Breakdown of Mecanicul verifică motorul mașinii.
mașina
the car
verifica
to check
mecanicul
the mechanic
motorul
the engine
Questions & Answers about Mecanicul verifică motorul mașinii.
How does mașinii translate to "the car's"?
mașinii is the Genitive case form of the feminine noun mașină (car). In Romanian, the Genitive case is used to show possession. For feminine nouns, the definite Genitive form usually ends in -ii or -iei. So, mașina (the car) becomes mașinii (of the car / the car's).
Why is the word order motorul mașinii instead of the other way around?
Romanian structure is closer to "the engine of the car" than "the car's engine". The possessed object (motorul) always comes first, followed immediately by the owner in the Genitive case (mașinii).
Why must we use motorul (the engine) instead of just motor (engine)?
When using this Noun + Genitive Noun structure to show possession, the first noun (the thing being owned) must have a definite article attached to it. Because motor is a neuter noun, it takes the definite article -ul, making it motorul.
I remember the verb a verifica (to check). Why does it end in -ă here?
verifică is the 3rd person singular (he/she/it) form of the verb. Because the subject is mecanicul (the mechanic), we use this form. If you wanted to say "I check", you would use verific.