Learning Romanian language

am o intrebare pentru voi..

I might go= ar trebui sa merg
I can go/i have the ability to go= pot merge sau pot sa merg

I might be able to go=?????
ar trebui sa pot merge/ar trebui sa pot sa merg??

and
I might NOT be able to go=????
N-ar trebui sa pot merge?

Where are my mistakes here??

va multumesc...

pa
dave

The mistake is in the way you translated the modal verb from english

I might be able to go-- S-ar putea sa pot merge

I might NOT be able to go- - S-ar putea sa nu pot merge

May/might refer to the idea of possibility, therefore in certain contexts when you translate them you need to use an expression like : s-ar putea, se poate, e posibil, etc.

Thank you.. I never thought to place ar putea ahead of a conjugated form of a putea...

also, i realized as i thought about it last night I was also wrong in saying ar trebui means i might .. it best translates to 'i should', no? ar tebui sa merg= i should go??

Originally Posted by dya

The mistake is in the way you translated the modal verb from english

I might be able to go-- S-ar putea sa pot merge

I might NOT be able to go- - S-ar putea sa nu pot merge

May/might refer to the idea of possibility, therefore in certain contexts when you translate them you need to use an expression like : s-ar putea, se poate, e posibil, etc.

Originally Posted by rudaire

also, i realized as i thought about it last night I was also wrong in saying ar trebui means i might .. it best translates to 'i should', no? ar tebui sa merg= i should go??

Exacty!

Ar trebui să merg--> I should go

Aș putea să merg--> I might go

Hello again everyone...long time, no see

I wonder if someone can help me translate something accurately into English...as I slowly get better with Romanian, my Romanian friends get more and more colloquial in their messages and forget sometimes what a difference small things can make, whew!

Here are the passages I can't quite make out:

1) ne-am uitat aseara dupa adaptor iar preturile la noi sunt mai ieftine ca la voi

2) si soseata, waaaw....si lui dani ia placut mult si pentru ca ia placut am spus sa o punem la el in camera pe perete pentru ca eu sunt mai mult la el ziua acasa cu parinti si seara la el si la parintii lui

Multumesc in advans.

Originally Posted by wolver99

Hello again everyone...long time, no see

I wonder if someone can help me translate something accurately into English...as I slowly get better with Romanian, my Romanian friends get more and more colloquial in their messages and forget sometimes what a difference small things can make, whew!

Here are the passages I can't quite make out:

1) ne-am uitat aseara dupa adaptor iar preturile la noi sunt mai ieftine ca la voi

2) si soseata, waaaw....si lui dani ia placut mult si pentru ca ia placut am spus sa o punem la el in camera pe perete pentru ca eu sunt mai mult la el ziua acasa cu parinti si seara la el si la parintii lui

Multumesc in advans.

Pretty sure (but not positive) the first means: "We looked at the adaptor last night & our prices are cheaper than your guys' (prices)", maybe like "the prices we found are cheaper than the ones you found."

& I have no idea about the 2nd one, something about parents & a room.

Hope this helps you out somewhat!

Originally Posted by wolver99

Hello again everyone...long time, no see

Indeed How are you? Everything ok? I hope so


1) ne-am uitat aseara dupa adaptor iar preturile la noi sunt mai ieftine ca la voi
We looked for (searched) an adaptor last night and the prices here are cheaper than yours. (actually it's a mistake here: the prices can't be cheaper, the prices are smaller. The product itself is cheaper. But we hear this mistake often and we got used to it, even if it's bothering)

DeBaires, good job , but "a se uita dupa ceva"= to look for something, to search something.

2) si soseata, waaaw....si lui dani -a placut mult si pentru ca -a placut am spus sa o punem la el in camera pe perete pentru ca eu sunt mai mult la el ziua acasa cu parinti si seara la el si la parintii lui
And the sock, wow, dani loved it and because he liked it we said/decided to put it in his room on the wall because I am/stay more at his place; during the day home with the parents and in the evening at his place and at his parents.

In the second phrase there's no punctuation so I had to figure out the meaning. I hope it makes sense in the context.

Originally Posted by dya

Indeed How are you? Everything ok? I hope so


...In the second phrase there's no punctuation so I had to figure out the meaning. I hope it makes sense in the context.

Yes dya it makes perfect sense now, thanks.

Also all is (relatively) well with me, and I trust things are okay with you as well.

Hi, my name is Jen. I am trying to teach myself romanian as well and I am hoping to visit there next year sometime.....I'm sure this has been addressed but there are so many entries o.o......How do you conjugate verbs?....it has been driving me crazy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mulțumesc!

I use this site all the time. Hope it helps!

http://www.dictionare.com/dictionaries/dictionary.htm

I was wondering about the rules for conjugating verbs because it seems very confusing. I know there are four main groups or something based on how a verb ends but I don't understand what the rules are....

Is this more like what you were looking for?

http://www.rapido.org.uk/conjugationrules.html

Yes, thank you so much! =)

No problem, glad I could help

cum se spune "one way or another"? and "nice to meet you"?

one way or another = într-un fel sau altul (but it has also other possible translations depending on the context)

nice to meet you = îmi pare bine de cunoştinţă / încântat(ă) să te cunosc

Originally Posted by Lady_A

one way or another = într-un fel sau altul (but it has also other possible translations depending on the context)

nice to meet you = îmi pare bine de cunoştinţă / încântat(ă) să te cunosc

multumesc Lady

Argh!

I think I may be the most dumb person in the world because I cannot get my brain to remember all the different rules for tenses and how the words change - I forget small words all the time like "Of" and "in" and "if" etc.....I am starting to consider leaving Post-It Notes all over my house with reminders on them!

I do love this thread though - its very interesting to read!

Originally Posted by IMissPadfoot

Argh!

I think I may be the most dumb person in the world because I cannot get my brain to remember all the different rules for tenses and how the words change - I forget small words all the time like "Of" and "in" and "if" etc.....I am starting to consider leaving Post-It Notes all over my house with reminders on them!

I do love this thread though - its very interesting to read!

if you have question post them i will help you if i can.
if=dacaَ
in=iَn
of=de

Originally Posted by IMissPadfoot

Argh!
I think I may be the most dumb person in the world because I cannot get my brain to remember all the different rules for tenses and how the words change

Nobody will ever dare to tell you that the rules for tenses in Romanian are easy. There are many rules, a lot of exceptions, many verb clases, many tenses, many voices(not only the active and the passive but also what we call the reflexive).

If you try to learn them mathematically, it will be difficult. Yes, you need to have all the information available so you can check it when you're not sure about something, but don't try to learn it by heart cause when it comes to applying it, most of the times you'll probably bump into an exception!

Instead, try to read, listen and speak as much as you can. This way you'll identify some patterns and in time you'll be able to use them yourself without even realising it.

Read the trannslations in this forum. It doesn't matter what the song is about; you're after the language not the music. Ask for translations. And not only for translations of songs. Whatever you feel it may help you.

Just reading a grammar book is not enough. You have to actually take control and start using the language one way or another. Then, in time, things will start to look familiar and you won't need all kind of tables and charts to be able to express something in the past, future or conditional.

I'm glad you like this thread and you find it interesting Now start asking your own questions in here. I'm sure you have a lot of things to find out and I'm sure not all of them have already been asked by other members.