Learn Romanian: De ce tace suspectul în timpul interogatoriului, neștiind adevărul? - Why is the suspect silent during the interrogation, not knowing the truth?

De ce tace suspectul în timpul interogatoriului, neștiind adevărul?

Why is the suspect silent during the interrogation, not knowing the truth?

Breakdown of De ce tace suspectul în timpul interogatoriului, neștiind adevărul?

to be silent / to keep quiet

Questions & Answers about De ce tace suspectul în timpul interogatoriului, neștiind adevărul?

How do we form the negative word neștiind in this sentence?

This is the negative gerund, meaning not knowing. To make a gerund negative in Romanian, you simply attach the prefix ne- directly to the affirmative gerund form. The verb a ști (to know) becomes the gerund știind (knowing), so attaching the prefix gives us neștiind.

Why does the word for interrogation end in -ului (interogatoriului)?

The phrase în timpul (during) must be followed by a noun in the genitive case. The base neuter noun with its definite article is interogatoriul (the interrogation). To put it into the genitive case, the ending -ul changes to -ului.

What verb does tace come from?

It comes from the verb a tăcea, which means to be silent or to keep quiet. Here, tace is the present tense form for he, she, or it (the suspect).

English uses not knowing here. Do Romanian gerunds always match English -ing words this closely?

Often yes, especially when describing an ongoing background action or a cause, like in this sentence. The gerund neștiind perfectly matches the English not knowing to explain the circumstances of why the suspect is silent.