Questions & Answers about Am primit diploma ieri.
Why does the English translation say "my diploma" when there is no word for "my" in the Romanian sentence?
Romanian often drops possessive words like mea (my) when the owner is obvious from the context. Because you are saying am primit (I received), it is naturally assumed you mean your own diploma. Using the definite article in diploma (the diploma) is enough to show this.
Is diploma just the basic dictionary form of the word?
No, the basic dictionary form is diplomă (ending in -ă). To make it definite (the diploma), the ending changes to -a, becoming diploma. This is a common trap for English speakers because the Romanian articulated form looks exactly like the basic English word.
Why use the compound past am primit instead of a simple past tense if the action happened ieri (yesterday)?
In everyday Romanian, the compound past is the standard way to express almost any completed past action. It does not matter if it happened yesterday or ten years ago. The simple past is rarely spoken outside of certain regional dialects and is mostly found in books.
Can I change the word order and put ieri at the beginning of the sentence?
Absolutely. You can say Ieri am primit diploma. Putting ieri at the front simply places more emphasis on the time the event happened, rather than the action itself.