Questions & Answers about Ai văzut mașina? Am cumpărat-o ieri.
Why is there an -o attached to the end of cumpărat?
Why does the -o go at the end? Doesn't "it" usually go before the verb in Romanian?
Yes, most short pronouns go before the helping verb. However, the feminine singular -o is a special exception in the past tense. It always attaches to the end of the main action word (the past participle). So we must say am cumpărat-o, never o am cumpărat.
What if I bought a masculine or neuter object, like an apple (un măr)?
Just as a refresher, why is the word mașina instead of mașină?
The base word mașină means "a car". Because the speaker is asking about a specific car ("the car"), the feminine ending -ă changes to -a to attach the definite article "the", making it mașina.