Breakdown of Clasa este mare și curată.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
și
and
mare
big
curat
clean
Questions & Answers about Clasa este mare și curată.
Why does the sentence use clasa instead of the dictionary word clasă?
In Romanian, the word for "the" (the definite article) attaches to the very end of the noun instead of being a separate word. For feminine words ending in -ă like clasă (classroom), you change the -ă to -a to get clasa (the classroom).
Since clasa is feminine, why doesn't the word for "big" end in -ă to match curată?
It is true that adjectives change to match the gender of the noun! The base word for clean is curat, which adds an -ă to become curată for feminine nouns. However, mare (big) belongs to a special group of adjectives that end in -e. These adjectives keep the exact same form for both masculine and feminine singular nouns, so it does not change.
Can I use e instead of este in this sentence?
Does clasa only mean "the classroom", or can it mean "the class" too?
Just like in English, clasa is a versatile word. It can refer to the physical room (the classroom), the group of students, or the educational grade level. In this specific sentence, because it is described as "big and clean", context tells us it means the physical room.