Breakdown of Umple paharul cu apă rece înainte de ședință.
apa
the water
cu
with
ședința
the meeting
înainte de
before
rece
cold
paharul
the glass
a umple
to fill
Questions & Answers about Umple paharul cu apă rece înainte de ședință.
What is umple and why is it used here?
umple is the 2nd person singular imperative of a umple (“to fill”). It’s the form you use when giving a direct command to someone: “(tu) umple!” = “you fill.” Here it tells the listener to fill the glass.
Why is paharul written with -ul at the end instead of just pahar?
The suffix -ul is the masculine singular definite article in Romanian. pahar = “glass,” paharul = “the glass.” We use the definite form because we mean a specific glass already known in the context. (“Fill the glass…”)
What does cu apă rece mean, and why do we use cu?
cu = “with,” marking what you use to fill. apă = “water” (feminine), rece = “cold.” So cu apă rece literally means “with cold water,” i.e. “fill … with cold water.”
Why is the adjective rece after the noun apă, and why doesn’t it change ending in feminine?
In Romanian, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun: o apă rece = “cold water.” The adjective rece is invariant in the singular for both genders; it only takes the plural ending -i (→ reci) if the noun is plural.
Why do we say înainte de ședință without an article before ședință?
înainte de is a fixed phrase meaning “before.” After de, you normally don’t add a separate article—even if you mean “the meeting.” The context tells you it’s a specific meeting. Alternatively, a more formal variant is înaintea ședinței, which bundles the preposition and the definite article into one word.
How do you pronounce the Romanian letters ă, ș, and ț in this sentence?
- ă (in paharul, apă) is a mid-central vowel (schwa), like the ‘a’ in English “about.”
- ș is [ʃ], like “sh” in “shoe.”
- ț is [ts], like “ts” in “cats.”
Is umple the same for a polite or plural “you,” or do we need a different form?
umple addresses a single informal “you” (tu). For a polite or plural “you” (voi / dumneavoastră), use umpleți:
“Umpleți paharul cu apă rece înainte de ședință.”
You can also add vă rog (“please”) to sound more polite.
Could you say un pahar instead of paharul here?
Yes, but that changes the meaning to “a glass.”
- Umple un pahar cu apă rece... = “Fill a glass with cold water...”
- Umple paharul cu apă rece... = “Fill the (specific) glass with cold water.”
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