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Ai văzut mașina? Am cumpărat-o ieri.

Ai văzut mașina? Am cumpărat-o ieri.
Did you see the car? I bought it yesterday.
From Lesson 96:Past tense with feminine objects (-o)·Romanian

Questions & Answers about Ai văzut mașina? Am cumpărat-o ieri.

Why is there an -o attached to the end of cumpărat?
The -o means "it". It is a short pronoun that replaces the feminine noun mașina (the car) so we don't have to repeat the word. We use a hyphen to attach it directly to the end of the past tense verb.
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)?
If the object is masculine or neuter, you use the pronoun l- instead of -o. Unlike -o, the pronoun l- follows the standard rule and attaches to the front of the helping verb. You would say l-am cumpărat (I bought it).
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.

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