Nisipul de pe plajă este cald.

to be

Breakdown of Nisipul de pe plajă este cald.

• cald: warm
• de pe: from
• plaja: the beach

Questions & Answers about Nisipul de pe plajă este cald.

Why is the definite article attached to nisip as nisipul rather than appearing as a separate word?

In Romanian, the definite article (“the”) is not a separate word but is enclitic—attached at the end of the noun. For masculine singular nouns ending in a consonant, you add -ul:

• nisip (sand) + -ul → nisipul (the sand)

What does de pe mean in de pe plajă? Why not just de or just pe?

de pe is a compound preposition meaning “from off” or “off the surface of.”

• de alone means “from” (a general origin).
• pe alone means “on” (a location on a surface).
  Together, de pe conveys “originating from the top of,” so de pe plajă = “off the beach.”

Why do we use pe plajă instead of în plajă?

In Romanian:

• pe
  • location indicates being on a surface (e.g. pe masă = “on the table”).
• în
  • location indicates being inside something (e.g. în cameră = “in the room”).
    A beach is treated as a surface, so you say pe plajă = “on the beach.”