Eu nu merg fără cască când strada este aglomerată.

I do not go without a helmet when the street is crowded.

Breakdown of Eu nu merg fără cască când strada este aglomerată.

• nu: not
• a fi: to be
• eu: I
• fără: without

Questions & Answers about Eu nu merg fără cască când strada este aglomerată.

Why is eu included? Doesn’t merg already mean I go?

Yes. In Romanian, the verb ending already shows the subject, so merg by itself means I go.

• (Eu) merg = I go
• (Tu) mergi = you go

So eu is optional here. It may be included for:

• emphasis: I don’t go without a helmet...
• contrast: Eu nu merg..., dar el merge.
• clarity, especially for learners or in longer sentences

A more neutral version would simply be:

• Nu merg fără cască când strada este aglomerată.

How does negation work in nu merg?

Romanian usually makes a verb negative by putting nu directly before the verb.

• merg = I go
• nu merg = I do not go / I don’t go

Unlike English, Romanian does not need a helper like do.

So:

• I don’t go → nu merg
• not nu fac merge or anything similar

In this sentence, the pattern is:

• Eu + nu + merg + ...

What exactly does mean here? Is it or ?