Breakdown of Biletul de metrou este valabil o oră.
a fi
to be
o
a
metroul
the subway
ora
the hour
de
of
biletul
the ticket
valabil
valid
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Questions & Answers about Biletul de metrou este valabil o oră.
Why is there de in biletul de metrou?
In Romanian, de links two nouns when the second denotes the type or category of the first. Here it literally means “ticket of metro,” i.e. metro ticket. It’s a genitive construction without turning metrou into a separate definite noun.
Why is it biletul and not just bilet?
Romanian marks definiteness by adding endings to the noun. Bilet is “ticket” (indefinite), while biletul is “the ticket” (definite). Masculine singular nouns take -ul or -le as the definite article.
Why do we say o oră for “one hour” and not una oră or un oră?
Romanian has two indefinite articles:
- un for masculine nouns (e.g. un bilet)
- o for feminine nouns (e.g. o oră)
Since oră (hour) is feminine, you must use o.
Why isn’t there a preposition like pentru before o oră (“for one hour”)?
With the adjective valabil, Romanian typically expresses time spans directly, without pentru. Saying valabil o oră is concise and idiomatic. You could say valabil pentru o oră, but dropping pentru is more common.
Can you use e instead of este? As in Biletul de metrou e valabil o oră?
Yes. E is the spoken/colloquial contraction of este (“is”). Both sentences are correct:
- Formal: Biletul de metrou este valabil o oră.
- Casual: Biletul de metrou e valabil o oră.
Why is the adjective valabil and not valabilă?
Adjectives agree in gender and number with their nouns. Bilet is masculine singular, so you use the masculine form valabil. If you described a feminine noun, you would say valabilă.
How would you say “two hours” instead of “one hour” in this sentence?
For numbers greater than one, the noun goes into the plural and the numeral agrees in gender. Plus you insert de before the noun:
- Biletul de metrou este valabil două ore.
Here două is the feminine form of “two,” and ore is the plural of oră.
How do you express “24 hours” of validity?
Same pattern with de for quantities above one:
- Biletul de metrou este valabil 24 de ore.
Always use de between the numeral and a feminine noun when the number is 2 or higher.
Why do we use the adjective valabil with a fi instead of a verb like “to valid”?
Romanian doesn’t have a standalone verb that means “to be valid.” Instead, you use the verb a fi (“to be”) plus the adjective valabil to convey “is valid.” So literally it’s “the ticket is valid one hour.”
Could you omit de in 24 de ore and just say 24 ore?
No. In Romanian grammar, cardinal numbers from 2 upward require de before a feminine noun. Omitting de (i.e. 24 ore) is incorrect.