Breakdown of Incendiul a distrus trei case.
casa
the house
trei
three
distruge
to destroy
incendiul
the fire (a blaze)
Questions & Answers about Incendiul a distrus trei case.
Why use incendiul here instead of the more common word for fire, focul?
Foc is the general word for fire, like a campfire, a stove fire, or the element of fire itself. Incendiu specifically means a destructive fire, a blaze, or a structural fire. Since houses were destroyed in this sentence, incendiul is the correct term.
What is the dictionary form of distrus, and why does it end in an -s?
The infinitive is a distruge (to destroy). Like many Romanian verbs ending in -ge (such as a merge becoming mers, or a înțelege becoming înțeles), it forms its past participle by dropping the ending and adding an -s, giving us distrus.
Why is there no preposition connecting trei and case?
In Romanian, numbers from 1 to 19 attach directly to the plural noun they count, which is why we just say trei case. You only insert the preposition de between the number and the noun for numbers 20 and above (for example, douăzeci de case).