Learn Hardcore Romanian: Copiii se culcă după cină. - The children go to bed after dinner.

The base plural of copil (“child”) is copii, which already ends in two is. Romanian marks the definite plural of masculine nouns by adding another -i. So copii + -i yields copiii, with three is in a row.

What is the function of se in se culcă?

Se is the third-person reflexive pronoun and makes a se culca a pronominal (reflexive) verb. Without se, a culca means “to lay down (something)”. With se, a se culca means “to lie down (oneself)” or “to go to bed.”

Why does se culcă look the same for both singular and plural subjects?

In the present indicative of a se culca, the third-person singular and plural forms are identical: se culcă. You rely on context or the subject (here copiii) to know it’s plural.

What does a se culca mean in English—“to sleep” or “to go to bed”?

Literally, a se culca is “to lie oneself down,” so the closest English is “to go to bed.” It can sometimes imply “to fall asleep,” but strictly speaking it describes the act of getting into bed.

What does după mean, and how does it work with cină?

După is a preposition meaning “after.” It introduces the noun cină (“dinner”) to form the time expression după cină—“after dinner.”

Why is there no article before cină in după cină?

When referring to meals in a general or habitual sense, Romanian omits the indefinite article. După cină means “after dinner” in general. If you meant “after a (particular) dinner,” you’d say după o cină.

Can după cină move to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. You can start with the time phrase for emphasis or style: După cină, copiii se culcă. The comma is optional.

Why is copiii definite (“the children”)? Could it be indefinite?

In Romanian you mark a known group with the definite article. For masculine plural nouns that article is the enclitic -i, so copii (“children,” indefinite) becomes copiii (“the children”). If you wanted to say “children” in general without specifying, you’d use copii without the extra -i.