Pune ciorba la microunde înainte să vină oaspeții.

Pune is the 2nd person singular imperative of a pune, meaning to put / to place.

So Pune ciorba... means Put the soup... or, more naturally in context, Heat the soup...

Romanian often uses a pune in everyday instructions where English might use a more specific verb.

The basic noun is ciorbă, which means a traditional Romanian-style sour soup.

In the sentence, it appears as ciorba, which means the soup. Romanian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word like the in front.

So:

• ciorbă = soup
• ciorba = the soup

The final -a is the attached definite article.

Because Romanian normally uses a postposed definite article: the article is attached to the noun.

Examples:

• băiat = boy

• băiatul = the boy

• ciorbă = soup
• ciorba = the soup

So ciorba already includes the meaning of the soup.

Not exactly. Ciorbă is a specific kind of soup in Romanian cuisine, usually somewhat sour or tangy.

Romanian also has supă, which is another word for soup, often a clearer or milder soup.

So:

• ciorbă = a traditional Romanian sour-style soup
• supă = soup more generally, often clearer broth-style soup

In many translations, both may simply appear as soup, but in Romanian they are not always the same.

Literally, la microunde means at microwaves, but in normal usage it means in the microwave or in the microwave oven.

It is short for something like cuptorul cu microunde = the microwave oven.

So:

• Pune ciorba la microunde = Put the soup in the microwave
• In context, this often implies heat it in the microwave

This is a very common everyday Romanian expression.

In everyday Romanian, it usually implies both: put it in the microwave so it can be heated there.

Just like in English, Put it in the microwave often really means Put it in the microwave to heat it up.

So the sentence is not just about location. It strongly suggests the action of reheating.

Because after înainte să (before + a verb clause), Romanian uses the subjunctive.

The structure is:

• înainte să
  • verb in the subjunctive

So:

• vină is the subjunctive form of a veni = to come

That is why Romanian says:

• înainte să vină oaspeții = before the guests come

not înainte vine.

Vină is the 3rd person singular subjunctive form of a veni (to come), used here after să.

In this sentence:

• să vină = that ... come / to come in a subjunctive structure
• înainte să vină oaspeții = before the guests come

Even though oaspeții is plural, the verb vină looks the same for singular and plural in the present subjunctive:

• să vină el = that he come
• să vină ei = that they come

So the form does not change here.

Because in the present subjunctive, many Romanian verbs use the same form for 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural.

So:

• să vină el = that he come
• să vină ea = that she come
• să vină ei = that they come
• să vină ele = that they come

The subject tells you whether it is singular or plural.

Oaspeții means the guests.

The base forms are:

• oaspete = guest
• oaspeți = guests
• oaspeții = the guests

The ending -ii comes from adding the definite article to the plural form.

So:

• plural indefinite: oaspeți
• plural definite: oaspeții

That final spelling can look strange at first, but it is very normal in Romanian.

You do pronounce the ending, but not as two fully separate strong vowels the way an English speaker might expect.

Very roughly:

• oaspeți sounds like WAHS-pets
• oaspeții sounds like WAHS-pet-see or WAHS-pets-ee, depending on how detailed you want to hear the final sounds

The important point for learners is that -ii is not silent; it helps mark the definite plural.

Because this is a command, and Romanian often begins commands with the imperative verb.

So the structure is very natural:

• Pune = Put
• ciorba = the soup
• la microunde = in the microwave
• înainte să vină oaspeții = before the guests come

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but this order is straightforward and common for instructions.

Yes, that is possible, because Romanian word order is flexible. But Pune ciorba la microunde sounds more neutral and natural in many contexts.

Placing ciorba right after the verb makes the object clear immediately.

So:

• Pune ciorba la microunde = very natural
• Pune la microunde ciorba = possible, but slightly more marked or context-dependent

Not in this sentence as it stands.

Use:

• înainte să

  • verb
  • înainte să vină oaspeții = before the guests come

• înainte de

  • noun / infinitive-like noun phrase
  • înainte de sosirea oaspeților = before the guests’ arrival

So because this sentence has a full verb clause (vină), înainte să is the correct choice.

Literally, it is put the soup in the microwave, but in real-life use it often carries the practical meaning heat up the soup in the microwave.

Romanian frequently lets context supply that extra meaning.

So depending on the situation, an English translation might be:

• Put the soup in the microwave
• Heat the soup in the microwave
• Microwave the soup

All can fit.

It is informal singular, because pune is the imperative used when speaking to one person in a familiar way.

If you were speaking politely or to more than one person, the form would be different:

• Pune = informal singular command
• Puneți = plural or polite singular/plural command

So:

• Pune ciorba la microunde... = say this to one person informally
• Puneți ciorba la microunde... = say this to several people, or politely to one person