Romanian language lesson: Special phrases in Romanian

Some usual phrases in Romanian are formed with a pronoun in the dative and the verb “to be” in the third person singular. [audio:http://www.romania-insider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Special-phrases-in-Romanian.mp3|titles=Special phrases in Romanian] Examples Îmi este foame = mi-e foame (I am hungry) Îmi este sete = mi-e sete (I am thirsty) Îmi este frig = mi-e frig (I am cold) Îmi este cald = mi-e cald (I am warm) If we want to change the subject, only the dative pronoun “îmi” will be modified. The rest of the phrase including the verb “este” and the nouns “foame”, “sete”, “frig”, “cald” remains in the same form. The current / common form of these phrases includes the short form of the pronoun “mi” and the short form of the verb “to be” (“e” instead of “este”). The contraction of the pronoun “mi” and the verb “e” is mandatory (“mi-e”). In this case, the two parts of speech turn into one syllable. This type pf contraction occurs in the 1

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