Learn Romanian: Îl iubesc pe actorul nou.

Îl iubesc pe actorul nou.

I love the new actor.

Breakdown of Îl iubesc pe actorul nou.

(marks a specific human direct object)

Questions & Answers about Îl iubesc pe actorul nou.

Why do we need the word Îl at the beginning of the sentence?

Îl is a pronoun meaning "him". In Romanian, when the object of your sentence is a specific person, you usually have to use a double object. You point to the person early with Îl, and then state exactly who he is later with pe actorul.

Doesn't the word pe usually mean "on"? Why is it used here?

You are right, pe means "on" when talking about locations. However, Romanian also uses pe as a special grammar marker right before a direct object if that object is a specific person. Since "the actor" is a specific human, we must put pe in front of him.

How do we say "the" in this sentence?

In Romanian, "the" is attached to the end of the noun rather than being a separate word. The base word is actor, and the masculine ending for "the" is -ul, giving us actorul (the actor).

Why does nou come after actorul?

Unlike English, which puts the describing word (adjective) before the noun ("new actor"), Romanian usually puts it right after the noun it describes (actorul nou).