Earlier today
Azi-dimineață means this morning; you will mostly hear it with a past tense. Azi-noapte is the night that has just ended — the hours you slept through; aseară is yesterday evening. Both are written with a hyphen.
| I woke up late this morning. | M-am trezit târziu azi-dimineață. |
| It rained a lot last night. | Azi-noapte a plouat mult. |
Odată or o dată?
Written as one word, odată means once, at some time in the past — every Romanian fairy tale opens with A fost odată ca niciodată (once upon a time). Written as two words, o dată counts: one time, o dată pe săptămână.
| Once upon a time there was a king. | A fost odată un rege. |
| I was young once, too. | Și eu am fost odată tânăr. |
Beginning and middle
Începutul pairs with sfârșitul: la începutul lunii (at the beginning of the month), and without the article, la început (at first). Miezul is the inside of something: la miezul nopții is midnight, and recipes ask for miez de nucă (shelled walnuts).
| At first it was hard. | La început a fost greu. |
| I got home at midnight. | Am ajuns acasă la miezul nopții. |
Lasting, stopping, coming back
| verb | present | example |
|---|---|---|
| dura | durează | Cât durează? — How long does it take? |
| înceta | încetează | A încetat să plouă. |
| reveni | revin, revii, revine | Revin imediat. — I'll be right back. |
Reveni is conjugated like veni. Înceta takes să, just like a începe să.
| The movie lasts two hours. | Filmul durează două ore. |
| I'll be right back. | Revin imediat. |
Telling it in order
The pluperfect places one past event before another: when I woke up, the rain had already stopped.
| When I woke up, the rain had stopped. | Când m-am trezit, ploaia încetase. |
