Îmi place supa de legume.

I like vegetable soup.

Breakdown of Îmi place supa de legume.

• leguma: the vegetable
• de: of
• supa: the soup
• îmi: me

Questions & Answers about Îmi place supa de legume.

What does Îmi place supa de legume literally mean?

Literally it means “It pleases me, the vegetable soup”, or more naturally in English “Vegetable soup pleases me.” Romanian uses the verb a plăcea (“to please”) impersonally: the thing you like is the subject, and the person who likes it is in the dative.

Why is the verb place in the third person singular rather than the first person?

Because a plăcea agrees with its subject—the thing that “pleases”—not with the person who likes it. Here supa (“the soup”) is singular, so the present-tense verb is place. If the subject were plural (e.g. legumele), the verb would become plac.

What is the function of îmi in this sentence? Do I always need it?

Îmi is the first-person singular dative clitic pronoun, meaning “to me.” It marks the experiencer of the liking. In standard Romanian you cannot drop it entirely—îmi is required after a plăcea.

Why is there a definite article on supa when in English we say “vegetable soup” generically?

When you express likes or dislikes with îmi place, Romanian typically uses the definite form of the noun to talk about something in general. So instead of o supă de legume (“a vegetable soup”), you use supa de legume (“the vegetable soup”) to mean “vegetable soup” as a whole category.