Soțul ei nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.

Her husband does not cook much, but he helps in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Soțul ei nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.

• nu: not
• mult: a lot
• în: in
• dar: but
• bucătăria: the kitchen
• a găti: to cook
• soțul: the husband
• ei: her
• a ajuta: to help

Questions & Answers about Soțul ei nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.

What does Soțul ei literally mean, and why does soț end in -ul?

Soțul ei literally means her husband.

• soț = husband
• -ul = the (definite article for masculine singular nouns)
• soțul = the husband
• ei = of her / her

So Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not in front of it.
Soțul ei = the husband of her → her husband in natural English.

Why is it ei for her and not something like sa?

Romanian has two main possessive systems:

1. Stressed pronoun after the noun (very common in speech):

   • soțul ei = her husband
   • soțul lui = his husband
   • soțul lor = their husband

2. Possessive adjective before the noun (more formal / written, but also common):

   • soțul său = her/his husband (context decides whose)
   • soțul meu = my husband

ei here is the genitive form of ea (she), meaning of her.
You do not say ei soțul; the natural order is soțul ei.

Why is there no word for he in the sentence? Why not El nu gătește mult…?

Romanian is a pro-drop language: you normally omit subject pronouns (eu, tu, el, ea…) when the verb ending already shows the person.

• gătește is 3rd person singular, so it already tells you he/she/it.
• The subject (soțul ei) is stated, so you don’t need el.

You could say El nu gătește mult, but it sounds more like contrast or emphasis, e.g.
El nu gătește mult, dar ea gătește foarte mult.
(He doesn’t cook much, but she cooks a lot.)

What verb is gătește from, and what tense and person is it?

gătește comes from the verb a găti = to cook.

Conjugation in the present tense (indicative):

• eu gătesc – I cook
• tu gătești – you cook (singular)
• el/ea gătește – he/she cooks
• noi gătim – we cook
• voi gătiți – you cook (plural)
• ei/ele gătesc – they cook

So gătește is:

• present tense
• 3rd person singular
• indicative mood

How does nu work for negation in this sentence?

nu is the basic word for not.

General rule: nu goes directly before the conjugated verb:

• nu gătește = does not cook
• nu ajută = does not help

If there are object pronouns, nu still goes before the verb, but pronouns can come between:

• nu o ajută = he does not help her
• nu îl ajută = he does not help him

In this sentence:
Soțul ei nu gătește mult = Her husband does not cook much.

What is mult doing here? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

In nu gătește mult, mult is an adverb meaning a lot / much.

• as an adverb (no agreement):

  • nu gătește mult = he doesn’t cook much / a lot
  • mănâncă mult = he eats a lot

• as an adjective (agrees in gender and number):

  • multă mâncare = a lot of food (feminine singular)
  • mulți oameni = many people (masculine plural)
  • multe cărți = many books (feminine plural)

So here it modifies the verb gătește, not a noun.

How would I say doesn’t cook very much or hardly cooks?

Some common options:

• nu gătește prea mult = he doesn’t cook very much
• nu prea gătește = he doesn’t really cook / he hardly cooks
• gătește foarte puțin = he cooks very little

Your sentence nu gătește mult is neutral: “doesn’t cook much / a lot.”
Adding prea or puțin makes the idea stronger.

What does dar mean, and is it the same as but in English?

dar means but, used to contrast two clauses:

• Nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.
  = He doesn’t cook much, but he helps in the kitchen.

Other similar words:

• însă = but / however (a bit more formal or stylistic)
  
  • Nu gătește mult, însă ajută în bucătărie.
• ci = but rather (used after a negation to correct something)
  
  • Nu gătește, ci spală vasele.
    = He doesn’t cook, but rather washes the dishes.

In this sentence, dar is the natural, direct equivalent of English but.

What exactly does ajută mean, and doesn’t it usually need an object?

ajută comes from a ajuta = to help.

Present tense:

• eu ajut
• tu ajuți
• el/ea ajută – he/she helps
• noi ajutăm
• voi ajutați
• ei/ele ajută

Normally you help someone:

• Își ajută soția. = He helps his wife.
• Îi ajută pe copii. = He helps the children.

In ajută în bucătărie, the object (whom he helps) is not said; the focus is where he helps. It’s understood from context (probably her, the wife). To be explicit:

• O ajută în bucătărie. = He helps her in the kitchen.

What does în bucătărie mean exactly, and why is it not în bucătăria?

• în = in
• bucătărie = kitchen (indefinite: a kitchen / kitchen in general)

So în bucătărie can mean:

• in a kitchen
• in the kitchen (in a general sense: in the kitchen, not in the living room)

If you say în bucătăria, with the definite article -a:

• în bucătăria mea = in my kitchen
• în bucătăria noastră = in our kitchen
• în bucătăria de la parter = in the kitchen downstairs

Your sentence is talking more generally about the domestic role, so în bucătărie works like “in the kitchen” as a general place.

But in English we say in the kitchen. Why doesn’t Romanian need the here?

Romanian and English don’t always use the definite article in the same way.

When you talk about typical activities in typical places (home, school, work, etc.), Romanian can use the indefinite form of the noun:

• Este la școală. = He is at school.
• Este în bucătărie. = He is in the kitchen (as a general location at home).

So în bucătărie is natural Romanian for the usual kitchen at home, even though English says the kitchen. If you want to emphasize a very specific kitchen, then you’d use bucătăria with a determiner (my, our, that, etc.).

How would the sentence change for My husband instead of Her husband?

Just change the possessive:

• Soțul ei nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.
  = Her husband doesn’t cook much, but he helps in the kitchen.

• Soțul meu nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.
  = My husband doesn’t cook much, but he helps in the kitchen.

Other persons:

• soțul tău = your husband (singular you)
• soțul nostru = our husband
• soțul vostru = your husband (plural you)

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Nu gătește mult soțul ei…?

Yes, Romanian word order is flexible, though not all orders are equally neutral.

These are all possible:

1. Soțul ei nu gătește mult, dar ajută în bucătărie.
   – Neutral, most natural.

2. Nu gătește mult soțul ei, dar ajută în bucătărie.
   – Emphasizes soțul ei at the end, like:
   “Doesn’t cook much, her husband, but he helps in the kitchen.”

3. Nu gătește mult, dar soțul ei ajută în bucătărie.
   – Slightly different nuance: “He doesn’t cook much, but her husband helps in the kitchen.”
   (as if we’d been talking about someone else before)

The original order is the clearest and most neutral for a learner.

How do you pronounce the special Romanian letters in this sentence, like ț and ă?

Key sounds here:

• ț in soțul, gătește
  
  • Pronounced like ts in “cats”.
  • soțul ≈ so-tsul
• ă in gătește
  
  • A short, neutral vowel, similar to the a in “sofa” or the u in “cut” (British variety less close).
  • gă- sounds like guh-.
• Final -ie in bucătărie
  
  • Often sounds like -ye: bu-că-tă-RI-ye.

Approximate pronunciations:

• Soțul ei ≈ “SO-tsul ey”
• nu gătește ≈ “nu guh-TESH-te”
• bucătărie ≈ “bu-kuh-tuh-REE-ye”

Is this sentence neutral in tone? Is soț always “husband”, or can it mean just “man”?

The sentence is neutral and everyday in tone.

• soț specifically means husband (in a legal or marital sense).
• bărbat means man, and also husband in some contexts (similar to English “my man” for “my husband”), but soț is the clear, unambiguous word for husband.

So:

• Soțul ei nu gătește mult… = Her husband doesn’t cook much…
• Bărbatul ei nu gătește mult… = Her man / her husband doesn’t cook much… (more colloquial / context‑dependent).