Breakdown of Soarele este puternic pe plajă, deși vântul bate ușor.
a fi
to be
pe
on
soarele
the sun
deși
although
plaja
the beach
puternic
strong
vântul
the wind
a bate
to blow
ușor
softly
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Questions & Answers about Soarele este puternic pe plajă, deși vântul bate ușor.
What does the suffix -le in soarele represent?
It’s the enclitic definite article for masculine singular nouns. Soarele means the sun, while soare (without -le) would mean a sun or just sun in a general sense.
Why is the adjective puternic not puternică or puternici?
Adjectives must agree with the noun’s gender and number. Soare is masculine singular, so we use the masculine singular form puternic. A feminine noun would take puternică, and plural nouns would take puternici (masculine) or puternice (feminine).
Why do we use pe in pe plajă instead of la plajă?
Romanian uses pe to indicate location on horizontal surfaces or open spaces. So pe plajă means on the beach. La is used for points or enclosed areas, like la masă (= at the table).
What does the conjunction deși mean, and how is it different from dar?
Deși means although/even though and introduces a subordinate concessive clause (followed by the indicative). Dar means but and connects two main clauses. Here, deși highlights the contrast between a strong sun and a gentle breeze.
Is a comma necessary before deși, and why?
Yes. When deși starts a subordinate clause in the middle of a sentence, you place a comma before it to separate the main clause from the concessive clause.
Why is the verb bate used for the wind?
Romanian uses a bate for the wind blowing (literally “to beat” the wind). It’s very common in everyday speech. You could also say suflă (= to blow), but bate vântul is more idiomatic.
Why is the adverb ușor placed after bate?
In Romanian, adverbs of manner generally follow the verb they modify. bate ușor literally means blows lightly.
Are the diacritics in plajă necessary?
Yes. The letter ă (a with breve) represents a distinct vowel [ə], like the “a” in English sofa. Omitting it changes pronunciation and isn’t correct in standard Romanian.
Why is vânt written as vântul here?
-ul is the enclitic definite article for masculine singular nouns. Vânt means wind, and vântul means the wind.
How do you pronounce and stress plajă, especially the ă?
Stress falls on the first syllable: PLA-jă. The ă is pronounced [ə], similar to the final vowel sound in sofa.