Sora mea învață singură la bibliotecă, dar este la fel de rapidă ca noi.

My sister studies alone at the library, but she is as fast as we are.

Breakdown of Sora mea învață singură la bibliotecă, dar este la fel de rapidă ca noi.

• a fi: to be
• mea: my
• noi: we
• dar: but

Questions & Answers about Sora mea învață singură la bibliotecă, dar este la fel de rapidă ca noi.

Why do we say Sora mea and not Mea sora?

In Romanian, possessive adjectives like meu / mea / mei / mele normally come after the noun:

• sora mea = my sister
• fratele meu = my brother
• cartea mea = my book

So sora mea is the standard order.

Also note that soră (indefinite) becomes sora (definite – “the sister”) when you add a possessive, so sora mea is literally the sister mine, used to mean my sister.

Putting mea before the noun is only possible in a few set expressions or for strong emphasis, e.g.:

• draga mea soră = my dear sister
• scumpa mea = my dear (fem.)

But Mea sora on its own is not correct.

What exactly is învață? Is it “learns” or “studies”?

Învață is the 3rd person singular present of the verb a învăța.

• a învăța = to learn / to study (and, in some structures, to teach)
• (ea) învață = she learns / she studies

Romanian has only one present tense, so învață can mean both:

• She learns
• She is learning / is studying

Context tells you whether it feels more like “learns” or “is studying” in English. In this sentence, the idea is “My sister is studying by herself at the library.”