Learn Romanian: Șarpele este periculos.

Șarpele este periculos.

The snake is dangerous.

Breakdown of Șarpele este periculos.

to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)

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Questions & Answers about Șarpele este periculos.

Why does șarpele end in -le instead of -ul if it means the snake?

Most masculine nouns get -ul for the word the, like băiatul (the boy). However, masculine nouns that end in -e in their basic dictionary form, like șarpe (snake), take the ending -le instead.

How do we know from this sentence what gender șarpe is?

We can look at the adjective periculos (dangerous). It is in the masculine singular form. If șarpe were a feminine noun, the adjective would have to match it and become periculoasă.

Can I use the shorter word e instead of este here?

Yes, absolutely! E is the short, everyday spoken form of este. Both mean is, but este sounds slightly more formal and is more common in writing.

How would I change this sentence to say the plural, The snakes are dangerous?

You would say Șerpii sunt periculoși. The plural of șarpe is șerpi (notice the vowel changes from a to e inside the word). To make it definite (the snakes), we add another -i to make șerpii. Finally, the adjective changes to its masculine plural form, periculoși.