Question 1

Why does Copiii have three 'i's at the end?

Accepted Answer

The three 'i's represent different grammatical parts of the word. The first 'i' comes from the root of the word (the 'l' in copil changes to 'i' in the plural). The second 'i' is the actual plural ending, making it copii (children). The third 'i' is the attached definite article meaning "the", giving us copiii (the children).

Question 2

I've seen vor used to mean "will" for the future tense. How do I know it means "want" here?

Accepted Answer

You can tell by looking at what follows it! A vrea (to want) is an irregular verb, and vor is the "they" form. When it's followed by a noun like pește, it is the main verb meaning "they want". If it were the future tense helper verb, it would be followed directly by an infinitive verb, like ei vor mânca (they will eat).

Question 3

Since there are multiple children, why is pește singular instead of plural (pești)?

Accepted Answer

Just like in English, when referring to fish as a type of food or a general dish rather than individual living animals, Romanian uses the singular form. If they were asking for specific, countable whole fishes, you might use pești, but as a meal, it remains pește.

Question 4

Is prăjit (fried) related to a verb?

Accepted Answer

Yes, prăjit is the past participle of the verb a prăji (to fry). In Romanian, past participles are very commonly used as adjectives to describe how something was prepared. It takes the masculine singular form here to agree perfectly with the masculine noun pește.

Copiii vor pește prăjit.

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