Word
Trebuie să cumpăr o baterie.
Meaning
I must buy a battery.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Trebuie să cumpăr o baterie.
o
a / an (f)
cumpăra
to buy
să
to (subjunctive marker)
trebui
to have to / to be needed (with a dative: to need)
Questions & Answers about Trebuie să cumpăr o baterie.
Why isn't there a word for "I" before trebuie?
The verb trebuie is special because it is impersonal, meaning its form doesn't change depending on who is doing the action. Instead of saying "I must", Romanian basically says "It is necessary". You don't need to put eu (I) before it.
What does the little word să do here?
If trebuie doesn't change, how do we know the sentence means "I must buy"?