Question 1

Why does it say Pisica albă instead of Albă pisica?

Accepted Answer

In Romanian, descriptive adjectives like albă (white) usually come after the noun they describe. Also, notice that the adjective changes to match the noun. Because pisica is a feminine word, we use the feminine form albă instead of the masculine form alb.

Question 2

How do we say the word for 'the' in pisica (the cat)?

Accepted Answer

Instead of using a separate word for 'the', Romanian attaches it to the end of the noun. For feminine words ending in -ă like pisică (cat), we drop the -ă and add -a, making it pisica (the cat).

Question 3

Why does canapeaua end in -ua instead of just -a like pisica?

Accepted Answer

The 'the' ending changes depending on the last letters of the base word. Feminine nouns that end in -ea, like canapea (sofa), form 'the' by adding -ua to the end. So canapea becomes canapeaua.

Question 4

Why is there a 'the' ending on canapeaua when it follows the preposition pe (on)?

Accepted Answer

Normally, nouns right after prepositions like pe (on) drop their 'the' ending in Romanian, so 'on the sofa' would just be pe canapea. However, because there is an adjective (neagră) describing the sofa, Romanian rules say the noun must take its 'the' ending again. That is why it becomes pe canapeaua neagră.

Question 5

What is the dictionary form of doarme (sleeps)?

Accepted Answer

The dictionary form is a dormi (to sleep). In Romanian, verbs sometimes change a vowel in the middle of the word when they are conjugated. Here, the o in dormi changes to oa in doarme for the he/she/it form.

Pisica albă doarme pe canapeaua neagră.

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