Breakdown of Copilul are douăzeci de luni.
avea
to have
copilul
the child
douăzeci
twenty
de
of / to, near (after se apropia)
luna
the month
Questions & Answers about Copilul are douăzeci de luni.
Why is there a de between douăzeci and luni?
In Romanian, when you count things using a number from 20 onwards (like douăzeci here), you must put the preposition de between the number and the noun. If the child were 19 months old, it would just be nouăsprezece luni without the de.
Why does the sentence use are (has) instead of a word for 'is'?
In Romanian, you don't say that someone 'is' a certain age. Instead, you say they 'have' a certain number of years or months. Since copilul (the child) is a 'he' or 'she', we use are, which means 'has'.
Doesn't luni mean 'Monday'?
Yes, it does! However, luni is also the plural form of the word lună, which means 'month' (and also 'moon'). Since we are talking about a quantity of time here, it translates to 'months'.
Where is the word for 'the' in Copilul?
The base word for 'child' is copil. In Romanian, the word for 'the' (the definite article) attaches to the very end of the noun. For masculine nouns like copil, we add the ending -ul, creating copilul (the child).
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