Breakdown of E ora cinci și jumătate.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
și
and
cinci
five
ora
the hour
jumătatea
the half
Questions & Answers about E ora cinci și jumătate.
Why does the sentence start with just E instead of a word for 'It is'?
E is the short, everyday way to say este (is). In Romanian, you do not need a filler word like 'it' to start a sentence about the time. You just start directly with the verb.
Why do we use ora here instead of just oră?
Ora means 'the hour' because the -a at the end acts as the word 'the'. When telling time in Romanian, you usually use this specific form. It is literally like saying 'It is the hour five'.
How does Romanian express 'half past' the hour?
Instead of 'half past', Romanian uses și jumătate, which literally translates to 'and a half'. So the structure is exactly 'the hour five and a half'.
Do I always have to say ora when telling the time?
Not always! In everyday conversation, if it is obvious you are talking about the time, you can drop ora completely. Just saying E cinci și jumătate is very common and perfectly correct.
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