Alt elev spune că matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna.

Another student says that math is not as simple as Romanian.

Breakdown of Alt elev spune că matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna.

• nu: not
• a fi: to be
• româna: the Romanian language
• simplu: simple
• a spune: to say
• că: that
• la fel de: equally
• ca: as
• elevul: the student
• alt: another
• matematica: the math

Questions & Answers about Alt elev spune că matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna.

What does „Alt elev” literally mean, and why isn’t there an article like „un”?

„Alt elev” literally means “another pupil / another student (school-age)”.

• alt = other / another
• elev = pupil / (school) student

In full, the most neutral form would usually be „Un alt elev spune...” = “Another pupil says...”.

Leaving out „un” (the indefinite article) is possible in Romanian, especially:

• in more concise or slightly more formal / written styles
• when introducing a new subject in a narrative
• in headlines, notes, or where brevity is preferred

So:

• Un alt elev spune... – perfectly normal, a bit more explicit.
• Alt elev spune... – also correct, a bit more clipped/compact; context makes it clear it means another pupil.

You cannot say „altul elev”; that’s incorrect.
Altul = the other one (used as a pronoun, not before a noun).

What is the difference between „elev” and „student” in Romanian?

Romanian distinguishes between school pupils and university students:

• elev

  • a pupil in primary, middle, or high school
  • roughly: school student (non-university)

• student

  • someone who studies at university or college
  • equivalent to university student

So in this sentence, „Alt elev” refers to a school-age learner, not a university student.

What does „spune că” mean, and can I drop „că” like English sometimes drops “that”?

„spune că” means “says that”.

• spune = (he/she) says
• că = that (introducing a subordinate clause)

In English you can say:

• “He says that math is not as simple as Romanian.”
• “He says math is not as simple as Romanian.” (dropping that)

In Romanian, you cannot normally drop „că” here. You need it:

• ✅ Alt elev spune că matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna.
• ❌ Alt elev spune matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna. (sounds wrong)

So: in reported speech, „că” is almost always required where English may omit “that”.

Why is it „matematica” with an -a at the end? Is that a definite article?

Yes. Romanian often uses the definite article attached to the end of the noun.

• matematică = mathematics (indefinite form)
• matematica = the mathematics

So „matematica” literally means “the mathematics”, but in practice it corresponds to English “math / mathematics” as a general school subject.

Romanian tends to use the definite article for school subjects, especially when they are the grammatical subject of the sentence:

• Matematica este grea. – Math is hard.
• Istoria îmi place. – I like history.

Using „matematică este grea” is unusual in standard Romanian.

Why do we have „româna” here and not „română” or „limba română”?

All of these are related but used slightly differently:

• română – the adjective “Romanian” (feminine)
• limba română – literally “the Romanian language”
• româna – here this stands for „limba română” (the Romanian language) with a “shortened” expression

In this sentence:

• româna = (the) Romanian (language)
  → understood as „limba română”.

You could also say:

• ...nu este la fel de simplă ca limba română.

That’s fully correct and maybe a bit clearer for learners.
But in everyday Romanian, using just „româna” to mean the Romanian language is very common when the context is clearly about languages.

Why is the adjective „simplă” and not „simplu”?

Adjectives in Romanian agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

• matematica is feminine singular (it ends in -ă, like many feminine nouns).
• Therefore, the adjective must also be feminine singular: simplă.

Basic pattern for this adjective:

• simplu – masculine singular
• simplă – feminine singular
• simpli – masculine plural
• simple – feminine plural

So:

• băiat simplu – a simple boy
• fată simplă – a simple girl
• băieți simpli – simple boys
• fete simple – simple girls

In our sentence:

• matematica (fem. sg.) → simplă (fem. sg.)

How does the structure „nu este la fel de simplă ca româna” work? What does „la fel de … ca” mean?

„la fel de ... ca” is a very common pattern meaning “as ... as” (for comparisons of equality).

Structure:

• la fel de
  • adjective + ca
    • noun/pronoun

Examples:

• Este la fel de înalt ca tine. – He is as tall as you.
• Film-ul e la fel de bun ca prima parte. – The movie is as good as the first part.

In our sentence:

• la fel de simplă ca româna
  = as simple as Romanian

Then we have the negation:

• nu este la fel de simplă ca româna
  = is not as simple as Romanian

Compare with a basic comparative using „mai ... decât”:

• Matematica este mai simplă decât româna.
  – Math is simpler than Romanian.

So:

• la fel de ... ca → as ... as
• mai ... decât → more ... than

Could we also say „Matematica nu e la fel de simplă ca româna”? Is „nu e” different from „nu este”?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

• Matematica nu e la fel de simplă ca româna.

Difference:

• nu este – full form; a bit more neutral/formal or careful.
• nu e – short form, very common in spoken and informal Romanian.

They mean the same thing: “is not”.

So:

• nu este = is not
• nu e = isn’t (short, everyday speech)

Why is the verb „spune” in the simple present? Would English use a different tense?

Romanian uses the simple present much like English, but English often chooses the present continuous in similar contexts.

• Alt elev spune că...
  – literally: Another pupil says that...
  – often translated naturally as: Another pupil is saying that...

Romanian does not have a true present continuous form like “is saying” that’s used in everyday speech.
The present tense „spune” covers both:

• general fact: He says that...
• action happening now: He is saying that...

Context decides which nuance is intended, but grammatically it’s just present simple spune.

Why is the word order „matematica nu este ...” instead of „nu este matematica ...”?

Both orders can exist in Romanian, but they don’t sound the same:

• Matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna.
  – Neutral statement: Math is not as simple as Romanian.
  – Subject (matematica) comes first; feels standard and natural.

• Nu este matematica la fel de simplă ca româna.
  – Still possible, but it gives extra emphasis or a more contrastive feeling, like:

  • “It’s not math that is as simple as Romanian (maybe something else is).”

So the original word order is the normal, neutral one:

• Subject (matematica) + negated verb (nu este) + rest of the predicate.

How do you pronounce the tricky vowels in „alt elev spune că matematica nu este la fel de simplă ca româna”?

Key pronunciation points (approximate):

• alt – [alt]

  • a like in father (but shorter)
  • final t is clearly pronounced.

• elev – [e-LEV]

  • stress on lev
  • both e are like the e in get (but shorter).

• spune – [SPOO-neh]

  • u like in put (Romanian u is a pure [u])
  • e at the end like e in get.

• că – [kə]

  • ă is a schwa-like sound (similar to a in sofa).

• matematica – [ma-te-MA-ti-ka]

  • stress on the second ma: ma-te-MA-ti-ca.

• nu – [nu]

  • like “noo” but short.

• este – [YES-teh]

  • initial e often sounds close to “ye” in yes in careful speech.

• la fel – [la FEL]

  • stress on fel.

• simplă – [SEEM-plə]

  • î/â sound (here, i
    • m
      • plă), but focus on ă again: [plə].

• româna – [ro-MÂ-nă]

  • â (and î) are the same sound: a central vowel, somewhat like a deep, tense schwa, no direct English equivalent.
  • ă again at the end [ə].

Main new sounds for English speakers:

• ă – like a relaxed uh (schwa): [ə]
• â / î – central vowel, tenser and “darker” than schwa. It takes practice; no exact English match.

Could I say „Matematica nu este atât de simplă ca româna” instead? What’s the difference from „la fel de simplă ca”?

Yes, you can also say:

• Matematica nu este atât de simplă ca româna.

Both are grammatical, but the focus is slightly different:

1. nu este la fel de simplă ca

   • literally: is not as simple as
   • pattern for equality (as ... as) with negation:
     • “Math is not as simple as Romanian (is).”

2. nu este atât de simplă ca

   • literally: is not that/so simple as
   • a bit more like:
     • “Math is not so simple as Romanian.”
   • similar meaning in practice, but „atât de” can feel a little more emphatic about the degree.

In everyday speech, they are largely interchangeable in this kind of sentence, both expressing that math is less simple than Romanian.