Learn Hardcore Romanian: Ana nu joacă niciodată acest joc dificil.

In Romanian the particle nu precedes the finite verb to form negation. You cannot say joacă nu. This rule applies in all simple tenses and moods: you always have nu + verb. Moreover, Romanian typically uses double negation, so when you add negative words like niciodată, the nu stays in place.

What exactly is joacă, and why isn’t it joace or something else?

Joacă is the third person singular present indicative form of the verb a juca (“to play”). The ending -ă signals 3rd sg. in the present tense. You’ll see:

eu joc
tu joci
el/ea joacă

So Ana joacă means “Ana plays.”

What does niciodată mean, and why do we need both nu and niciodată to say “never”?

Niciodată literally means “never.” Romanian requires nu + negative word (double negation), so you say nu joacă niciodată. If you drop nu and say Ana joacă niciodată, it sounds ungrammatical or contradictory, because niciodată by itself doesn’t replace the negation particle.

Why is it acest joc dificil and not jocul acesta dificil?