Learn Romanian: O treime a studenților trebuie să citească romanul. - A third of the students must read the novel.

O treime a studenților trebuie să citească romanul.

A third of the students must read the novel.

Breakdown of O treime a studenților trebuie să citească romanul.

Questions & Answers about O treime a studenților trebuie să citească romanul.

How exactly is the fraction treime formed?

You form most fractions in Romanian by taking the cardinal number, in this case trei (three), and adding the suffix -ime. This creates a new feminine noun: o treime (a third).

Why is there an a before studenților?

Here, a is the possessive article that links the fraction to the group. Because o treime is a feminine singular noun, we use the feminine singular article a to connect it to the genitive plural noun studenților (of the students).

Since we are talking about a plural group of students, shouldn't trebuie be in a plural form?

No, because a trebui (must) is acting as an impersonal verb here, meaning it stays fixed in the form trebuie regardless of the subject. The information about who is doing the action is handled entirely by the subjunctive verb that follows (să citească).

Is citească singular to match treime or plural to match studenților?

It is actually the same for both! For the verb a citi (to read), the subjunctive form for the 3rd person singular (he/she) and the 3rd person plural (they) is identical: să citească. Because of this, you don't even have to worry about which word it strictly agrees with here.