Learn Hardcore Romanian: În holul spitalului un copil pare relaxat, altul pare plictisit. - In the hospital corridor one child seems relaxed, another seems bored.

în = in
hol = hall / corridor
-ul (in holul) = the definite article the → holul = the hall
spital = hospital
-ului (in spitalului) = genitive/dative singular ending: of the → spitalului = of the hospital

So În holul spitalului is literally “In the hall of the hospital”, which in natural English is “In the hospital hallway” or “In the hospital lobby” (depending on context).

Why is it holul spitalului and not holul spital?

Romanian usually expresses the “of X” relationship using the genitive case, not just two nouns side by side.

holul = the hall
spitalului = of the hospital (genitive of spitalul)

So holul spitalului = the hospital’s hall / the hall of the hospital.

Saying holul spital is ungrammatical in standard Romanian, because spital is not marked as genitive; it must be spitalului here.

Why is holul definite but un copil is indefinite?

holul uses the definite article -ul, so it means “the hall”. The speaker is referring to a specific, known hall (the hospital lobby / main corridor everyone knows about).
un copil uses the indefinite article un, so it means “a child”. The child is not previously known or specific, just “some child” in that hall.

This mix is very natural in Romanian (and English) when you have:

a specific place: În holul spitalului (In the hospital hallway)
but a non-specific person there: un copil (a child).

What exactly is pare, and how is it used?

pare is the 3rd person singular present of the verb a părea = to seem / to appear / to look (in the sense of “gives the impression of being”).

In this sentence:

un copil = subject (a child)
pare = verb (seems / appears / looks)
relaxat = subject complement (relaxed)

So un copil pare relaxat = a child seems/looks relaxed.

a părea often behaves like “to be” with adjectives:

El pare obosit. = He seems tired.
Ea pare fericită. = She seems happy.

What is altul, and why isn’t copil repeated?

altul is a pronoun formed from:

alt = other / another
-ul = definite ending the one

So altul means “the other one / another one (of the same kind)”.

In context:

un copil pare relaxat = one child seems relaxed
altul pare plictisit = another (one) seems bored

We don’t repeat copil because altul already stands for “another child”. It refers back to the same type of thing (child) mentioned before.

You could say un alt copil pare plictisit = another child seems bored, but then it sounds like you are starting a somewhat separate statement instead of contrasting one child with another one as tightly.

Could I say În holul spitalului un copil pare relaxat, altul plictisit without repeating pare?

Yes, that is possible and grammatical:

În holul spitalului un copil pare relaxat, altul plictisit.

Here, pare is understood for the second part:

(altul) [pare] plictisit.

Repeating pare (altul pare plictisit) is also very natural.
Omitting the second pare is a bit more compact and stylistic; keeping it makes the sentence slightly clearer, especially for learners or in spoken language.

Is plictisit a verb form or an adjective here? What about its other forms?

plictisit is originally the past participle of the verb a (se) plictisi = to get bored / to be bored, but here it functions as an adjective: bored.

It agrees in gender and number with the noun copil (masculine singular), so we get:

masculine singular: plictisit – bored (about a boy / man)
feminine singular: plictisită – bored (about a girl / woman)
masculine/mixed plural: plictisiți
feminine plural: plictisite

Examples:

Băiatul pare plictisit. – The boy seems bored.
Fata pare plictisită. – The girl seems bored.
Copiii par plictisiți. – The children seem bored (masc./mixed).
Fetele par plictisite. – The girls seem bored (fem. pl.).

Why are the adjectives relaxat and plictisit in that specific form?

They agree with copil, which is masculine singular:

un copil (m. sg.)
→ relaxat (m. sg. form)
→ plictisit (m. sg. form)

If the noun changed, the adjectives would change:

o fată pare relaxată, alta pare plictisită
(a girl seems relaxed, another seems bored) – feminine singular
doi copii par relaxați, alți doi par plictisiți
(two children seem relaxed, two others seem bored) – masculine/mixed plural
două fete par relaxate, altele par plictisite
(two girls seem relaxed, others seem bored) – feminine plural

Why does the sentence start with În holul spitalului instead of Un copil pare…?

Romanian word order is fairly flexible. Both are correct:

În holul spitalului un copil pare relaxat, altul pare plictisit.
→ Emphasis on where this is happening. The location is the “scene‑setting” element.
Un copil pare relaxat în holul spitalului, altul pare plictisit.
→ Emphasis more on the child first, then you mention the location.

Starting with În holul spitalului is like saying:

“In the hospital hallway, child…”

It’s a very common way to open a descriptive sentence in Romanian.

Is the comma before altul required? What does it mark?

Yes, the comma is needed here. The sentence has two coordinated clauses that share the same initial location phrase:

(În holul spitalului) un copil pare relaxat,
(În holul spitalului) altul pare plictisit.

You don’t repeat În holul spitalului, but it’s understood for the second clause. The comma separates:

un copil pare relaxat
altul pare plictisit

You could also add a conjunction:

…, iar altul pare plictisit. – … and another (one), meanwhile, seems bored.
…, și altul pare plictisit. – … and another (one) seems bored.

Could I replace În holul spitalului with La spital or În spital? Do they mean the same thing?

They’re similar but not the same:

În holul spitalului = in the hospital hallway / lobby – very specific location.
În spital = inside the hospital – general interior, not specifying where.
La spital = at the hospital – more about the general place/institution, can be outside or inside, not precise.

You can change the meaning slightly:

La spital un copil pare relaxat, altul pare plictisit.
→ At the hospital, a child seems relaxed, another seems bored. (vague location)
În spital un copil pare relaxat…
→ Inside the hospital, a child seems relaxed… (still general interior)

Only În holul spitalului singles out the hallway space very explicitly.

If I make copil plural, how does the rest of the sentence change?

You must adjust the verb, adjectives, and pronoun to agree in number:

Singular:

În holul spitalului un copil pare relaxat, altul pare plictisit.

Possible plural version:

În holul spitalului niște copii par relaxați, alții par plictisiți.

Changes:

niște copii (some children) – plural subject
par – 3rd person plural of a părea
relaxați / plictisiți – masculine/mixed plural forms
alții – plural of altul (others / other ones)

How would I pronounce În holul spitalului and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA‑style):

În – /ɨn/ (a central, somewhat “closed” vowel, not like English “in”)
holul – HO‑lul → /ˈholul/ (stress on ho)
spitalului – spi‑TA‑lu‑lui → /spiˈtalului/ (stress on ta)

So:

În HOLul spiTA-lui

Rough English approximation:

ɨn HO-lul spi-TA-looy

The main stress falls on HO (holul) and TA (spitalului).