Breakdown of Ana ascunde prăjitura în frigider.
Ana
Ana
în
in
prăjitura
the cake
frigiderul
the fridge
a ascunde
to hide
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Questions & Answers about Ana ascunde prăjitura în frigider.
Why does prăjitura end with -a instead of just prăjitură?
-a is the enclitic feminine definite article in Romanian. prăjitură = “a cake”; prăjitura = “the cake.”
Why isn’t there an article on frigider (why not frigiderul)?
When talking about location with certain prepositions like în, Romanian often drops the definite article for general places: în frigider = “in (the) fridge.” To emphasize a specific fridge, you could say în frigiderul.
Why is there no pe before prăjitura?
The marker pe is used before definite direct objects that are people or animals. Since prăjitura (the cake) is inanimate, pe is not used.
What does în do in this sentence?
în is the preposition “in/into,” indicating where the cake is hidden.
How do you pronounce the Romanian letter ă in prăjitura?
ă represents the schwa [ə], like the “a” in English sofa. So prăjitura is roughly prə-ji-ˈtu-rə (stress on TU).
Where is the stress in ascunde and frigider?
ascunde: a-SCUN-de (stress on the second syllable)
frigider: fri-GI-der (stress on the second syllable, “gi” like “gee”)
Why is the verb ascunde and not something else?
ascunde is the 3rd-person singular present indicative of a ascunde (to hide). For Ana (she), you use ascunde: eu ascund, tu ascunzi, el/ea ascunde.
How do you say “Ana hid the cake in the fridge” in Romanian?
Use the perfect compus: Ana a ascuns prăjitura în frigider. (“a” = auxiliary ‘to have’; ascuns = past participle of ascunde)
What is the difference between a ascunde and a se ascunde?
a ascunde (transitive) = “to hide something”
a se ascunde (reflexive/intransitive) = “to hide oneself” or “to be hidden”
How would you replace prăjitura with a pronoun?
Use the feminine singular direct-object pronoun o: Ana o ascunde în frigider. (“Ana hides it in the fridge.”)