Learn Romanian: Este un ziar? - Is it a newspaper?

Este un ziar?

Is it a newspaper?

Breakdown of Este un ziar?

to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)

a / an (m/n)

ziarul

the newspaper

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Questions & Answers about Este un ziar?

Why do we use un here instead of o for "a"?

In Romanian, the word for "a" changes depending on the noun's gender. Ziar (newspaper) is a neuter noun. Because neuter nouns behave exactly like masculine nouns in their singular form, we use un. If the noun were feminine, you would use o.

Where is the word for "it" in Este un ziar?

You don't actually need one! In Romanian, the subject pronoun (like I, you, he, she, it) is usually left out because the verb form gives you enough information. Este means "is", but easily translates as "it is" when talking about an object.

How does the word order show that this is a question?

It doesn't! Unlike English, which swaps the word order ("It is" becomes "Is it?"), Romanian keeps the exact same word order for both statements and yes/no questions. The statement "It is a newspaper" is also Este un ziar. To ask the question, you simply raise your voice at the end of the sentence.