Learn Hardcore Romanian: Acolo îmi ia temperatura și îmi dă un medicament pentru gât. - There they take my temperature and give me medicine for my throat.

Îmi ia temperatura ≈ “(someone) takes my temperature” (literally: “takes the temperature to me”).
Îmi dă un medicament ≈ “(someone) gives me a medicine” (literally: “gives a medicine to me”).

Romanian often uses these little pronouns with actions involving your body, health, personal benefit, etc.

Why is îmi repeated before both verbs? Could I just say it once?

The repetition is normal and sounds very natural in Romanian:

Acolo îmi ia temperatura și îmi dă un medicament pentru gât.

Each îmi clearly links to its own verb:

îmi ia (takes for me)
îmi dă (gives to me)

If you drop the second îmi:

Acolo îmi ia temperatura și dă un medicament pentru gât.

this is grammatically possible but sounds less natural and a bit unclear, because dă un medicament could sound more general (“gives a medicine (to someone)”). In everyday speech, repeating îmi is preferred.

Is there any difference between îmi and mi?

They are the same pronoun, pronounced the same, but written differently depending on position:

îmi – written this way when it is a separate word before the verb:
Îmi ia temperatura.
mi – written without î when it is attached after a verb with a hyphen or appears in the middle of a sentence:
Dă-mi medicamentul. (= “Give me the medicine.”)
Mi-ai dat un medicament. (= “You gave me a medicine.”)

So îmi vs mi is an orthographic difference, not a meaning difference.

Why is it ia temperatura and not something like lua temperatura or ia temperatura mea?

Ia is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a lua (“to take”):
- eu iau
- tu iei
- el/ea ia
- noi luăm
- voi luați
- ei/ele iau

So ia temperatura literally means “(he/she) takes the temperature.”

You do not normally say temperatura mea for body temperature here. Romanian usually combines:

the definite article (temperatura)
plus the clitic pronoun (îmi)

to express “my temperature”:

Îmi ia temperatura. = “Takes my temperature.”

Using temperatura mea would sound marked or overly explicit in this context.

Why is temperatura with the definite article (-a)?

Temperatura = “the temperature”, with the definite article -a attached.

In Romanian, with body parts or things inherently belonging to you, it’s very common to use:

a definite noun (temperatura, capul, mâinile)
- an indirect object pronoun (îmi, îți, i, etc.)

instead of saying “my/your/etc.” explicitly.

Examples:

Îmi ia temperatura. – “He/She takes my temperature.”
Îți spală mâinile. – “(Someone) washes your hands.”
I-au examinat ochii. – “They examined his/her eyes.”

So the pattern îmi + [definite noun] already contains the idea of possession.

What verb is ia exactly, and what is its basic meaning?

Ia is from the verb a lua, which means:

to take, to pick up, to grab
in medical contexts: to take (someone’s temperature / blood pressure)

Relevant forms of a lua in the present tense:

eu iau – I take
tu iei – you take
el/ea ia – he/she takes
noi luăm – we take
voi luați – you (pl.) take
ei/ele iau – they take

So ia temperatura = “(he/she) takes the temperature.”

Why is it un medicament and not just medicament or something like o pastilă?

medicament = medicine / drug / medication (a countable item)
un medicament = “a medicine / one medicine”

The indefinite article un is used because we mean one dose / one kind of medicine, not medicine in general.

You could say more specifically, depending on what it is:

o pastilă pentru gât – a throat lozenge (a pill for the throat)
un sirop pentru tuse – a cough syrup

But un medicament pentru gât is a general, neutral way to say “a medicine for the throat.”

Does medicament pentru gât mean “for my throat” or “for a sore throat”?

Literally, medicament pentru gât = “medicine for the throat.”

In context, it usually means:

“medicine for my throat” (because of the îmi earlier)
and more specifically, “medicine for a sore throat / throat problems”

Romanian often leaves out “my/your/etc.” and uses just pentru gât, trusting context and the pronoun îmi to show whose throat it is.

What exactly does gât mean? Is it “throat” or “neck”?

Gât can mean both, depending on context:

throat (inside, where it hurts when you swallow)
neck (the neck area connecting head and shoulders)

In medical or pain contexts like medicament pentru gât, it is normally understood as throat (sore throat, irritation, etc.).

Can I move acolo or change the word order? For example: Îmi ia acolo temperatura?

You have some flexibility with acolo, but the clitic îmi must stay right next to the verb group.

✔ Natural options:

Acolo îmi ia temperatura și îmi dă un medicament pentru gât. (place is emphasized first)
Îmi ia temperatura acolo și îmi dă un medicament pentru gât.

✘ Not natural:

Îmi ia acolo temperatura – sounds awkward; acolo normally goes at the beginning or end of the clause, not between ia and its object unless you’re giving it special contrastive emphasis (and even then it’s odd here).

General rule:
[optional adverb like acolo] + clitic pronoun (îmi) + verb (ia) + object (temperatura)

Why is the present tense used here? Could it refer to a regular action or a future event?

Romanian present tense is used broadly:

Habitual / repeated action
- Acolo îmi ia temperatura și îmi dă un medicament pentru gât.
  = “There they take my temperature and give me a medicine for my throat (whenever I go there / as a routine).”
Very near or scheduled future, especially with a future time expression:
- Mâine merg la doctor. Acolo îmi ia temperatura și îmi dă un medicament pentru gât.
  = “Tomorrow I’m going to the doctor. There they’ll take my temperature and give me a medicine for my throat.”

So context decides whether it’s habitual or future-like, just as English present can sometimes do (“Tomorrow I go to the doctor.”).

How do you pronounce îmi, ia, and gât?

Approximate pronunciations (IPA in brackets):

îmi – [ɨmʲ]
- î = [ɨ], a high central unrounded vowel (similar to Russian ы), lips relaxed.
- m as in English me, and i palatalizes the m, so it’s a bit “softer.”
ia – [ja]
- Like “ya” in “yard”.
gât – [gɨt]
- g always hard here, like g in “go”.
- â = same sound as î, [ɨ].
- Final t is clearly pronounced [t], but shorter and less aspirated than in English.