Learn Hardcore Romanian: Dumneavoastră vă uitați la acest serial?

Dumneavoastră is the polite (or plural) form of you in Romanian. Vă is the reflexive clitic pronoun required by the verb a se uita (to look/watch). Romanian often keeps this clitic even when the subject pronoun is explicit, especially in polite or emphatic contexts.

Why is a se uita a reflexive verb?

In Romanian, “to watch” or “to look at” is expressed by a se uita la. Literally it means “to look oneself at,” so you always need the reflexive pronoun (mă, te, se, ne, vă) plus the preposition la before the thing you’re watching.

What is the literal translation of vă uitați?

Literally, vă = “yourselves” (2nd person plural or polite singular) and uitați = “you look.” So vă uitați = “you look yourselves,” which is how Romanian builds the idea of “you are watching.”

Why is there a la before acest serial?

Because a se uita always takes la + object. English says “watch a show,” but Romanian literally says “look at a show” ( a se uita la un serial ).

Why acest serial and not această serial or acest serialul?

Serial is a masculine noun, so the correct demonstrative adjective is acest (masculine singular). You would say această only before feminine nouns (e.g. această carte), and you don’t combine acest with the definite article -ul because acest serial already means “this series.”

Can I drop Dumneavoastră and just say Vă uitați la acest serial?

Yes. Romanian allows dropping the subject pronoun because the verb ending -ți already marks 2nd person plural/polite singular. However, including Dumneavoastră adds formality or emphasis.

How do I conjugate a se uita in the present tense?

Present indicative of a se uita:
• eu mă uit
• tu te uiți
• el/ea se uită
• noi ne uităm
• voi vă uitați
• ei/ele se uită

How is Dumneavoastră vă uitați la acest serial? pronounced?

du-me-na-VOA-stə və u-I-taț la a-CHEST se-RI-al
– Stress on VOA in Dumneavoastră, I in uitați, and RI in serial. The Romanian ă sounds like the a in “sofa,” and ț is an unvoiced “ts” (as in “cats”).