Breakdown of El mă întreabă unde este locația.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
el
he
unde
where
mă
me (direct object) / myself
Questions & Answers about El mă întreabă unde este locația.
In English, we change the word order in reported speech: 'where is the location' becomes 'where the location is'. Does Romanian do this?
No, and this makes Romanian reported questions easier in a way! The direct question is Unde este locația? (Where is the location?). When you report it, you keep the exact same word order: ...unde este locația. You don't swap the subject and verb like you do in English.
Could I use a cere instead of a întreba for 'to ask' here?
No, because a întreba specifically means 'to ask a question' or 'to inquire'. You use a cere when you mean 'to ask for' something or 'to request' an item or action (like asking for a glass of water).
Why is mă placed before the verb întreabă?
In Romanian, short unstressed object pronouns like mă (me) almost always go directly before the conjugated verb. So instead of 'He asks me', the Romanian structure is literally 'He me asks' (El mă întreabă).
Why does the word locația end in -a?
The base word for 'location' is locație, which is a feminine noun ending in -ie. To say 'the location' (adding the definite article), you drop the final -e and add -a, making it locația.