Learn Hardcore Romanian: Chelnerii de acolo vorbesc română și engleză. - The waiters there speak Romanian and English.

Chelnerii is the definite plural form of chelner (“waiter”). Romanian marks “the waiters” by adding -ii to the base chelner. The indefinite plural is chelneri (“waiters”), whereas chelnerii means “the waiters.”

Why is Chelnerii capitalized?

In Romanian only the first word of a sentence is capitalized (unless it’s a proper noun). Here Chelnerii is capitalized simply because it begins the sentence, not because “waiters” is a special noun.

What does de acolo mean? Why not just acolo?

Acolo alone is an adverb meaning “there” (describing where something happens). De acolo literally means “from there” and functions here like an adjective: “the waiters from there.” Saying chelnerii acolo is unusual when modifying a noun, so you use de acolo to express “from that place.”

Why is there no în before română and engleză?

When you use a vorbi (“to speak”) plus a language name, Romanian typically drops the preposition. So vorbesc română means “I speak Romanian.” You can add în (vorbesc în română) to emphasize the medium, but the common pattern is without în.

How do you conjugate a vorbi in the present tense?

Here is the present-tense conjugation of a vorbi (“to speak”): Eu vorbesc
Tu vorbești
El/Ea vorbește
Noi vorbim
Voi vorbiți
Ei/Ele vorbesc

Note that vorbesc is identical for eu and ei/ele.

Why are română and engleză feminine and ending in -ă?

Most Romanian language names are feminine nouns ending in -ă: română (Romanian), engleză (English), franceză (French), spaniolă, etc. This is simply a feature of how languages are named in Romanian grammar.

Can I say vorbesc românește instead of vorbesc română?

Yes. Românește is an adverb meaning “in Romanian,” so vorbesc românește = “I speak in Romanian.” However, vorbesc română (using the noun) is more common for “I speak Romanian.”

Why is și used between română and engleză, and how do you pronounce it?

Și means “and.” It joins the two objects română and engleză. It’s pronounced [ʃi], like the English word “she” (without stretching the vowel).

Could you emphasize that they speak both languages by repeating și?

Absolutely. You can say vorbesc și română, și engleză to stress that they speak both Romanian and English. Repeating și adds emphasis: “they speak both Romanian and English.”