Question 1

How do we get the word fluierând from the dictionary form of the verb?

Accepted Answer

It comes from the verb a fluiera (to whistle). To form the gerund (which often translates to the English "-ing" for simultaneous actions), you take the verb stem and add the ending -ând.

Question 2

Would fluierând change if the sentence was about a girl or multiple children?

Accepted Answer

No, it stays exactly the same. The Romanian gerund is invariable, meaning its form never changes to match the gender or number of the subject. It is always fluierând no matter who is whistling.

Question 3

The English translation says "on the street", so why isn't it pe strada with the definite article at the end?

Accepted Answer

In Romanian, after most prepositions like pe (on) or în (in), you drop the definite article from the end of unmodified feminine nouns. That is why it is simply pe stradă instead of pe strada. You would only keep the article if you were describing the street, for example: pe strada lungă (on the long street).

Question 4

Could this sentence also translate to "The boy is walking on the street whistling"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely! Romanian does not have a separate present continuous tense. The present tense verb merge translates to both "walks" and "is walking".

Băiatul merge pe stradă fluierând.

Breakdown of Băiatul merge pe stradă fluierând.

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