Questions & Answers about Primăvara începe în luna martie.
Why does the word for spring end in "-a" here (primăvara)?
In Romanian, the word for "the" is attached to the end of the noun. The base word for "spring" is primăvară. To say "the spring", you change the final "-ă" to "-a", making it primăvara. Romanian often uses "the" for seasons in general statements, which is why it translates literally to "The spring begins".
Could I just say în martie instead of în luna martie?
Yes, you can! Both în martie (in March) and în luna martie (in the month of March) are perfectly natural and common in everyday Romanian. The base word is lună (month), and here it is luna (the month). Adding it just makes the sentence sound slightly more complete or formal.
Why isn't martie capitalized?
Unlike English, Romanian does not capitalize the names of months, days of the week, or seasons. They are only capitalized if they happen to be the very first word in a sentence.
What is the base form of the verb începe?
The base form (or dictionary form) is a începe, which means "to begin" or "to start". In this sentence, începe is the present tense form for "it" (referring to the spring).