanța de vară este mai scumpă decât cea de iarnă.

to be

Breakdown of Vacanța de vară este mai scumpă decât cea de iarnă.

• de: of
• mai: more
• decât: than

Questions & Answers about Vacanța de vară este mai scumpă decât cea de iarnă.

Why is vacanța used instead of vacanță here?

Romanian attaches the definite article to the end of the noun. vacanță means “a vacation,” while vacanța means “the vacation.” In our sentence we’re talking about a specific vacation (summer vacation), so we need the definite form vacanța.

What does de vară mean, and why not use an adjective like in English?

de vară literally means “of summer.” Romanian often uses de + noun to form expressions like “summer vacation,” “winter sports,” etc. There isn’t a single-word adjective for “summer” in this context, so vacanță de vară = “summer vacation.”

Why do we say cea de iarnă instead of repeating vacanța de iarnă?

Romanian can replace a previously mentioned feminine noun phrase with the demonstrative pronoun cea (“the one”) plus de + noun. So cea de iarnă means “the winter one,” avoiding repetition of vacanța.

What role does cea play in cea de iarnă?

cea is the feminine singular demonstrative pronoun meaning “the one.” It agrees with vacanță (feminine singular) and stands in for vacanța when you refer back to it.