Deschid sertarul acum, ca să iau cheile.

Deschid is the 1st person singular present tense of a deschide (to open).

In Romanian, the present tense can often cover both:

• I open
• I am opening

So Deschid sertarul acum can naturally mean I’m opening the drawer now.

The word acum (now) helps show that the action is happening at this moment.

Romanian often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

• deschid already tells us the subject is I
• so Eu deschid sertarul acum is possible, but usually unnecessary

You would add eu mainly for:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity

For example:

• Eu deschid sertarul, nu tu. = I’m opening the drawer, not you.

Sertarul means the drawer, while sertar means a drawer or just drawer.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun:

• sertar = drawer
• sertarul = the drawer

So:

• Deschid sertarul = I open the drawer
• Deschid un sertar = I open a drawer

Cheile means the keys.

Here is the pattern:

• chei = keys
• cheile = the keys

Again, Romanian often adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

So the sentence refers to specific keys, not just any keys.

Ca să means in order to or so that.

It introduces a purpose clause: it explains why the speaker is opening the drawer.

So:

• Deschid sertarul acum = I’m opening the drawer now
• ca să iau cheile = so that I can get/take the keys

Together:

• I’m opening the drawer now so that I can get the keys.

After ca să, Romanian normally uses the subjunctive.

The verb here is a lua (to take), and the form iau is the 1st person singular form used here after ca să:

• ca să iau = so that I may take / in order to take

For this particular verb, the form looks the same as the present indicative I take, but grammatically it is functioning in a subjunctive construction after ca să.

A very common pattern is:

• ca să + verb

Examples:

• Vin ca să te ajut. = I’m coming to help you.
• Învăț ca să reușesc. = I study in order to succeed.

Yes. Pentru a lua cheile also means in order to take the keys.

So you could say:

• Deschid sertarul acum, ca să iau cheile.
• Deschid sertarul acum, pentru a lua cheile.

Both are correct, but there is a slight difference in feel:

• ca să is very common and natural in everyday speech
• pentru a can sound a bit more formal or more explicitly structured

Also, ca să lets you clearly show the subject through the verb form:

• ca să iau = so that I can take

Yes, Romanian word order is fairly flexible.

These are all possible, with slight differences in emphasis:

• Deschid sertarul acum, ca să iau cheile.
• Deschid acum sertarul, ca să iau cheile.
• Acum deschid sertarul, ca să iau cheile.

The original sentence sounds very natural.
Placing acum in different spots changes what is emphasized:

• Deschid sertarul acum = emphasis on now
• Acum deschid sertarul = stronger fronted emphasis on now

Yes, a lua literally means to take.

But in natural English, take is not always the most idiomatic translation in this context. English often says:

• get the keys
• grab the keys
• take the keys

So ca să iau cheile literally means so that I take the keys, but idiomatically in English it is often better as:

• so I can get the keys

The comma separates the main clause from the purpose clause.

• main clause: Deschid sertarul acum
• purpose clause: ca să iau cheile

In Romanian, it is common to use a comma before a clause introduced by ca să, especially when the sentence is clearly divided into two parts.

Iau is pronounced roughly like yaoo in one syllable, not as two separate words.

A rough guide:

• iau ≈ yow / yaoo

This form can feel unusual to English speakers because of the vowel combination, but it is a very common Romanian verb form:

• iau = I take
• from a lua = to take

No, not naturally.

The phrase ca să shows purpose, not cause.

So it means:

• I open the drawer now in order to take the keys
• I’m opening the drawer now so I can get the keys

If you wanted to express because, Romanian would use something like:

• pentru că
• fiindcă

For example:

• Deschid sertarul pentru că sunt acolo cheile. = I’m opening the drawer because the keys are there.

Here are the main forms:

• deschid ← a deschide = to open
• sertarul ← sertar = drawer / the drawer
• acum = now
• ca să = in order to / so that
• iau ← a lua = to take
• cheile ← cheie = key / the keys

This is useful because Romanian often changes the noun endings to show definiteness, and verb forms change a lot depending on the subject.