Breakdown of Bunicul așteaptă familia în camera de zi.
în
in
familia
the family
camera de zi
the living room
a aștepta
to wait
Questions & Answers about Bunicul așteaptă familia în camera de zi.
Why is it Bunicul and not just Bunic?
Bunic means grandfather in general, without specifying which one.
Romanian usually marks “the” by attaching a definite article to the end of the noun:
- bunic = a / any grandfather
- bunic
- -ul = bunicul = the grandfather
So Bunicul așteaptă... means “The grandfather is waiting…” or “Grandpa is waiting…”, referring to a specific, known grandfather.
Why is the definite article at the end (-ul, -a) instead of a separate word like “the”?
In Romanian, the definite article is enclitic (attached to the end of the noun), not a separate word:
- masculine singular: bunic → bunicul (the grandfather)
- feminine singular: familie → familia (the family)
- feminine singular: cameră → camera (the room)
So in the sentence:
- Bunicul = the grandfather
- familia = the family
- camera (in în camera de zi) = the room
English uses a separate word (the); Romanian “sticks” it to the noun.
Does așteaptă mean “waits” or “is waiting”?