Medicamentul face durerea mai mică, dar trebuie să beau și multă apă.

The medicine makes the pain smaller, but I have to drink a lot of water too.

Breakdown of Medicamentul face durerea mai mică, dar trebuie să beau și multă apă.

• apa: the water
• mic: small
• dar: but
• a trebui: must
• mai: more
• mult: much
• și: also
• a bea: to drink
• a face: to make
• medicamentul: the medicine
• durerea: the pain

Questions & Answers about Medicamentul face durerea mai mică, dar trebuie să beau și multă apă.

What does face mean in this sentence? I thought a face means to do.

In Romanian, a face can mean both to do and to make, depending on context.

In Medicamentul face durerea mai mică, it means makes:

• Medicamentul face durerea mai mică = The medicine makes the pain smaller/less.

Structure:

• a face + object + adjective = to make + object + adjective
  
  • Această veste m-a făcut fericit. = This news made me happy.
  • Soarele face camera luminoasă. = The sun makes the room bright.

Why is it durerea and not just durere?

Durerea is the pain, with the definite article -a attached at the end (Romanian uses enclitic articles).

• durere = pain
• durerea = the pain

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific, known pain (for example, the pain they already have), so Romanian naturally uses the definite form:

• Medicamentul face durerea mai mică.
  = The medicine makes the pain smaller. (a specific pain the speaker has)

Why is mică feminine? Shouldn’t mic be enough?

Adjectives in Romanian must agree with the noun in gender and number.

• durere is a feminine singular noun.
• Therefore, the adjective must also be feminine singular: mică.

Forms of mic (small):

• masculine singular: mic
• feminine singular: mică
• masculine plural: mici
• feminine plural: mici

So:

• durerea este mică = the pain is small
• durerea este mai mică = the pain is smaller / less

What does mai mean in mai mică?

Mai is the usual word for more in comparisons with adjectives.

• mică = small
• mai mică = smaller / more small → here: less (intense)

Some examples:

• El este mai înalt. = He is taller.
• Apa este mai rece. = The water is colder.

So face durerea mai mică = makes the pain smaller / less.

Could you say face durerea mai puțin instead of mai mică?

No, mai puțin does not work directly like that with durerea.

• puțin is more like a little / a bit / less, and it usually modifies verbs or quantities, not a noun in this pattern.

Correct patterns:

• Durerea e mai mică. = The pain is smaller / less strong.
• Mă doare mai puțin. = It hurts less.

So you can say:

• Medicamentul face durerea mai mică. ✔
• Medicamentul mă face să mă doară mai puțin. (more complex) ✔
  but not
• Medicamentul face durerea mai puțin. ✘

Why is it trebuie să beau and not just trebuie beau?

In Romanian, trebuie is normally followed by să + subjunctive verb.

Pattern:

• trebuie să + [verb in subjunctive]

In the 1st person singular, subjunctive of a bea is:

• (eu) să beau

So:

• Trebuie să beau multă apă. = I have to drink a lot of water.

You don’t say:

• trebuie beau ✘

How does trebuie să beau change if I want to say He has to drink?

The verb trebuie itself does not change with the person; it’s the verb after să that changes.

• Eu trebuie să beau. = I have to drink.
• El trebuie să bea. = He has to drink.
• Ea trebuie să bea. = She has to drink.
• Noi trebuie să bem. = We have to drink.

So only the verb after să shows the person:

• beau (I)
• bea (he/she)
• bem (we)
• bea (they) etc.

What does și mean in trebuie să beau și multă apă?

Here și means also / too / as well.

• trebuie să beau multă apă = I have to drink a lot of water.
• trebuie să beau și multă apă = I also have to drink a lot of water / I have to drink a lot of water too.

It shows that drinking water is in addition to something else (for example, taking the medicine).

Why is apă without a definite article, but medicamentul has one?

Two things are happening:

1. Medicamentul has the definite article:

   • medicament = a medicine / medicine (in general)
   • medicamentul = the medicine

   The speaker is talking about a specific medicine they’re taking.

2. Apă is used as a mass noun here (water in general, not specific water), and with multă (a lot of), it stays indefinite:

   • multă apă = a lot of water
     Saying multă apa would sound wrong here.

Compare:

• Beau apă. = I drink water.
• Beau multă apă. = I drink a lot of water.
• Beau apa. = I drink the water. (some specific water we both know about)

Why is it multă apă and not mult apă?

Mult agrees in gender and number with the noun, just like adjectives.

For apă (water):

• apă is feminine singular.
• Therefore we use multă (feminine singular) instead of mult (masculine singular).

Forms:

• masculine singular: mult (mult timp = much time)
• feminine singular: multă (multă apă = a lot of water)
• masculine plural: mulți (mulți oameni = many people)
• feminine plural: multe (multe case = many houses)

Could I say Medicamentul reduce durerea instead of face durerea mai mică?

Yes, that is correct and natural, but the nuance is slightly different.

• Medicamentul face durerea mai mică.

  • Literally: The medicine makes the pain smaller.
  • More descriptive, highlights a change in degree (smaller than before).

• Medicamentul reduce durerea.

  • Literally: The medicine reduces the pain.
  • Slightly more formal/technical, like in medical or written language.

Both are fine in everyday speech, but face durerea mai mică sounds a bit more conversational.

Can I change the word order to Medicamentul face mai mică durerea?

You can say Medicamentul face mai mică durerea, and it is grammatically correct, but it sounds less natural and a bit heavier in everyday speech.

Normal, most natural order:

• Medicamentul face durerea mai mică. ✔

Reordered:

• Medicamentul face mai mică durerea. ✔ (possible, more marked/emphatic)

Romanian usually prefers:

• verb + [direct object] + [adjective phrase]
  rather than putting the adjective before the noun in this kind of structure.