Breakdown of Umple paharul cu apă rece înainte de ședință.
apa
the water
cu
with
ședința
the meeting
înainte de
before
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 ?