În cabinetul doctoriței, asistenta mă întreabă dacă am febră.

In the doctor’s office, the nurse asks me if I have a fever.

Breakdown of În cabinetul doctoriței, asistenta mă întreabă dacă am febră.

• a avea: to have
• în: in
• dacă: if
• mă: me
• doctorița: the doctor
• cabinetul: the office
• asistenta: the nurse
• a întreba: to ask
• febra: the fever

Questions & Answers about În cabinetul doctoriței, asistenta mă întreabă dacă am febră.

What does „doctoriței” mean exactly, and why is it different from „doctor”?

„Doctoriței” is the feminine form of „doctor”, in the genitive case.

• doctor = (male) doctor
• doctoriță = (female) doctor
• doctoriței = of the female doctor (genitive singular)

So „în cabinetul doctoriței” literally means „in the office of the (female) doctor”.

Romanian often marks feminine professions with the suffix -iță:

• bucătar → bucătăreasă / bucătărică (cook)
• actor → actriță (actress)
• doctor → doctoriță (female doctor)

In everyday life, Romanians also use doctor for women, but doctoriță clearly signals that the doctor is female.

Why does „doctoriței” end in -ei? What case is that?

The ending -ei shows that the noun is in the genitive-dative singular feminine.

For feminine nouns ending in -ă in the basic form:

• o doctoriță (a female doctor – nominative/accusative)
• doctoriței (of the female doctor / to the female doctor – genitive/dative)

In this sentence:

• cabinetul doctoriței = the office of the doctor (f.)
  → cabinetul cuiva (“someone’s office”) requires the genitive.

So structurally it’s:

• (în) cabinetul – the office (definite form of cabinet)
• (al) doctoriței – of the female doctor (genitive)

The preposition „în” itself does not cause genitive; the possessive relationship “the doctor’s office” does.

What is the role of „cabinetul” and how is it formed?

„Cabinetul” means „the office / consulting room” (specifically a doctor’s office).

• Base noun: cabinet = office / consulting room
• Definite singular: cabinetul = the office

Romanian typically adds the definite article as a suffix:

• un cabinet = a/an office
• cabinetul = the office

So „în cabinetul doctoriței” = in the office of the female doctor.

Could you explain „În cabinetul doctoriței” as a whole? Why is „în” used here?

„În cabinetul doctoriței” literally means „in the (female) doctor’s office”.

• în = in / inside (preposition of location)
• cabinetul = the office
• doctoriței = of the female doctor

It specifies where the action happens: inside the consulting room.

Compare:

• la doctor = at the doctor’s (more general, could include the waiting room, clinic, etc.)
• în cabinetul doctoriței = specifically inside the doctor’s office.

What does „asistenta” mean, and why does it end in -a?

„Asistenta” means „the nurse” (female) here.

• asistentă = a (female) nurse
• asistenta = the (female) nurse

The -a at the end is the feminine singular definite article. Romanian attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

• o asistentă = a nurse
• asistenta = the nurse

So „asistenta mă întreabă” = „the nurse asks me”.

Note: asistent / asistentă can also mean “assistant” in some contexts; in a medical context, asistentă almost always means “nurse”.

What exactly does „mă întreabă” mean, and how is it structured?

„Mă întreabă” means „(she) asks me / is asking me”.

Breakdown:

• mă = me (direct object pronoun, 1st person singular)
• întreabă = (he/she) asks (3rd person singular of a întreba = to ask)

So:

• asistenta mă întreabă = the nurse asks me / the nurse is asking me

Romanian usually places the object pronoun before the verb in neutral statements:

• mă întreabă = she asks me
• întreabă-mă = ask me! (imperative, pronoun attached after the verb)

Why is it „mă întreabă” and not something like „îmi întreabă”?

Because „a întreba” (to ask) takes its person being asked as a direct object, not an indirect one, in Romanian.

• mă = me (direct object: whom?)
• îmi = to me (indirect object: to whom?)

Romanian uses:

• mă întreabă = she asks me
  (not: îmi întreabă, which would sound wrong)

Compare with a verb that does take an indirect object:

• a spune (to say, to tell)
  
  • îmi spune = he/she tells me (literally says to me)

Can the word order change? Could I say „În cabinetul doctoriței, mă întreabă asistenta dacă am febră.”?

Yes, that version is also correct:

• În cabinetul doctoriței, mă întreabă asistenta dacă am febră.

The meaning is the same: In the female doctor’s office, the nurse asks me if I have a fever.

Differences:

• Asistenta mă întreabă (neutral) → emphasizes who is doing the asking (the nurse).
• Mă întreabă asistenta → often slightly emphasizes that it’s the nurse (as opposed to someone else) who asks.

Romanian word order is relatively flexible; pronouns like „mă” usually stay close to the verb, but the subject „asistenta” can move after the verb for emphasis or stylistic reasons.

What does „dacă” mean here in „dacă am febră”?

In this context, „dacă” means „if / whether”.

• mă întreabă dacă am febră = she asks me if I have a fever / whether I have a fever

It introduces an indirect question (a subordinate clause reporting what is being asked).

Other uses of „dacă”:

• Dacă plouă, nu ieșim. = If it rains, we won’t go out.
• Nu știu dacă vine. = I don’t know if / whether he’s coming.

So here it’s: the nurse asks me *whether I have a fever*.

Why is it „am febră” (I have fever) and not „sunt cu febră” or something else?

Romanian expresses having a fever with „a avea” (to have):

• am febră = I have a fever

This is parallel to English „to have a fever”, except Romanian normally does not add an article before „febră” in this pattern.

Structure:

• am = I have (1st person singular of a avea)
• febră = fever

Very common expressions:

• Ai febră? = Do you have a fever?
• Nu am febră. = I don’t have a fever.

You might occasionally hear things like „sunt cu febră”, but „am febră” is the standard and most natural medical way to say it.

Why is there no article in „am febră”? Why not „am o febră”?

In this health-symptom context, Romanian typically omits the article:

• am febră = I have (a) fever
• am durere de cap = I have a headache
• am tuse = I have a cough

The indefinite article „o” (a/an, feminine) can appear in special contexts to add emphasis or describe the type/degree:

• Am o febră mare. = I have a high fever.
• Am o febră urâtă. = I have a nasty fever.

But „am febră” by itself is the neutral, usual way to say “I have a fever.”

Does „mă întreabă” mean “she asks me” or “she is asking me”? Which tense is it?

„Mă întreabă” is present tense and can correspond to both English:

• she asks me (simple present)
• she is asking me (present continuous / progressive)

Romanian has one present tense form (întreabă) that covers both uses; context decides whether it’s a habitual action or something happening right now.

In this sentence, it most naturally means “she is asking me” right now, within that situation in the cabinet.

Could I say „La doctoriță, asistenta mă întreabă dacă am febră.” instead of „În cabinetul doctoriței…”?

Yes, you can say:

• La doctoriță, asistenta mă întreabă dacă am febră.

However, the nuance is slightly different:

• la doctoriță = at the (female) doctor’s (the place in general: clinic, practice, etc.)
• în cabinetul doctoriței = in the doctor’s office (physically inside the consulting room)

Both are acceptable, but „în cabinetul doctoriței” is more precise about the exact location.

How would you pronounce „În cabinetul doctoriței, asistenta mă întreabă dacă am febră.”?

Approximate pronunciation with English-like hints (stressed syllables in bold):

• În → like “ɨn” (a bit like saying uhn with the tongue slightly back)
• cabinetul → cah-bee-NEH-tool
• doctoriței → dok-toh-ree-TSEY (ț = ts as in cats; „ei” like English say without the initial s)
• asistenta → ah-sees-TEN-tah
• mă → muh (short, unstressed)
• întreabă → ɨn-tre-AH-bă (ă = like a in sofa)
• dacă → DAH-că
• am → ahm
• febră → FEHB-rə

So roughly:

[ɨn cah-bee-NEH-tool dok-toh-ree-TSEY, ah-sees-TEN-tah muh ɨn-tre-AH-bə DAH-cə ahm FEHB-rə]

Native audio would help most, but this gives a rough idea of the sounds.