Breakdown of Bunicul povestește o poveste veche despre munte.
o
a
vechi
old
muntele
the mountain
despre
about
Questions & Answers about Bunicul povestește o poveste veche despre munte.
Why does the sentence use Bunicul and not Bunic?
Bunic means a grandfather / grandfather in a general, indefinite way.
Bunicul has the definite article -ul attached to the end, so it means the grandfather (often understood as my grandfather or a specific one already known from context).
Romanian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:
- bunic = grandfather
- bunicul = the grandfather
- bunica = the grandmother
- bunica mea = my grandmother
In many contexts where English would say my grandpa, Romanian will say Bunicul or Bunicul meu, depending on how explicit you want to be.
What exactly does povestește mean, and what verb is it from?
Povestește is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a povesti.
- a povesti = to tell (a story), to narrate
- el / ea povestește = he / she tells, he / she is telling
So Bunicul povestește means The grandfather tells / is telling (a story).
Compared with a spune (to say / to tell):
- a povesti focuses on narrating a story, giving details.
- a spune is broader: to say something, to tell something (not necessarily a story).