Breakdown of Când ajungem acasă după-amiază, ne uităm la ceas și vedem că este târziu.
a fi
to be
și
and
când
when
târziu
late
a ajunge
to arrive
ne
us
după-amiază
in the afternoon
că
that
ceasul
the clock
acasă
home
a se uita la
to look at
a vedea
to see
Questions & Answers about Când ajungem acasă după-amiază, ne uităm la ceas și vedem că este târziu.
What tense and person is the verb ajungem?
The verb ajungem is in the present indicative, first person plural – it means “we arrive” or “we get (somewhere).”
What function does când serve at the beginning of the sentence?
când is a subordinating conjunction meaning “when.” It introduces the time clause that tells us when the action in the main clause happens.
Why is there a comma after după-amiază?
Because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause introduced by când, Romanian grammar requires a comma to separate that clause from the main clause that follows.
What kind of word is acasă, and why is there no article?
acasă is an adverb of place meaning “at home.” As an adverb, it doesn’t take an article.
Why is după-amiază written with a hyphen?
It’s a compound adverb formed from după (“after”) and amiază (“noon/afternoon”). Romanian orthography hyphenates such compounds.
What role does the reflexive pronoun ne play in ne uităm?
The pronoun ne makes uita reflexive. The full form a se uita la means “to look at,” and ne marks first person plural (“we look at…”).
Why is the preposition la used in ne uităm la ceas, instead of saying ne uităm ceasul?
Because the reflexive verb a se uita always takes la before its object: you “look at something,” a se uita la ceva, not uita ceva.
Why do we use că in vedem că este târziu?
că is the conjunction “that.” It links the main clause (vedem) with the subordinate clause (este târziu), much like English “we see that it’s late.”
What part of speech is târziu in this sentence?
Here târziu is an adjective used predicatively with the verb a fi (to be), meaning “late.”
How are the Romanian letters ă and â pronounced in acasă, după-amiază, and târziu?
- ă represents the schwa /ə/, similar to the ‘a’ in English “about.”
- â (and î) represent a close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/, which has no exact English equivalent but is somewhat like the ‘i’ in “roses.”
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Romanian grammar?”
Romanian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning RomanianMaster Romanian — from Când ajungem acasă după-amiază, ne uităm la ceas și vedem că este târziu to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions