LESSON NOTES

Intermediate S1 #9
Everybody's Different in
Romania

CONTENTS
2 Romanian
2 English
3 Vocabulary
4 Sample Sentences
5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
6 Grammar
12 Cultural Insight

# 9
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 ROMANIAN

1. Marcel: Tu ce documentar ai găsit să prezinți pentru cursul de

psihologie socială, Simona?

2. Simona: A, am dat de unul foarte fain. Este despre modul în care

performanța noastră diferă într-o sarcină atunci când
suntem observați de alte persoane.

3. Marcel: Ce interesant! Și ce zic experimentatorii?

4. Simona: Păi, în clipul video se arată cum cineva căruia îi fusese

arătat un nou mod de a își lega șireturile, a avut rezultate
diferite atunci când era observat de altcineva față de atunci
când era singur.

5. Marcel: A, da? Adică eu de asta avusei mai multe greșeli atunci

când îmi repetai prezentarea de dimineață în cameră cu
colegul meu Radu.

6. Simona: Ce haios vorbești. Uitasem că voi cei din Oltenia folosiți

perfectul simplu.

7. Marcel: Da, uneori uit că aici se vorbește diferit față de atunci când
eram acasă.

8. Simona: Nu-i nicio problemă. Și eu fusesem obișnuită cu accentul de

ardeleancă de acasă, înainte de a mă muta aici.

9. Marcel: Da, așa se întâmplă. Uite, și experimentul meu se leagă

oarecum de diferențele interculturale și prejudecățile pe
care le pot genera. Ai auzit de experimentele sociale ale lui
Jane Elliot?

10. Simona: Este vorba despre copiii care se etichetau între ei ca fiind
proști sau deștepți pe baza culorii ochilor?

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

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1. Marcel: What documentary did you find to present for the social
psychology course, Simona?

2. Simona: Ah, I found something very nice. It's about how our
performance differs in a task when we are observed by
other people.

3. Marcel: How interesting! And what do the experimenters say?

4. Simona: Well, in the video it shows how someone who had been
shown a new way to tie his laces had different results when
being watched than he did when alone.

5. Marcel: Ah, really? That's why I was making a lot of mistakes when I
was repeating my presentation this morning with my
colleague, Radu, in the room.

6. Simona: You talk so funny. I forgot that in Oltenia, you use the past
progressive.

7. Marcel: Yes, sometimes I forget that here they talk differently than
while I am at home.

8. Simona: That's no problem. I was also accustomed to the

Transylvanian accent at home, before moving here.

9. Marcel: Yes, that's how it happens. Look, also, my experiment is

somewhat related to intercultural differences and the
prejudices they generate. Have you heard of Jane Elliot's
social experiments?

10. Simona: Is that about kids who label themselves as stupid or smart
based on the color of their eyes?

VOCABULARY

Romanian English Class

documentar documentary noun

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 sarcină task noun

prejudecată prejudice noun

performanță performance noun

altcineva someone else pronoun

greșeală mistake noun

bază basis noun

da de find verb

haios funny adverb

obișnuit accustomed adjective

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Lui Petre îi plac documentarele
autobiografice.
"Petre likes autobiographical
documentaries."
Când s-a întors din concediu avea
foarte multe sarcini noi de
preluat.
"When she returned from
vacation she had a lot of new
tasks to take on."

În general, avem mai multe Acest test le-a evaluat

prejudecăți decât suntem performanța ca programatori de
conștienți. soft.

"In general, we have more "This test rated their

prejudices than we are aware performance as software
of." programmers."

Altcineva probabil a luat Fac multe greșeli la volan atunci

tacâmurile mele fără să observe. când sunt obosit.

"Someone else probably took "I make many mistakes when

my cutlery without observing it." I'm tired."

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Am prins bazele acestei profesii Maria a dat de un autor celebru
de la bunicul meu. la evenimentul de vineri.

"I've learned the basics of this "Maria found a famous author at

profession from my the event on Friday."
grandfather."

El crede că vorbește haios însă Oamenii obișnuiți cu astfel de

noi nu îi gustăm glumele deloc.
"He thinks he talks funny, but we
do not appreciate his jokes at
all."
activități se descurcă mai bine în
situații stresante.
"People accustomed to such
activities perform better in
stressful situations."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

a fi obișnuit cu
"to be accustomed to"

This expression is composed of the verb a fi "to be" in infinitive form, the
masculine singular adjective obișnuit "accustomed," and the preposition cu
"with." It means "to be accustomed to."

It is used to indicate that someone has previous experience with a specific element
and is therefore experienced with it. The adjective from this expression modifies
according to the subject it is referring to (in number and gender - obișnuit m. sg.,
obișnuită f. sg., obișnuiți m. pl., obișnuite f. pl. "accustomed").

For example..

1. Mama este obișnuită cu toate mofturile noastre.

"My mother is accustomed to all of our whims."

pe baza
"based on"

This is an adverbial phrase made of the preposition pe "on" and the feminine
singular noun baza "the basis" in articulate form. It literally translates as "on the
basis of" and means "based on."

It is used to indicate what a certain element is supported on.

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An alternative formulation of this phrase is pe bază de "based on."

For example..

1. Pe baza acestor dovezi, a mers în instanță și a câștigat procesul.

"Based on this evidence, he went to court and won the trial."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson is Past Tenses

Păi, în clipul video se arată cum cineva căruia îi fusese arătat un nou mod
de a își lega șireturile, a avut rezultate diferite atunci când era observat
de altcineva față de atunci când era singur.
"Well, in the video it shows how someone who had been shown a new way
to tie his laces had different results when being watched than he did
when alone."

In this lesson, we will learn how to:

1. use the past progressive tense

2. use the past perfect tense

3. use the past perfect progressive tense

1. How to use the past progressive tense

Perfectul simplu is the equivalent of the past progressive tense in English, even
though the literal translation of this would be "simple perfect." It is a tense
indicating that the action happened in the near past.

For example, in Oltenia, a Romanian region where this tense is ordinary in text and
speech, it is used when referring to an action that happened earlier that day (but
not later than that; in the latter case, the simple past is used).

More rarely, the past progressive tense is used as a literary figure of speech.

For each type of conjugation, the progressive tense is formulated differently,

according to the rules exposed below:

1. First conjugation (verbs which end in -a ) - the terminations are -a-:

ai, ași, ă, arăm, arăți, ară

2. Second conjugation (verbs which end in -ea) - the terminations are -

u-: ui, uși, u, urăm, urăți, ură

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3. Third conjugation (verbs which end in -e) - the terminations are -u-:
ui, uși, u, urăm, urăți, ură or -se-: sei, seși, se, serăm, serăți, seră

4. Fourth conjugation (verbs which end in -i or -î) - the terminations are -

â-/-î- for verbs ending in -î: âi, âși, î, ârăm, ârăți, âră; in -i- for verbs
ending in -i: ii, iși, i, irăm, irăți, iră.

In the table below you can see how this tense can be used on all persons and
numbers in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. The example
provided is of the Ist conjugation ( a visa "to dream").

Past progressive tense chart

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

1st sg. eu visai "I was eu nu visai "I was Visai? "Was I
dreaming" not dreaming" dreaming?"

tu visași "you tu nu visași "you Visași? "Were you

were dreaming" were not dreaming?"
2nd sg.
dreaming"

el visă "he was el nu visă "he Visă? "Was he

dreaming" was not dreaming?"
3rd sg. masc.
dreaming"

ea visă "she was ea nu visă "she Visă? "Was she

dreaming" was not dreaming?"
3rd sg. fem.
dreaming"

noi visarăm "we noi nu visarăm Visarăm? "Were

were dreaming" "we were not we dreaming?"
1st pl.
dreaming"

voi visarăți "you voi nu visarăți Visarăți? "Were

were dreaming" "you were not you dreaming?"
2nd pl.
dreaming"

ei visară "they ei nu visară "they Visară? "Were

were dreaming" were not they dreaming?"
3rd pl. masc.
dreaming"

ele visară "they ele nu visară Visară? "Were

were dreaming" "they were not they dreaming?"
3rd pl. fem.
dreaming"

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Here are 3 sample sentences for using past progressive

1. În timp ce alergai prin pădure, dădui peste o familie de căprioare.

"While I was running in the forest, I was stumbling upon a family of deers."

2. Traversară podul de peste rău și ajunseră acasă chiar înainte să pună

mama cina.
"They were crossing the bridge over the river and were reaching home just
before mom had finished cooking up dinner."

3. Băiatul se gândi o clipă și apoi o zbughi să de de veste în sat.

"The boy was thinking for a moment and then was rushing to the village."

2.How to use the past perfect tense

Imperfectul is the equivalent of the past perfect tense in English, even though the
literal translation of this would be "imperfect." It is a tense indicating that an
action happened in the past but was not finished.

This past tense is used both in speech and text, and in formal and informal
contexts, although it is more common for narratives.

For each type of conjugation, the past perfect tense is formulated according to the
following specific terminations:

1. First conjugation (verbs which end in -a ) - the terminations are -a-: -

am, -ai, -a, -am, -ați, -au

2. Second conjugation (verbs which end in -ea) - the terminations are -

ea-: -eam, -eai, -ea, -eam, -eați, -eau

3. Third conjugation (verbs which end in -e) - the terminations are -ea-: -
eam, -eai, -ea, -eam, -eați, -eau

4. Fourth conjugation (verbs which end in -i or -î) - the terminations are -

a- for verbs ending in -î: -am, -ai, -a, -am, -ați, -au; in -ea- for verbs
ending in -i: -eam, -eai, -ea, -eam, -eați, -eau

A special conjugation applies to verbs that end in vowels and have the radical -i
(e.g. a locui "to live"). In this case, they receive the suffix -ia- instead of -ea- with
the specific terminations iam, iai, -ia, -iam, -iați, -iau.

In the table below you can see how this tense can be used on all persons and
numbers in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. The example

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provided here is a verb of the 2nd conjugation ( a bea "to drink").

Past perfect tense chart

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

1st sg. eu beam "I had eu nu beam "I Beam? "Had I

drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

2nd sg. tu beai "you had tu nu beai "you Beai? "Had you
drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

3rd sg. masc. el bea "he had el nu bea "he Bea? "Had he
drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

3rd sg. fem. ea bea "she had ea nu bea "she Bea? "Had she
drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

1st pl. noi beam "we noi nu beam "we Beam? "Had we
had drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

2nd pl. voi beați "you voi nu beați "you Beați? "Had you
had drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

3rd pl. masc. ei beau "they ei nu beau "they Beau? "Had they
had drunk" had not drunk" drunk?"

ele beau "they ele nu beau Beau? "Had they

had drunk" "they had not drunk?"
3rd pl. fem.
drunk"

Here are 3 sample sentences for using past perfect tense

1. Tocmai am vorbit cu veciunul de la etajul 5, s-a plâns că dădusem muzica

prea tare azi noapte.
"I just talked with the neighbor from the 5 th floor, he complained I had
played the music too loud last night."

2. A stat trează toată noaptea câutând rețete italienești pentru că auzise de

la Andreea că sunt preferatele lui.
"She stayed up all night searching for Italian recipes because she had
heard from Andreea that they are his favorites."

3. Nu urcase pe scenă niciodată în viața lui, până în seara aceasta. Sau

urcase?
"He hadn't got on a stage before in his life, up until tonight. Or had he got
on?"

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3. How to use the past perfect progressive tense

Mai-mult-ca-perfectul is the equivalent of the past perfect progressive tense in

English. The literal translation of this would be "the more-as-perfect." It is a tense
indicating that a past action happened before a more recent past action.

This past tense is used both in speech and text, and in formal and informal
contexts, although it is more common for narratives.

For each type of conjugation, the past perfect progressive tense is formulated
according to the following specific terminations:

1. 1st conjugation (verbs ending in -a ) - the terminations are -a- + -se-: -

asem, -asei, -ase, -aserăm, -aserăți, -aseră

2. 2nd conjugation (verbs ending in -ea) - the terminations are -u-:

usem, -usei, -use, -userăm, -userăți, -useră

3. 3rd conjugation (verbs ending in -e) - the terminations are -u-+ -se-:
usem, -usei, -use, -userăm, -userăți, -useră (for verbs with participles
ending in -ut) and -sesem, -sesei, -sese, -seserăm, -seserăți, -seseră (for
verbs with participles ending in -s)

4. 4th conjugation (verbs ending in -i or -î) - the terminations are -i-+ -

se- for verbs ending in -i: isem, -isei, -ise, -iserăm, -iserăți, -iseră; in -â-
+ -se- for verbs ending in -î: -âsem, -âsei, -âse, -âserăm, -âserăți, -
âseră

A special conjugation applies to the verb a ști "to know" and uses the terminations -
u-+-se-: usem, -usei, -use, -userăm, -userăți, -useră.

In the table below you can see how this tense can be used on all persons and
numbers in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. The example
provided here is a verb of the 4th conjugation ( a coborî "to get off").

Past perfect progressive tense chart

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

eu coborâsem "I eu nu coborâsem Coborâsem? "Had

had been getting "I had not been I been getting
1st sg.
off" getting off" off?"

tu coborâsei "you tu nu coborâsei Coborâsei? "Had

had been getting "you had not you been getting
2nd sg.
off" been getting off" off?"

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 el coborâse "he el nu coborâse Coborâse? "Had
3rd sg. masc. had been getting "he had not been he been getting
off" getting off" off?"

ea coborâse "she ea nu coborâse Coborâse? "Had

had been getting "she had not she been getting
3rd sg. fem.
off" been getting off" off?"

noi coborâserăm noi nu Coborâserăm?

"we had been coborâserăm "we "Had we been
1st pl. getting of" had not been getting off?"
getting of"

voi coborâserăți voi nu Coborâserăți?

"you had been coborâserăți "you "Had you been
2nd pl. getting off" had not been getting off?"
getting off"

ei coborâseră ei nu coborâseră Coborâseră? "Had

"they had been "they had not they been
3rd pl. masc.
getting off" been getting off" getting off?"

ele coborâseră ele nu coborâseră Coborâseră? "Had

"they had been "they had not they been
3rd pl. fem.
getting off" been getting off" getting off?"

Here are some sample sentences including the past perfect progressive
tense

1. Nu putea să-și țină ochii deschiși la întâlnire. Petrecuse tot weekendul și

abia a închis un ochi.
"She just couldn't keep her eyes open at the meeting. She had been
partying all weekend and barely slept."

2. Coborâsem deja la Universitate când am văzut că s-a pus ploaia.

" I had been getting off to the University station when I realized that the
rain had started."

3. Pentru a crea acel motor sustenabil, inginerii auto făcuseră studii pe

energia solară timp de zece ani.
"In order to create that sustainable engine, the automotive engineers had
been researching solar energy for ten years."

Examples from the Dialogue

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1. Păi, în clipul video se arată cum cineva căruia îi fusese arătat un nou mod
de a își lega șireturile, a avut rezultate diferite atunci când era observat de
altcineva față de atunci când era singur.
"Well, in the video it shows how someone who had been shown a new way
to tie his laces had different results when being watched than he did when
alone."

2. A, da? Adică eu de asta avusei mai multe greșeli atunci când îmi repetai
prezentarea de dimineață în cameră cu colegul meu Radu.
"Ah, really? That's why I was making a lot of mistakes when I was repeating
my presentation this morning with my colleague, Radu, in the room."

3. Nu-i nicio problemă. Și eu fusesem obișnuită cu accentul de ardeleancă de

acasă, înainte de a mă muta aici.
"That's no problem. I was also accustomed to the Transylvanian accent at
home before moving here."

Sample Sentences

1. Mama ne făcu niște plăcinte foarte gustoase.

"My mother was making some very tasty pies."

2. Eu citeam un articol când a venit profesorul.

"I had read an article when the teacher came in."

3. Eu fusese deja la piață până să ajungem noi.

"He had already been to the market before we arrived."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Regional dialects

The language spoken in Romania is Romanian, a Latin-derived language which has

the same roots as French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. It is considered the
only Romance language still spoken in Eastern Europe (Romania, Moldavia, and
some parts of Hungary and Ukraine). What's unique about this language is the
Slavic and German influences present in words and vocabulary. The Romanian
language is spoken by 19 million native speakers; however, there are certain
regions where different accents, vocabulary, and grammar can be heard. First is
the Transylvanian accent, characterized as being slower paced, use archaic words,
spoken mainly in Transylvania (in cities and regions like Cluj, Targu Mures, Sibiu,
Brasov, Covasna, etc). Next is the Moldavian accent that can easily be spotted by

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the fast flow of words and passionate speech. It is easily recognized in cities like
Suceava, Vaslui, Iasi, Barlad, etc. To the north is the Maramures accent, which can
be characterized as the one that uses the most archaic vocabulary and very
different grammar. It can be found in regions such as Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Bistrita
and a couple others. Following is the Oltenia accent, which is famous for using the
special past tense, namely the past progressive (for expressing the most recent
past events). Native speakers from the Southern side of the country (Craiova,
Targu Jiu, Resita etc.) are easily recognized by the way they talk. There are other
regions in Romania where these four dialects are combined and give birth to
specific local accents. For a better understanding of the Romanian language and
its dialects, here are a couple of words that are used differently in various regions
of Romania. For example, corn („porumb" in Romanian) is called „păpușoi" in the
Moldavian region, „cucuruz" in Transylvania and „știulete" in Oltenia; hat („pălărie"
translated in Romanian) is said as „căciulă" in Transylvania but "fes" in the
Moldavian region.

Useful expression

1. dulce grai
"sweet talk"

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