Femeia are un frate și o soră.

Questions & Answers about Femeia are un frate și o soră.

Why is the verb are instead of something that looks like a avea?
The verb a avea (to have) is very irregular. For the third person singular (he, she, or it), the form is are. You just have to memorize this form, as it does not follow standard conjugation rules!
Why is the word for woman femeia instead of femeie?
In Romanian, definite articles (like the English word 'the') attach directly to the end of the noun. The base word is femeie. Because it is a feminine noun ending in -e, we change the final -e to -a to mean 'the woman', giving us femeia.
Why do we use un before frate but o before soră?
These are the Romanian words for 'a' or 'an', and they change based on the gender of the noun. Frate (brother) is masculine, so it takes the masculine article un. Soră (sister) is feminine, so it uses the feminine article o.
Doesn't the ending -e on frate usually mean it is a feminine noun?
Many feminine nouns do end in -e, but noun endings are not an absolute rule. Frate means brother, so its natural biological gender makes it a masculine noun. This is why it acts like a masculine word and uses un.

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