Learn Romanian: Eu verific adesea aparatele, dar astăzi nu le-am verificat. - I often check the devices, but today I did not check them.

Eu verific adesea aparatele, dar astăzi nu le-am verificat.

I often check the devices, but today I did not check them.

Breakdown of Eu verific adesea aparatele, dar astăzi nu le-am verificat.

Questions & Answers about Eu verific adesea aparatele, dar astăzi nu le-am verificat.

Why do we use le-am in the second half instead of just am?

le is the direct object pronoun meaning "them", referring back to aparatele (the devices). In the past tense, these short pronouns attach directly to the front of the helper verb am with a hyphen, making le-am.

Since aparat is a neuter noun, why do we use le for "them", which is usually the feminine plural pronoun?

In Romanian, neuter nouns act like masculine nouns in the singular and feminine nouns in the plural. Since aparate is plural, it takes the feminine plural pronoun le.

What are the rules for placing the negative word nu with a hyphenated word like le-am?

The word nu always goes right before the complete verb structure. It cannot break up the pronoun and the helper verb, so it simply sits in front of the whole group: nu le-am verificat.

Why is adesea placed after the verb verific?

Adverbs of frequency like adesea (often) usually go directly after the verb in Romanian. This is different from English, where we usually say "I often check" instead of "I check often".