Breakdown of Seara vorbesc cu copiii la telefon.
cu
with
a vorbi
to speak
la
on
telefonul
the phone
copilul
the child
seara
the evening
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Questions & Answers about Seara vorbesc cu copiii la telefon.
What part of speech is Seara, and what does it mean?
Seara is a temporal adverb derived from the noun seară (“evening”). Here it means “in the evening” and simply indicates when the action takes place.
Why is there no în before seara?
When you express a general time of day in Romanian, you often drop în. So you say seara rather than în seara. (You do use în in more specific phrases like în fiecare seară “every evening” or în seara asta “tonight.”)
Why is the verb vorbesc used here, and what person/tense is it?
vorbesc is the first-person singular present of a vorbi (“to speak”). It means “I speak” or “I talk.” The ending -esc tells you the subject is I, so you don’t need to add eu unless you want extra emphasis.
Can we include the pronoun eu in this sentence?
Yes. If you want to stress that you are the one speaking, you can say Seara eu vorbesc cu copiii la telefon. Grammatically it’s correct either way, but Romanian normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending is clear.
Why does copiii have three i’s?
copiii is the definite plural of copil (“child”), i.e. “the children.” Romanian marks the plural definite article by adding -i to the indefinite plural copii, resulting in copiii. Without the article it would just be copii (“children”).
What role does the preposition cu play before copiii? Could we use another preposition or none?
When you talk with someone, Romanian uses a vorbi + cu + person. Thus vorbesc cu copiii = “I talk with the children.” You cannot omit cu or replace it with pe or la in this context.
Why do we say la telefon? Can’t we say pe telefon or în telefon?
a vorbi la telefon is a fixed expression meaning “to talk on the phone.” You always use la; saying pe telefon or în telefon would sound unnatural to native speakers.
Is the word order flexible? Could I say Vorbesc seara cu copiii la telefon or Vorbesc cu copiii la telefon seara?
Yes. Romanian word order is quite flexible. All of these are correct:
• Seara vorbesc cu copiii la telefon (time-first, emphasizes “in the evening”)
• Vorbesc seara cu copiii la telefon (neutral)
• Vorbesc cu copiii la telefon seara (puts time at the end)
How do I express “every evening” instead of just “in the evening”?
Use în fiecare seară. For example:
În fiecare seară vorbesc cu copiii la telefon.
How would I say “Tonight I will talk to the children on the phone”?
You can:
• Use the future tense: În seara asta voi vorbi cu copiii la telefon.
• Use the present tense for a near-future nuance: În seara asta vorbesc cu copiii la telefon.
For a slightly more formal variant, replace seara asta with această seară.