Learn Hardcore Romanian: Ana nu vrea ulei pe salată, preferă lămâie. - Ana does not want oil on the salad, she prefers lemon.

Because ulei (“oil”) is treated as a mass noun in Romanian when you speak of oil in general. Mass nouns used generically usually omit the indefinite article un. You would only say un ulei if you meant “one kind of oil” or “a particular oil.”

Why does the negation nu come before vrea?

In Romanian, the negation particle nu always precedes the verb. The standard order is nu + verb + object. You cannot place nu after the object or after the verb in this construction.

Why isn’t there a verb like să pună (“to put”) after nu vrea?

The verb a vrea (“to want”) can directly take a noun as its object. So nu vrea ulei means “she doesn’t want oil.” If you insert să pună, you’d need another verb to follow it (e.g. nu vrea să pună ulei = “she doesn’t want to put oil”).

Why is the preposition pe used in ulei pe salată?

Here pe means “on.” The phrase ulei pe salată literally means “oil on (top of) salad.” Even though salată is in the accusative after a preposition, feminine singular nouns look identical in the nominative and accusative forms.

Why is there no pe before lămâie?

The pe used as a direct-object marker in Romanian appears only before animate or definite objects (people, proper names, pronouns). lămâie is an inanimate, indefinite noun, so you don’t mark it with pe when it’s a direct object of preferă.

Why is lămâie used without an article?

Similar to ulei, lămâie (“lemon”) is used here in a generic sense (“lemon juice as dressing”), so no article is needed. If you said o lămâie, it would mean “one lemon” rather than lemon in general.

Why isn’t Ana repeated before preferă lămâie?

When two clauses share the same subject in Romanian, it’s common to mention the subject only once. The second verb (preferă) automatically takes Ana as its subject by context.

Could you say Ana nu vrea ulei la salată instead?

No, la salată would imply “for salad” (an oil intended for salad), not “on salad.” To express “on salad,” you must use pe salată. You could also say în salată (“in the salad”) if you mean the oil is mixed into it.

How do you pronounce lămâie, and why is it spelled with â?

lămâie has three syllables: lă-mâ-ie, with stress on mâ. Romanian spelling rules use â inside words and î only at the beginning or end. That’s why it’s lămâie, not lîmâie.

What grammatical case is salată in, and why doesn’t its form change?

Here salată is in the accusative as the object of the preposition pe. Feminine singular nouns have the same form in the nominative and accusative, so you see no visible change.