Learn Hardcore Romanian: De obicei câinele cere prăjitură, dar niciodată nu primește destul. - Usually the dog asks for cake, but it never gets enough.

Because Romanian marks the definite article as a suffix. câinele means “the dog.” If you said câine alone, it would be indefinite (“a dog” or generic). un câine also means “a dog” but uses the explicit article. We use câinele here to specify “the (particular) dog” we’re talking about.

What does de obicei mean, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?

De obicei means “usually.” It’s an adverbial phrase of frequency. In Romanian you can place such adverbials at the start of a sentence for emphasis (“De obicei câinele …”) or in the middle for a neutral tone (“Câinele de obicei cere …”). Both are correct.

Why do we use cere (from a cere) and not întreabă?

In Romanian, a cere means “to ask for, to request something,” while a întreba means “to ask a question.” Since the dog is requesting cake, we use cere. If the dog were asking a question (“Where is the cake?”), we would use întreabă.

Why isn’t there an article before prăjitură? Shouldn't it be o prăjitură?

You could say cere o prăjitură (“asks for a cake/pastry”) if you mean one specific cake. Dropping the indefinite article (cere prăjitură) generalizes the idea: “asks for cake” as a substance. It’s common to omit the article with unmodified nouns in expressions like a vrea apă, a mânca pâine, or a cere zahăr.

What part of speech is niciodată, and why do we also have nu in the sentence?

Niciodată is an adverb meaning “never.” In Romanian, negative adverbs (the “nici-” words: niciodată, niciun, etc.) require the verb to be negated with nu. So you say nu primește niciodată (“he never gets”). Omitting nu would be ungrammatical.

Why is destul in its basic form and not destulă or destule to agree with prăjitură?

Here destul means “enough” in a partitive sense (“enough of it”) and is invariable. It doesn’t agree in gender/number when used adverbially or partitive. If you used it as an adjective directly before a noun (e.g. “enough water”), you might see agreement (destulă apă), but in nu primește destul it stays unchanged.

Could I say Dar nu primește niciodată destul instead of dar niciodată nu primește destul?

Yes. Romanian allows flexibility in adverb placement. Dar nu primește niciodată destul is equally correct and sounds neutral. Placing niciodată before nu (dar niciodată nu primește…) simply adds a touch more emphasis on the “never.”

What’s the difference between prăjitură and tort?

Prăjitură is a broad term for cakes, pastries, sweet baked goods (it can even include cookies called prăjituri). Tort is specifically a layered or decorated cake, often for special occasions (like a birthday cake). Use tort for those big, multi‐layered desserts; prăjitură covers smaller or simpler sweets.

Why is the subject câinele not repeated before nu primește destul? Is it still clear?

In Romanian, when the same subject performs two actions in coordinated clauses, you usually mention it once. So De obicei câinele cere prăjitură, dar niciodată nu primește destul is perfectly clear. Repeating câinele in the second clause would be grammatically correct but redundant.

Can I replace dar with another conjunction like însă?

Yes. Însă is a synonym of dar meaning “but/however.” You could say … însă niciodată nu primește destul. Însă tends to sound slightly more formal or literary; dar is more common in everyday speech.