Breakdown of Unde este supermarketul? Îl caut.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
unde
where
îl
him / it (m, n)
căuta
to look for
Questions & Answers about Unde este supermarketul? Îl caut.
Why is the word for supermarket written as supermarketul?
In Romanian, the word for 'the' is attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front. The base word is supermarket, and adding -ul makes it supermarketul (the supermarket).
Why is the word 'I' missing before caut?
In Romanian, you usually drop subject pronouns like eu (I). The verb ending changes depending on who is doing the action. The form caut already means 'I look' or 'I am looking', so you do not need to add eu.
Does caut mean 'I look' or 'I am looking'?
It means both! Unlike English, Romanian does not have a separate continuous tense for actions happening right now. You use the same present tense verb caut for both 'I look' and 'I am looking'.
What is Îl and why is it placed before the verb?
Îl means 'it' (or 'him') and is a direct object pronoun. In Romanian, these short pronoun words are placed directly before the verb. So instead of saying 'I look for it', you say the equivalent of 'It (I) look for' (Îl caut).
Why use îl for 'it'? Doesn't that usually mean 'him'?