Learn Hardcore Romanian: Toamna scriu o poezie despre frunze și norii deasupra pădurii. - In autumn I write a poem about leaves and the clouds above the forest.

toamna is a feminine noun meaning “autumn,” used adverbially to indicate time (“in autumn”). When a season functions as a time adverbial, Romanian often omits în and drops the article. You could alternatively say În toamnă scriu o poezie..., but starting with Toamna scriu... is more concise and poetic.

Why is there an o before poezie, and how do we know poezie is feminine?

poezie (“poem”) is a feminine singular noun in Romanian. Its indefinite article is o (for feminine singular), whereas masculine singular nouns take un. Thus o poezie literally means “a poem.”

Why do we use despre here, and which case do the following nouns take?

despre means “about” and always governs the accusative case. In our sentence, both frunze and norii are in the accusative, but because frunze is an indefinite plural and norii is a definite plural, their forms differ (see next points).

Why is frunze not frunzele, and why doesn’t it have a special ending for case?

frunze is the plural indefinite form of frunză (“leaf”), so it means “leaves” in general. When you have an indefinite plural, Romanian uses the bare noun form (identical to nominative). To say “the leaves,” you would use the definite plural frunzele.

Why is the noun norii used instead of nori, and what does the -ii ending indicate?

nori is the bare plural of nor (“cloud”), meaning simply “clouds.” Adding the enclitic article -i forms norii, the definite plural: “the clouds.” Here the speaker refers to specific clouds above the forest, so the definite plural is required.

What role does deasupra play, and why is pădurii in the genitive?

deasupra is a preposition meaning “above” (static position) that governs the genitive case. The genitive form of pădure (“forest”) is pădurii (“of the forest”), so deasupra pădurii = “above the forest.”

Could we use peste pădure instead of deasupra pădurii, and what’s the nuance?

Yes, peste pădure can also mean “over/above the forest,” but peste often implies movement or crossing (e.g. “flying over the forest”). deasupra emphasizes a stationary position above something.

Why is Toamna placed at the very beginning, and can we change the word order?

Placing Toamna at the start highlights the time frame (“In autumn…”). Romanian word order is flexible; you could say Scriu o poezie în toamnă or Scriu o poezie toamna, but moving toamna can shift focus. Starting with Toamna puts emphasis on the season.

Do we need to repeat despre before both frunze and norii (i.e. despre frunze și despre norii)?

No. A single preposition can introduce two coordinated objects: despre frunze și norii... is correct and more concise. Repeating despre is grammatically allowed but usually unnecessary unless you want to stress each element separately.