Mă trezesc devreme ca să pregătesc micul dejun.

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Breakdown of Mă trezesc devreme ca să pregătesc micul dejun.

• a se trezi: to wake up
• devreme: early
• a pregăti: to prepare

Questions & Answers about Mă trezesc devreme ca să pregătesc micul dejun.

What does mă mean in Mă trezesc? Why is it needed?

Mă is a reflexive pronoun and literally means “myself” here.

• The verb is a se trezi = to wake up (oneself).
• In Romanian, many verbs that mean “to get up / to wake up / to wash / to sit down” are reflexive:
  • Mă trezesc. = I wake (myself) up.
  • Te speli. = You wash (yourself).
• Without mă, trezesc means “I wake (someone/something)”, not “I wake up”:
  • Trezesc copiii devreme. = I wake the children up early.

So mă is required to show that the action comes back to the subject (I wake myself up). You can’t drop it in this meaning.

How is the verb a se trezi (“to wake up”) conjugated in the present tense?

Here is the full present tense of a se trezi (to wake up):

• eu mă trezesc – I wake up
• tu te trezești – you wake up (singular, informal)
• el / ea se trezește – he / she wakes up
• noi ne trezim – we wake up
• voi vă treziți – you wake up (plural / formal)
• ei / ele se trezesc – they wake up (masc. / fem.)

Notice:

• The reflexive pronoun changes with the person: mă, te, se, ne, vă, se.
• It always comes before the verb in this tense: mă trezesc, not trezesc mă.