Learn Hardcore Romanian: Mâine am un curs de matematică după școală. - Tomorrow I have a math class after school.

In Romanian, the present tense is very often used for the near future when there is a clear time expression like mâine, diseară, poimâine, and so on.

So Mâine am un curs de matematică is perfectly normal and very common.
You can say Mâine voi avea un curs de matematică, but that sounds more formal or emphasizes the future aspect more strongly. In everyday speech, Romanians usually prefer the simple present with a future time word.

Does Mâine have to be at the beginning of the sentence?

No, it does not have to be first. Word order is relatively flexible. All of these are possible:

Mâine am un curs de matematică după școală.
Am mâine un curs de matematică după școală.
Am un curs de matematică mâine după școală.
Am un curs de matematică după școală mâine. (less common, feels a bit heavy at the end)

Putting Mâine at the beginning emphasizes the time: Tomorrow, I have a math class after school.

What is the difference between curs, oră, and lecție? They all seem to mean class or lesson.

Roughly:

curs – a course or class, often at university, or a structured course; also used in schools for scheduled classes
- un curs de matematică = a math class / a math course
oră – literally hour, but also a lesson period in school
- o oră de matematică = one math lesson (one period)
lecție – lesson as a teaching unit or piece of content
- lecția de azi = today’s lesson

In a school timetable sense, curs de matematică and oră de matematică can both be heard; curs is very common in everyday speech for class.

Why is it un curs and not o curs?

Romanian nouns have grammatical gender. curs is masculine, so it takes the masculine indefinite article un.

masculine: un curs, un băiat
feminine: o lecție, o fată

That is why you say un curs de matematică.

Why do we say curs de matematică and not something like curs în matematică or just curs matematică?

Romanian normally uses de to link a general noun to the subject or content:

curs de matematică – math class
curs de engleză – English course
curs de istorie – history class

Using în here would sound strange. curs în matematică might appear in some very specific formal contexts, but it is not the normal way to name an ordinary class.

You also cannot just say curs matematică; you need the linking preposition de.

Why is it după școală and not după școala?

After many prepositions, Romanian often uses the bare noun (without article) when talking about activities or institutions in a general, routine sense:

după școală – after school (the school day)
la școală – at school
la biserică – at church
la muncă – at work

după școala would mean after the school (a specific school building), which is not what is meant here. după școală is a fixed, natural expression for after school in the temporal sense.

What exactly does după mean, and where else can I use it?

după mainly means:

after (time)
- după cină – after dinner
- după curs – after the class
after / behind (space)
- după casă – behind the house

In this sentence, it has the time meaning: after school.

Can I say după școală mâine am un curs de matematică? Is that word order okay?

Yes, that word order is grammatically fine:

După școală mâine am un curs de matematică.

It slightly emphasizes after school first, then tomorrow, then the fact that you have the class. It sounds a bit less neutral than the original, but it is acceptable.

Could I omit un and say Mâine am curs de matematică după școală?

Yes, that is also possible:

Mâine am curs de matematică după școală.

Without un, it can sound a bit more like a scheduled or habitual activity, similar to English I have math after school tomorrow (no a). Both forms are used in practice; un curs makes it feel a bit more like one class.

Is matematică always singular in Romanian, even though British English uses maths in the plural?

Yes. In Romanian, the school subject is normally singular and feminine:

matematică – mathematics / math
chimie, biologie, istorie, geografie, fizică – all singular feminine subject names

You can form a plural matematici, but that is used in more technical or philosophical contexts (types of mathematics), not for the ordinary school subject.

How do you pronounce mâine, curs, școală, and matematică?

Approximate English-based guidance:

mâine – MÂI-ne
- â = a central vowel, similar to the vowel in English the or a in sofa, but more tense
- ăi = like eye in English mine
curs – like English koors (as in course), with rolled or tapped r
școală – SHKOA-lă
- ș = sh (as in shoe)
- oa = roughly wah or oa in quack
- final ă again like a short, unstressed uh
matematică – ma-te-MA-ti-că
- stress on MA in the middle
- final că with the same ă sound

Romanian spelling is quite phonetic once you learn these special letters (ă, â/î, ș, ț).

How would I say I have two math classes tomorrow after school?

You would make curs plural:

Mâine am două cursuri de matematică după școală.

două is the feminine/neutral form of two, used here because cursuri (the plural of curs) is grammatically neuter, which behaves like feminine in the plural.

Why is matematică not capitalized?

In Romanian, names of school subjects and academic disciplines are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence:

Îmi place matematica. – I like math.
La școală învățăm matematică și fizică.

So matematică is correctly written with a lowercase initial here.