Breakdown of Problema de azi este interesantă.
a fi
to be
azi
today
problema
the problem
de
of
interesant
interesting
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Questions & Answers about Problema de azi este interesantă.
Why does problema end in -a?
In Romanian the definite article attaches to the end of the noun. For feminine singular nouns ending in -ă, the article is -a. So problemă (a problem) becomes problema (the problem).
What is the function of de in problema de azi? Could we drop it?
De here means “of” and links the noun to the time expression, giving the problem of today. You can’t drop it—problema azi is ungrammatical.
Why is azi used instead of astăzi?
Both words mean today. Azi is the shorter, more colloquial form; astăzi is the longer, slightly more formal variant. You could also say problema de astăzi.
Why does interesantă end in -ă?
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Problemă is feminine singular, so the adjective takes the feminine singular ending -ă, yielding interesantă.
Can I say Problema de azi e interesantă instead of este?
Yes. E is the informal contraction of este (“is”). Both are correct; e is more common in speech, este is the full form.
Could I start with Astăzi, as in Astăzi problema este interesantă?
Yes. There astăzi is just an adverb meaning “today,” so you don’t need de. It’s equivalent to “Today, the problem is interesting.”
How do you pronounce the final ă in problema and interesantă?
The letter ă represents the schwa sound /ə/, similar to the a in English sofa.
Why is the adjective placed after the noun? Can it come before?
Descriptive adjectives normally follow the noun in Romanian (noun–adjective order). Putting interesantă before problema (interesantă problema de azi) would sound odd. For emphasis you could invert with a verb: Interesantă este problema de azi, but the standard order is after the noun.