Learn Romanian: Beau o cafea înainte de curs. - I drink a coffee before class.

In Romanian, you often drop the subject pronoun (like eu, tu, or el) because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. The form beau means "I drink", so adding eu is optional and mostly used if you want to add emphasis.

Wait, doesn't beau also mean "they drink"?

Yes, it does! The verb a bea (to drink) is irregular. The exact same form, beau, is used for both "I drink" and "they drink". You usually rely on context to tell them apart, and here "I drink" is the most natural fit.

Why do we need the word de in înainte de curs? Can I just say înainte curs?

You need the de. By itself, înainte just means "before" or "ahead" in a general sense. When you want to link it to a specific noun to say "before [something]", you must use the two-word phrase înainte de.

How do I know to use o instead of un for "a coffee"?

In Romanian, the word for "a" or "an" changes based on the gender of the noun. Because cafea is a feminine noun, it takes the feminine article o. If the noun were masculine or neuter, you would use un.