Breakdown of Ei joacă fotbal aproape în fiecare după-amiază.
ei
they
în
in
fiecare
every
după-amiază
in the afternoon
a juca
to play
fotbalul
the football
aproape
almost
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Questions & Answers about Ei joacă fotbal aproape în fiecare după-amiază.
What does the subject pronoun ei mean, and could it be omitted?
Ei corresponds to the English pronoun they (3rd person plural). Romanian verbs carry person and number information, so the ending –ă in joacă already indicates 3rd person plural. You could therefore drop ei and simply say Joacă fotbal aproape în fiecare după-amiază. Here ei is included for emphasis or clarity about who is playing.
How is the verb joacă formed from the infinitive a juca?
The infinitive a juca means to play. Its present-tense conjugation is:
• eu joc
• tu joci
• el/ea joacă
• noi jucăm
• voi jucați
• ei/ele joacă
So joacă here is the 3rd person plural form, meaning they play.
Why is there no article before fotbal?
Names of sports in Romanian are typically used without any article, just as in English you say play football. If you wanted to say the football (the ball itself), you would use the definite form fotbalul, which changes the meaning.
What does aproape mean, and why is it placed before the time expression?
aproape means almost. It’s an adverb modifying the time phrase în fiecare după-amiază, so it must precede that phrase to convey almost every afternoon.
Why is fiecare după-amiază in the singular and not plural?
When you use fiecare (each or every), the noun that follows remains singular. Hence fiecare după-amiază (every afternoon) uses the singular după-amiază, not a plural form.
Why is the preposition în used before fiecare după-amiază?
Romanian habitually uses în before expressions like fiecare dimineață, fiecare seară and fiecare după-amiază. It roughly corresponds to English on every afternoon, although English typically omits the preposition in that context.
Why is după-amiază hyphenated?
The term după-amiază is a compound formed from the preposition după plus the noun amiaza. Romanian orthographic rules prescribe a hyphen in many such time-of-day compounds.
What sounds do the letters î, â and ă represent in în and după-amiază?
Both î and â represent the same vowel sound [ɨ], a close central unrounded vowel. î is used at the beginning or end of a word (as in în), while â appears inside words. The letter ă represents the schwa sound [ə], as in după and amiaza.
Can the word order change, and would the meaning stay the same?
Yes. Romanian word order is relatively flexible for emphasis. The neutral order is Subject-Verb-Object-Adverbial (Ei joacă fotbal aproape în fiecare după-amiază). You could rearrange it—for example, Aproape în fiecare după-amiază ei joacă fotbal—to emphasize the time phrase without altering the basic meaning.
Could you use pe or la instead of în for habitual time expressions?
Habitual expressions with fiecare require în. Although pe is used for specific calendar dates (pe 1 mai) and la for clock times (la ora trei), you always use în before fiecare după-amiază, fiecare dimineață, etc.