Breakdown of Noi strângeam jucăriile din curtea școlii.
noi
we
școala
the school
din
from / out of / in (located in, after a noun)
jucăria
the toy
Questions & Answers about Noi strângeam jucăriile din curtea școlii.
How do we form the imperfect tense for strângeam here?
The verb is a strânge (to gather), which is a group 3 verb because its infinitive ends in -e. To make the imperfect, we drop that -e and add the imperfect endings for this group. For noi (we), the ending is -eam, giving us strângeam.
Why does the translation say 'used to gather' instead of just 'gathered'?
The imperfect tense describes continuous, repeated, or habitual actions in the past. Translating it as 'used to gather' or 'were gathering' shows that this was an ongoing habit, rather than a single completed event.
Why is the word for school written as școlii?
This is the genitive case, used here to show possession ('the yard of the school'). For feminine nouns like școală, the genitive form builds on the plural form (școli) and adds the definite article -i, resulting in școlii.
How does the word jucăriile break down?
The base word is jucărie (toy), which is a feminine noun. Its plural form is jucării (toys). To say 'the toys', we attach the feminine plural definite article -le to the very end, creating jucăriile.
Why does the sentence use din instead of de la for 'from'?