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Questions & Answers about Unghiul este ciudat.
What does unghiul mean, and why does it end in -ul?
Unghiul means the angle.
The base noun is unghi = angle. Romanian often puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.
So:
- unghi = an angle / angle
- unghiul = the angle
This attached ending is very common in Romanian:
- băiat = boy
- băiatul = the boy
Why is it este here? Can Romanian sometimes leave it out?
Este means is. It is the 3rd person singular form of a fi = to be.
In this sentence:
- Unghiul = the angle
- este = is
- ciudat = strange
So the structure is very close to English: The angle is strange.
In everyday Romanian, este is sometimes replaced by e:
- Unghiul e ciudat.
That is more conversational, but both are correct.
Unlike in some languages, Romanian usually keeps the verb to be in this kind of sentence.