Breakdown of De obicei, culcarea copiilor începe la ora nouă.
la
at
ora
the hour
copilul
the child
nouă
nine
Questions & Answers about De obicei, culcarea copiilor începe la ora nouă.
What does De obicei literally mean, and where can it go in the sentence?
De obicei literally means “by habit” / “out of habit”, and is best translated as “usually”.
In terms of position:
- At the beginning (as in your sentence) is very common:
De obicei, culcarea copiilor începe la ora nouă. - It can also come after the subject or even after the verb in spoken language:
Culcarea copiilor, de obicei, începe la ora nouă.
Culcarea copiilor începe, de obicei, la ora nouă.
Putting it at the beginning sounds very natural and neutral, just like “Usually, …” in English.
Why is culcarea copiilor used instead of a verb like “to put the children to bed”?
Romanian often uses a verbal noun instead of a finite verb to describe regular activities.
- The verb is a culca = to put to bed / to lay down.
- The corresponding noun is culcare = putting to bed / going to bed.
- With the definite article it becomes culcarea = the putting to bed / the bedtime.
So:
- Culcarea copiilor începe la ora nouă.
literally: “The putting to bed of the children starts at nine o’clock.”
A more “verb-y” version would be:
- De obicei, culc copiii la ora nouă.
“Usually, I put the children to bed at nine o’clock.”
Culcarea copiilor turns the action into a thing/event (“bedtime routine”), not just an action someone does.
What grammatical form is copiilor, and why is it used here?