VCE Romanian flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Detailed Study

A student-chosen Romanian-related topic researched and presented orally, then discussed in depth with the assessor; it rewards genuine knowledge and the ability to sustain and defend ideas in Romanian.

Enclitic definite article

Romanian attaches the definite article to the end of the noun rather than using a separate word: casă becomes casa, băiat becomes băiatul, and pom becomes pomul.

Genitive-dative article

In the genitive and dative, the article precedes the noun: ușa casei means the door of the house, and i-am spus băiatului means I told the boy.

Perfect compus formation

The past tense formed with the auxiliary a avea plus the past participle: am mers, ai spus, a venit. The participle usually ends in -t or -s and does not agree with the subject.

Imperfect tense use

The imperfect describes habitual or background past action, as in mergeam, spunea, era. It contrasts with the perfect compus, which presents a completed event.

Subjunctive after a vrea

After verbs of wanting or necessity, Romanian uses să plus the subjunctive: vreau să merg, trebuie să plecăm. The să is obligatory and its omission is a frequent error.

Formal address dumneavoastră

The polite second-person form used with strangers and superiors. It takes third-person verb forms, as in dumneavoastră vorbiți or, more formally, dumneavoastră vorbește.

Diacritics ș and ț

Romanian uses s and t with a comma below, not a cedilla, for the sounds in școală and țară. Correct diacritics are part of written accuracy in assessed work.

Letter opening formulae

Formal Romanian letters open with Dragă doamnă or Stimate domn and close with Cu stimă; informal letters use Dragă plus a first name and close with Te îmbrățișez or Al tău.

Discourse markers

Connectives that organise speech and writing: în primul rând, pe de o parte, pe de altă parte, prin urmare, în concluzie. They signal structure and raise coherence scores.

Repair strategy in oral

A phrase used to keep an oral exchange going when something is unclear, such as Îmi puteți repeta întrebarea? or Cum se spune? It preserves interaction rather than stalling.

Final -i pronunciation

Final i in Romanian may be silent, as in lupi pronounced approximately loop, or palatalised, as in ani. The correct value depends on the preceding consonant.

Text type: article

A formal written piece with a headline, an opening that states the issue, developed paragraphs with evidence or examples, and a conclusion. It avoids the first-person intimacy of a diary.

Listening for inference

Rather than translating every word, identify the speaker's attitude, purpose, and relationship from tone, register, and key lexical clues; questions often target what is implied, not stated.

Neologistic versus inherited lexicon

Romanian has doublets such as a lucra and a munci or bătrân and vechi; formal writing tends toward the Latin-derived term while speech often prefers the inherited one.

Register consistency

Maintaining one level of formality throughout a text or oral response. Mixing colloquialisms like tipa with formal vocabulary such as doamnă within one paragraph is an accuracy fault.

Vowel ă versus a

Ă is a central schwa-like vowel, as in casă, while a is open, as in casă's first syllable. Confusing them changes words, for example măr versus mar.

Vowel î versus i

Î is a central unrounded vowel, as in în and când, while i is a front vowel. The two are distinct in Romanian and are not interchangeable in writing or speech.

Pronoun clitics

Short unstressed pronouns attached to the verb: îl văd, îmi place, i-am spus. Their placement and form, including the i- prefix before vowels, must be controlled for accuracy.

Conditional forms

The conditional uses aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar plus the infinitive: aș merge means I would go. It appears in polite requests and hypothetical statements in both oral and written tasks.

Future with o să

Colloquial future formed with o să plus the subjunctive: o să merg means I will go. Formal writing more often uses voi, vei, va plus the infinitive.

Noun plural patterns

Romanian plurals vary by gender: casă becomes case, băiat becomes băieți, and tren becomes trenuri. Choosing the wrong ending is a common written accuracy error.

Reading for main idea

Summarise the gist of a Romanian passage before answering detail questions. Distractors often repeat vocabulary from the text while reversing the actual meaning or viewpoint.

Diary entry conventions

A diary entry uses first person, past or present tense, dates, and reflective comment. It is more personal and less structured than an article and allows emotional vocabulary.

Speech text type

A spoken-style written text addressed to an audience, opening with a greeting such as Dragi colegi, using rhetorical questions and direct address, and closing with a call to action.

Review text type

A text evaluating a film, book, or event: it summarises briefly, gives a judgement supported by reasons, and recommends or warns the reader. Evaluative adjectives are essential.

Cohesion through pronouns

Replacing repeated nouns with pronouns such as el, ea, acesta, or acela keeps written Romanian cohesive; unexplained repetition lowers the organisation mark.

Asking for clarification

Useful oral phrases include Nu am înțeles bine, puteți repeta? and Ce înseamnă acest cuvânt? They demonstrate interactive competence rather than avoidance.

Intonation in questions

Romanian yes-no questions typically rise at the end, while questions with interrogatives such as cine or unde start high and fall. Flat intonation reads as disengaged to assessors.

Expressing opinion

Useful frames include După părerea mea, Consider că, and Sunt de acord în parte pentru că. They should be followed by a reason, since unsupported opinion limits the range score.

Comparing and contrasting

Frames such as spre deosebire de, la fel ca, and pe când signal comparison. They raise the sophistication of both oral discussion and written argument.

Past participle agreement

With the auxiliary a fi in the passive or compound past, the participle agrees in gender and number: ușa a fost închisă, ușile au fost închise. With a avea it normally does not.

Reflexive verbs

Verbs like a se trezi and a se numi take reflexive clitics: mă trezesc, te trezești, se trezește. The clitic must match the subject and is not optional in Romanian.