Breakdown of Seara, pe plajă, vedem fiecare stea deasupra mării.
seara
the evening
pe
on
fiecare
every
a vedea
to see
plaja
the beach
marea
the sea
steaua
the star
deasupra
above
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Questions & Answers about Seara, pe plajă, vedem fiecare stea deasupra mării.
What does Seara mean here, and why is it used without an article?
Seara is the definite form of seară (evening) and here functions adverbially: in the evening. In Romanian you often use the definite form of time-nouns without a separate article to say “in the evening,” “in the morning,” etc. You wouldn’t say o seară (a certain evening) when you mean the general time of day.
Why is it pe plajă rather than la plajă?
Romanian uses pe with surfaces and open spaces: pe masă (on the table), pe plajă (on the beach). La is for being at a place in general (a building, institution or event): la școală (at school), la cinema (at the movies). So if you’re physically on the sand, you say pe plajă.
What role does deasupra mării play, and why is the noun in the genitive?
Deasupra is a preposition meaning above or over (in a static sense). It requires the genitive case: marea → mării (of the sea). Thus deasupra mării literally means above the sea.
Could you use peste mare instead of deasupra mării?
Not exactly. Peste + accusative often means across or over to the other side of, as in peste mare (“across the sea”). Deasupra + genitive describes something hovering or visible directly above the surface.
Why is it fiecare stea and not fiecare stele or stelele?
Fiecare (“each”) is a distributive adjective and must be followed by a singular noun without a definite article. So you get fiecare stea (“each star”). You cannot say fiecare stele, and stelele would be the stars, which changes the meaning.
Why is the verb vedem placed after the two phrases and without the pronoun noi?
Romanian word order is flexible. You can front time and place phrases (Seara, pe plajă) for emphasis, then state the verb vedem (“we see”). The subject pronoun noi is dropped because the verb ending -em already tells you it’s first-person plural.
How do you decline mare to get mării in the genitive singular?
Mare is a feminine noun ending in -e. Its genitive (and dative) singular adds -ii:
nominative/accusative: o mare
genitive/dative: unei mări (indefinite) → mării (definite).