Frunzele acoperă trotuarul toamna.

to cover

Breakdown of Frunzele acoperă trotuarul toamna.

• trotuarul: the sidewalk
• toamna: in autumn
• frunza: the leaf

Questions & Answers about Frunzele acoperă trotuarul toamna.

Why is frunzele using the definite article when English would say Leaves cover the sidewalk in autumn without the?

In Romanian, definite articles are enclitic and attach to the noun. Unlike English, Romanian marks generic or habitual subjects with the definite article. Thus frunză (leaf) becomes frunzele (the leaves) even when you mean leaves in general.

Why does toamna appear without a preposition like în even though it means in autumn?

Romanian often expresses time adverbials by using the noun in its definite form without a preposition. So toamnă (autumn) takes the article to become toamna (“in autumn”). You can also say în toamnă, but dropping în is more concise and idiomatic for seasons.

What is the conjugation pattern of a acoperi, and why is acoperă used here?

A acoperi is a 1st-conjugation verb. In the present indicative: • eu acopăr
• tu acoperi
• el/ea acoperă
Here, acoperă (3rd-person singular) matches frunzele (they).

Why is trotuarul in its definite form instead of simply trotuar?