Breakdown of Ne cunoaștem din școala primară.
din
from / out of / in (located in, after a noun)
ne
to us / us (direct object)
cunoaște
to know / to meet (get to know)
școala primară
the primary school
Questions & Answers about Ne cunoaștem din școala primară.
Why is the present tense verb cunoaștem translated as "have known"?
In Romanian, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense. English uses the present perfect ("have known"). So ne cunoaștem literally means "we know each other," but because the knowing continues into the present day, it translates to "we have known each other."
What is the exact role of ne in this sentence?
ne is the first-person plural reflexive pronoun, but here it acts reciprocally. While it can sometimes mean "ourselves," in this context it means "each other" (we know each other).
Could I use the verb știm instead of cunoaștem here?
No. Romanian has two distinct verbs for "to know." You use a cunoaște when talking about being acquainted with people or being familiar with places. You use a ști for knowing facts, knowing how to do something, or having information. Because this sentence is about knowing people, you must use a cunoaște.
Why does școală take the definite article -a (școala) after the preposition din?
Normally, feminine nouns after simple prepositions like din drop their definite article (for example, you would just say vin din școală for "I am coming from school"). However, because the noun is immediately modified by the adjective primară, Romanian grammar requires the definite article to be added back, making it din școala primară.
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