Martorul fotografiază paguba și zgârietura.

and

Breakdown of Martorul fotografiază paguba și zgârietura.

• paguba: the damage; loss
• martorul: the witness
• zgârietura: the scratch

Questions & Answers about Martorul fotografiază paguba și zgârietura.

Why do the nouns have endings like -ul and -a attached to them?

In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun, instead of being a separate word like the in English.

So in this sentence:

• martorul = the witness
• paguba = the damage
• zgârietura = the scratch

The basic dictionary forms are:

• martor = witness
• pagubă = damage, loss
• zgârietură = scratch

This attached article is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Romanian.

Why is it martorul but paguba and zgârietura?

Because the article changes depending on the noun’s gender and form.

Here:

• martor is a masculine noun, so the definite singular form is martorul
• pagubă is a feminine noun, so the definite singular form is paguba
• zgârietură is also feminine, so the definite singular form is zgârietura

A very common pattern is:

• masculine singular definite: -ul
• feminine singular definite: -a

So this sentence is also a good example of noun gender in Romanian.