Questions & Answers about E câinele aici?
Why does the sentence start directly with E instead of a word for 'it'?
Romanian frequently drops subject pronouns (like he, she, or it) because the verb usually tells you who is doing the action. E is the short form of este (is). Since we mention câinele right after, adding an extra word for 'it' is unnecessary.
How do you know to add -le to the end of câine instead of -ul?
Could I change the word order and say E aici câinele?
Yes, absolutely. Romanian word order is very flexible. Both E câinele aici? and E aici câinele? are correct and mean the same thing. Putting aici at the end just puts a tiny bit more focus on the location.
Why don't we need a helper word to turn this into a question?
In English, we often swap words around or add helper words to ask a question. In Romanian, you can use the exact same word order as a normal statement and just raise your voice at the end! So E câinele aici. with a flat tone simply means 'The dog is here'.
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