Șoferul este vinovat.

The driver is at fault.

Breakdown of Șoferul este vinovat.

• a fi: to be
• șoferul: the driver
• vinovat: at fault; guilty

Questions & Answers about Șoferul este vinovat.

Why is it șoferul and not just șofer?

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• șofer = driver
• șoferul = the driver

So -ul here means the.

This is very common in Romanian:

• băiat = boy
• băiatul = the boy

Why isn’t there a separate word for the?

Romanian normally uses an attached definite article, not a separate word like English the.

So instead of saying something like the driver, Romanian says șoferul, where the ending -ul carries the meaning of the.

This is one of the big structural differences between English and Romanian.

What does este mean?

Este is the 3rd person singular form of a fi, which means to be.

So:

• eu sunt = I am
• tu ești = you are
• el/ea este = he/she is

In this sentence, este means is.