Learn Hardcore Romanian: Acum sora mea vrea să fie inginer, dar încă învață la școală. - Now my sister wants to be an engineer, but she is still studying at school.

soră = sister (indefinite form)
sora = the sister (definite form; the -a at the end is the definite article)
sora mea = my sister (literally “the sister my”)

So:

sora mea = my sister
fratele meu = my brother
cartea mea = my book

Putting the possessive before (mea soră) is not normal modern Romanian; it sounds archaic, poetic, or just wrong in everyday speech. The regular order is noun (with definite article) + possessive adjective.

Why does soră become sora in sora mea?

Romanian uses a definite article attached to the end of the noun:

soră = sister
sora = the sister

When you say “my sister”, Romanian treats it like “the my sister”:

sora mea = my sister
literally: “the sister my”.

This is standard for most nouns:

carte → cartea (book → the book) → cartea mea (my book)
frate → fratele (brother → the brother) → fratele meu (my brother)

So soră mea is wrong; you need the definite form sora before mea.

Why is it vrea să fie for “wants to be”? Why do we need să?

Romanian often uses să + subjunctive instead of an infinitive after verbs like “want”.

Verb: a vrea = to want
Pattern: [subject] + vrea să + [verb in subjunctive]

So:

sora mea vrea să fie inginer
= my sister wants to be an engineer

Other examples:

Vreau să merg acasă. = I want to go home.
El vrea să învețe română. = He wants to learn Romanian.

English uses “to + verb” (“to be”), but Romanian uses să + subjunctive (“să fie”).

Why is it fie and not este after să?

Because fie is the subjunctive form of a fi (to be) in the 3rd person singular.

Present indicative of a fi (to state a fact):

el/ea este = he/she is

Present subjunctive of a fi (for wishes, desires, possibilities, etc.):

el/ea să fie = that he/she be

After să, you generally use the subjunctive:

vreau să fiu (I want to be)
vrea să fie (he/she wants to be)

So vrea să fie is the correct form for “(she) wants to be”.

Why is there no word for “a/an” before inginer? Why not un inginer?

When you talk about someone’s profession using a fi (to be), Romanian usually omits the indefinite article:

Ea este inginer. = She is an engineer.
El este profesor. = He is a teacher.
Sora mea vrea să fie inginer. = My sister wants to be an engineer.

You can say un inginer (“an engineer”) in other contexts, for example:

Cunosc un inginer. = I know an engineer.

Using un inginer after a fi is possible but usually adds emphasis, like “She is one engineer (among others)” or sounds a bit marked. The neutral, most common form for professions is without the article in this structure.

What exactly does încă mean here, and where can it go in the sentence?

încă means still or yet in this context.

dar încă învață la școală
= “but she is still studying/learning at school.”

Typical position:

usually before the verb: încă învață

You can also say:

dar învață încă la școală

This is grammatically correct, but dar încă învață la școală is more common and sounds more natural in everyday speech.

Other examples:

Încă lucrează acolo. = He/She still works there.
Ești încă aici? = Are you still here?

Is încă the same as mai when it means “still”?

They overlap, but they’re not always interchangeable.

Here, you could say:

dar încă învață la școală
dar mai învață la școală

Both can mean “but she still studies at school.”
Nuances:

încă often suggests that the situation continues up to now (still, yet).
mai is very common with verbs and sometimes sounds a bit more colloquial.

Examples:

El încă este la birou. = He is still at the office.
El mai este la birou. = He is still at the office.

Often they can replace each other, but încă can sound slightly more neutral/formal, and mai is very frequent in everyday speech. In your sentence, încă is perfectly natural.

Why is it la școală and not în școală?

la and în both translate as “at/in”, but usage differs:

la școală = at school (as an institution, as a place where you study)
- Sora mea încă învață la școală. = My sister is still in school / still studying at school.
în școală = inside the physical building, inside the school
- Elevii sunt în școală. = The pupils are in the school building.

So in your sentence, you’re talking about her being a student, so la școală is correct. It’s similar to English “at school” (as a student), not just physically “in the school building”.

Why is it la școală and not la școala (with an -a at the end)?

școală = school (indefinite)
școala = the school (definite)

With la + bare noun, Romanian often refers to the institution/generic activity:

la școală = at school (as an institution, generically)
la facultate = at university
la lucru = at work

la școala would mean at the school (a specific one):

Merg la școala din colț. = I’m going to the school on the corner.

In your sentence, it’s the generic “at school”, so la școală is correct.

Romanian just uses a simple present: vrea, învață. Why isn’t there a special form for “is still studying”?

Romanian doesn’t have a separate present progressive tense like English (“is studying”). The simple present usually covers both:

învață = he/she learns / he/she is learning / he/she studies / he/she is studying

So:

Sora mea încă învață la școală.
can be translated as
“My sister still studies at school.”
or
“My sister is still studying at school.”

The context decides which English form is best. Romanian just uses the present simple.

Where can acum go in the sentence, and does the meaning change?

acum means now. In your sentence it’s at the beginning:

Acum sora mea vrea să fie inginer, dar încă învață la școală.
= Now my sister wants to be an engineer, but she is still at school.

You can move acum:

Sora mea acum vrea să fie inginer…
– Slight emphasis on “now” as a contrast with the past.
Sora mea vrea acum să fie inginer…
– Stronger focus on “now” modifying vrea; implies “it is now that she wants to be an engineer (maybe before she didn’t).”

All are grammatical; changing the position shifts the emphasis, but the basic meaning is the same: the desire is current.

Why is it sora mea vrea and not something like sora mea vor?

Because sora mea is third person singular (she), so the verb must also be third person singular.

Present of a vrea (to want):

eu vreau = I want
tu vrei = you (sg) want
el/ea vrea = he/she wants
noi vrem = we want
voi vreți = you (pl) want
ei/ele vor = they want

So:

sora mea vrea = my sister (she) wants
surorile mele vor = my sisters (they) want

vor is used only with a plural subject (they), not with sora mea.

Is the word order “sora mea vrea să fie inginer” fixed, or can I change it?

Basic neutral order is:

Subject – Verb – Rest
Sora mea vrea să fie inginer.

Romanian, however, allows flexible word order for emphasis or style:

Vrea sora mea să fie inginer.
– sounds like a question in the right intonation, or it strongly focuses on sora mea.
Să fie sora mea inginer!
– could be exclamative, wishful, or very marked in tone.

For a normal, neutral statement, sora mea vrea să fie inginer is the most natural and safest choice.

How do you pronounce ș, ă, and î in words like școală, acum, and încă?

Brief pronunciation guide:

ș = like English sh
- școală ≈ “shkwa-lə”
ă (as in școală, acum doesn’t have ă) = a short, central vowel, like the a in “sofa” (unstressed “uh” sound)
- școală ≈ “shkwa-lə” (the last syllable is like “luh”)
î (also written â inside words) = a sound with no exact English equivalent; it’s a central, tense vowel
- încă ≈ “uhn-kə” (but with the vowel pronounced more centrally and tense than English “uh”)

Whole words roughly:

Acum ≈ “ah-koom”
sora ≈ “so-rah” (both vowels like in Italian/Spanish)
vrea ≈ “vreh-ah” (blended into one syllable “vrea”)
încă ≈ “uhn-kə”
școală ≈ “shkwa-lə”

The exact vowel quality is a bit different from English, but these approximations will get you close.