Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu și un exemplu bun.

The teacher gives a simple exercise and a good example.

Breakdown of Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu și un exemplu bun.

• bun: good
• un: a
• și: and
• profesorul: the teacher
• a da: to give
• simplu: simple
• exercițiul: the exercise
• exemplul: the example

Questions & Answers about Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu și un exemplu bun.

Why does Profesorul end in -ul instead of using a separate word like “the”?

Romanian does not use a separate word for the definite article (like the).
Instead, it adds the article to the end of the noun.

• profesor = teacher (a teacher)
• profesorul = the teacher

So -ul is the masculine singular definite article in the nominative/accusative case.
Profesorul dă... literally means The-teacher gives...

What is the infinitive of dă, and how is it conjugated?

The infinitive is a da = to give.

Present tense (indicative) of a da:

• eu dau – I give
• tu dai – you give (singular, informal)
• el/ea dă – he/she gives
• noi dăm – we give
• voi dați – you give (plural/formal)
• ei/ele dau – they give

In Profesorul dă un exercițiu..., dă is 3rd person singular: he/she/it gives → the teacher gives.

Is dă here more like “gives” or “assigns”? Can I also say Profesorul dă un exemplu bun?

a da mainly means to give, but in school/university contexts it is very often used with the sense to assign or to set (an exercise, a test, homework).

• Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu.
  = The teacher gives / assigns a simple exercise.

You can absolutely say:

• Profesorul dă un exemplu bun.
  = The teacher gives a good example.

This can mean that the teacher provides or offers a good example (by saying it or by behaving in a certain way).

Why do the adjectives simplu and bun come after the nouns, not before them like in English?

In Romanian, the default position for most adjectives is after the noun:

• un exercițiu simplu = a simple exercise
• un exemplu bun = a good example

So noun + adjective is normal.

Some adjectives can also go before the noun, especially for emphasis or with a slightly different nuance (see another question below), but the neutral, most common position is after the noun.

Do simplu and bun have to agree with the nouns in gender and number?

Yes. In Romanian, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender and number.

Here:

• exercițiu – grammatically neuter, but:
  • singular: behaves like masculine
  • plural: behaves like feminine
• exemplu – also neuter with the same behavior.

Because they are singular, they take the masculine singular adjective forms:

• exercițiu simplu (not simplă, simple, etc.)
• exemplu bun (not bună, bune, etc.)

Other forms (for reference):

• simplu (m.sg.), simplă (f.sg.), simpli (m.pl.), simple (f & n.pl.)
• bun (m.sg.), bună (f.sg.), buni (m.pl.), bune (f & n.pl.)

So if they were plural, you’d say:

• exerciții simple (neuter → feminine plural form of the adjective)
• exemple bune

Why is un repeated? Could I say Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu și exemplu bun?

You need un before each separate singular, countable noun phrase:

• un exercițiu simplu
• un exemplu bun

So you normally say:

• Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu și un exemplu bun.

Omitting the second un (... și exemplu bun) sounds ungrammatical in standard Romanian. The two things (exercițiu and exemplu) are distinct; each needs its own article.

Can I switch the order and say Profesorul dă un exemplu bun și un exercițiu simplu? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can switch them:

• Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu și un exemplu bun.
• Profesorul dă un exemplu bun și un exercițiu simplu.

The basic meaning is the same: the teacher gives both a simple exercise and a good example.
Changing the order might slightly affect which element feels more emphasized or more foregrounded, but grammatically and semantically they’re equivalent.

Can I move the adjectives before the nouns, like un simplu exercițiu or un bun exemplu? Does that sound natural?

Yes, but the nuance usually changes.

• un exercițiu simplu – a simple exercise (neutral description)

• un simplu exercițiu – just a simple exercise / a mere exercise
  (often more emotional or dismissive: it’s nothing complicated or important)

• un exemplu bun – a good example (neutral)
• un bun exemplu – a good example, with more emphasis on the quality “good”;
  sounds a bit more elevated or stylistic.

So:

• Postposed (after the noun) = default, neutral description.
• Preposed (before the noun) = more stylistic, emotional, or emphatic.

Both positions are grammatically correct; they just carry different shades of meaning.

Why is there no preposition like la after dă? How would you say “gives an exercise to the students”?

In Romanian, a da takes:

• a direct object (what is given) without a preposition
• an indirect object (to whom) usually marked by prepositions or clitics, not by la in this sense.

Examples:

• Profesorul dă un exercițiu simplu.
  = The teacher gives a simple exercise. (direct object: un exercițiu)

To add to the students:

• Profesorul dă elevilor un exercițiu simplu.
  (literally: The teacher gives to-the-students a simple exercise.)
  Here elevilor is in the dative plural.

Or with a clitic pronoun:

• Profesorul le dă elevilor un exercițiu simplu.
  = The teacher gives them (the students) a simple exercise.

You would not normally say dă la elevi un exercițiu in this meaning; la is used more for places, times, or in some fixed expressions, not for the indirect object of a da in standard language.

How would the sentence change if I want to say “the simple exercise and the good example” instead of “a simple exercise and a good example”?

You would use the definite forms of the nouns:

• exercițiul = the exercise
• exemplul = the example

So:

• Profesorul dă exercițiul simplu și exemplul bun.
  = The teacher gives the simple exercise and the good example.

Here:

• exercițiul simplu – the simple exercise
• exemplul bun – the good example

What are the plural forms of exercițiu and exemplu, and how would the whole sentence look in the plural?

Plural forms:

• exercițiu → exerciții
• exemplu → exemple

The adjectives must agree in number (and for neuter nouns, that means feminine plural):

• simple (plural of simplu for feminine & neuter)
• bune (plural of bun for feminine & neuter)

Indefinite plural sentence:

• Profesorul dă exerciții simple și exemple bune.
  = The teacher gives simple exercises and good examples.

Definite plural:

• Profesorul dă exercițiile simple și exemplele bune.
  = The teacher gives the simple exercises and the good examples.

How do you pronounce the special letters ă, ț, and the ending -țiu in exercițiu?

Approximate English-based description:

• ă (as in dă)

  • A short, central vowel, like the a in sofa or the u in cut, but a bit more central.
  • dă sounds somewhat like duh (but shorter and cleaner).

• ț (as in exercițiu)

  • Pronounced like ts in cats.
  • So ți sounds like tsee (ts + ee).

• -țiu (in exercițiu)

  • ț = ts, i = ee (but often acts like a palatalizing sound), u = oo.
  • Roughly tsee-oo blended together: [tsʲu], something like tsyoo.

Is profesor masculine? How would you say “the (female) teacher” in this sentence?

profesor is grammatically masculine. To refer specifically to a female teacher, Romanian often uses a different noun:

• profesor (m.) = (male) teacher / teacher in general
• profesoară (f.) = female teacher

Definite forms:

• profesorul = the (male) teacher
• profesoara = the (female) teacher

So for a female teacher, you would say:

• Profesoara dă un exercițiu simplu și un exemplu bun.
  = The (female) teacher gives a simple exercise and a good example.