Ea spune că restul este pe masă, lângă listă.

She says that the change is on the table, next to the list.

Breakdown of Ea spune că restul este pe masă, lângă listă.

• a fi: to be
• ea: she
• masa: the table
• pe: on

Questions & Answers about Ea spune că restul este pe masă, lângă listă.

Why does the sentence start with Ea? I thought Romanian often drops subject pronouns.

Yes, Romanian often drops subject pronouns because the verb already shows the person.

Here, spune already means he/she says, so Ea spune is not strictly necessary. You could also say:

Spune că restul este pe masă, lângă listă.

Including Ea usually adds one of these effects:

• emphasis: she says...
• contrast: she says it, not someone else
• clarity: if several people were being discussed

So Ea is correct, but not always required.

What does că mean, and is it like English that?

Yes. Că is the conjunction that.

It introduces a subordinate clause after verbs like:

• a spune — to say
• a crede — to believe
• a ști — to know
• a crede — to think/believe

So:

• Ea spune că... = She says that...

In English, that is often optional. In Romanian, că is much more commonly expressed.

Also, că is pronounced roughly kuh, with ă as a schwa sound, like the last vowel in sofa.

What exactly does restul mean here?