Breakdown of Chiriașul pe care îl caut trebuie să fie serios.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
să
to (subjunctive marker)
trebui
to have to / to be needed (with a dative: to need)
îl
him / it (m, n)
căuta
to look for
pe
(marks a specific human direct object)
care
which / who / that (relative pronoun)
serios
serious (also "Really?")
chiriașul
the tenant
Questions & Answers about Chiriașul pe care îl caut trebuie să fie serios.
Since this lesson is about using the subjunctive with 'care', why is 'caut' in the indicative here?
We use the subjunctive in a relative clause when we are describing something indefinite or hypothetical (e.g., 'a tenant'). In this sentence, the noun is definite: chiriașul (the tenant). The action of looking is a real, concrete fact happening right now, so we use the regular indicative caut.
How would I say 'I am looking for a tenant who is serious' using this lesson's grammar?
You would use an indefinite noun (un chiriaș) and put the describing verb in the subjunctive: Caut un chiriaș care să fie serios. Here, because you don't have a specific person in mind yet, the subjunctive să fie expresses a desired characteristic rather than a stated fact.
Why is there an 'îl' before 'caut'?
Why does 'trebuie' connect to 'fie' with 'să', rather than using an infinitive like in English?
In Romanian, a trebui (must / to have to) is an impersonal verb that is almost always followed by the subjunctive mood (să + verb), rather than an infinitive. Instead of saying 'must be', Romanian phrasing works like 'must that he be' (trebuie să fie).
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