Word
Ei au vecini simpatici.
Meaning
They have nice neighbors.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ei au vecini simpatici.
avea
to have
ei
they; them (after a preposition)
vecinul
the neighbor
simpatic
nice
Questions & Answers about Ei au vecini simpatici.
Why is the word for neighbors vecini with one -i instead of two?
Vecini means "neighbors", while vecinii (with a double -i) means "the neighbors". Since the sentence is "They have nice neighbors" (without "the"), we just use the basic plural ending, which for most masculine nouns is a single -i.
Why does simpatic become simpatici here?
Adjectives in Romanian have to match the noun they describe. Because vecini is a masculine plural noun, the adjective simpatic (nice) takes the masculine plural ending -i to become simpatici.
Does adding -i to simpatic change how it is pronounced?
Yes! In the singular simpatic, the c sounds like a hard "k" sound. When we add the plural -i to make simpatici, the ci combination makes a soft "ch" sound, like in the English word "cheese".
Could we use ele instead of ei for "they"?
Yes, if "they" refers entirely to women, you would use ele au (they have). Ei is used when "they" refers to a group of men or a mixed group of men and women. The verb au (have) stays exactly the same either way.