Breakdown of Copiilor le este somn după cină.
copilul
the child
după
after
cina
the dinner
a-i fi somn
to be sleepy
Questions & Answers about Copiilor le este somn după cină.
Why is it copiilor and not copiii?
Because this sentence uses the children as the experiencers of the state, not as the grammatical subject.
- copiii = the children in the nominative/accusative
- copiilor = to the children / for the children in the dative
Romanian often expresses feelings or bodily states with a dative person plus a fi:
- Îmi este frig = I am cold
- Îi este foame = He/She is hungry
- Copiilor le este somn = literally To the children, sleepiness is
So copiilor is correct because this pattern requires the dative.
What does le mean here?
Le is the unstressed dative clitic meaning to them.
It refers back to copiilor and repeats it in clitic form. This is very common in Romanian and is called clitic doubling.
So:
- copiilor = to the children
- le = to them
Together, Copiilor le este somn is literally something like:
To the children, to them is sleepiness.
That sounds redundant in English, but it is normal Romanian.
Why is it and not , if we are talking about more than one child?