EN VIII Romanian Language and Literature cheat sheet
EN VIII Romanian Language and Literature · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Reading comprehension of literary texts
Theme = the central idea or general truth the text explores (e.g., love, war, identity); it is stated as a noun phrase, not a moral.
Idea = the author's viewpoint on a topic, expressed as a full sentence (e.g., 'Nature can heal human suffering').
Narrator types: first-person (I, we), third-person omniscient (knows all characters' thoughts), third-person limited (knows one character's thoughts), objective/dramatic (reports only actions and dialogue).
Direct characterization: traits are stated explicitly ('She was generous'). Indirect characterization: traits are inferred from actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, or others' reactions.
Plot structure: exposition → rising action → climax → falling action → resolution (denouement). The climax is the turning point of highest tension.
Setting = time and place of the action; it can function as background, symbol, or antagonist (e.g., a hostile landscape).
Figurative language: metaphor (direct comparison without like/as), simile (comparison with like/as), personification (human traits to non-human), hyperbole (exaggeration), symbol (object stands for an abstract idea).
Tone = the narrator's or author's attitude toward the subject (ironic, nostalgic, critical); mood = the feeling evoked in the reader (eerie, uplifting).
For a poetry text: identify speaker (not necessarily the poet), stanza structure, rhyme scheme (e.g., ABAB), and the dominant figure of speech in each stanza.
Reading comprehension of non-literary/informative texts
Informative text types: news report (answers who, what, when, where, why, how; inverted pyramid structure), feature article (narrative lead + background + analysis), editorial (opinion with argument), interview (Q&A format), press release (announcement from an organization).
Main idea = the central claim or purpose stated in one sentence; supporting details = facts, examples, statistics, quotations that back it up.
Fact = verifiable statement; opinion = judgment, belief, or evaluation signaled by evaluative adjectives (shocking, excellent), modal verbs (should, must), or hedges (apparently, arguably).
Author's purpose categories: to inform (explain, describe), to persuade (argue, convince), to entertain (amuse), to instruct (tell how to do something).
Bias detection: look for loaded language, omission of counterarguments, one-sided sources, and sweeping generalizations (all, never, everyone).
Text structure patterns: chronological (time order), cause–effect, problem–solution, compare–contrast, description/list, question–answer.
Headline, lead paragraph, and concluding paragraph often carry the main idea; the body supplies evidence.
Graphic elements (tables, charts, infographics) must be read for title, units, legend, and trend direction before answering data questions.
Language and communication (grammar, vocabulary, text structure)
Parts of speech in Romanian: substantiv (noun), adjectiv, verb, adverb, pronume (personal, demonstrative, relative, possessive), numeral (cardinal, ordinal), prepoziție, conjuncție, interjecție.
Noun gender: masculin (un om / doi oameni), feminin (o casă / două case), neutru (un scaun / două scaune - takes masculine articles in singular, feminine in plural).
Definite article is enclitic (attached to the end): băiat → băiatul, casă → casa, scaun → scaunul; indefinite article is free: un, o.
Verb moods: indicativ (fact), conjunctiv (possibility, wish, after 'să'), condițional-optativ (condition/wish), imperativ (command), prezumtiv (supposition), infinitiv, gerunziu, participiu, supin.
Verb tenses in indicativ: prezent, imperfect (ongoing past), perfect compus (completed past), perfect simplu (literary completed past), mai-mult-ca-perfect (past before past), viitor I, viitor II.
Sentence types by purpose: declarativă (statement), interogativă (question), exclamativă (exclamation), imperativă (command). By structure: simplă (one predicate) vs. compusă (two or more predicates).
Cohesion devices: lexical repetition, synonyms/antonyms, pronouns and possessives (anaphora/cataphora), connectors (dar, însă, deci, prin urmare, totuși, în concluzie).
Word formation: derivare (prefix/suffix: ne- + fericit → nefericit), compunere (floarea-soarelui), conversiune (change of grammatical class, e.g., adjective → noun).
Register: formal (dumneavoastră, a solicita) vs. informal (tu, a cere); avoid mixing registers in the same text.
Writing: composition on a literary or non-literary topic
Standard essay structure: introduction (context + thesis), body paragraphs (one idea each, with evidence and commentary), conclusion (restate thesis, synthesize, no new evidence).
Thesis statement = a single sentence that states the claim and the main supporting lines; it must be arguable, not a fact.
Paragraph formula: topic sentence → evidence (quotation, example, statistic) → explanation linking evidence to the claim → concluding/transition sentence.
Literary essay: use present tense for plot events ('The narrator describes...'), quote accurately with page/line reference, and analyze rather than summarize.
Argumentative essay: state position, give at least two arguments with evidence, acknowledge and refute one counterargument, conclude with a reinforced position.
Descriptive/narrative composition: use sensory details, varied sentence length, and a clear chronological or spatial organization.
Cohesion checklist: each paragraph links to the previous one; pronouns have clear antecedents; connectors match the logical relation (cause, contrast, addition, conclusion).
Word count and format: respect the required length (often 150–300 words), write legibly, and leave margins; plan for 5–10 minutes before writing.
Orthography, punctuation and text editing
Comma (virgula) is used: between homogeneous sentence parts not joined by 'și/sau/nici', before/after vocative (Ioane,), after interjections, between clauses of a compound sentence (except before 'și/sau/ori/nici' when joining two clauses), and to isolate appositives and explanatory phrases.
No comma before 'și' when it joins two homogeneous parts or two clauses; comma appears before 'și' only when it introduces a new independent clause after an inserted phrase or in enumerations with 'și' as last item preceded by a comma in a list of three or more.
Hyphen (cratima) marks elision (nu-l, s-a, într-o) and is never surrounded by spaces; dash (linia de pauză) marks dialogue or a strong pause and is spaced.
Quotation marks (ghilimelele) enclose direct speech and titles of short works; in Romanian, „…” are the standard quotation marks.
Capitalization: proper nouns, sentence beginnings, titles of works (first word and proper nouns), and divine names; common nouns are lowercase even in titles (e.g., 'Luceafărul' keeps capital because it is a title).
Spelling rules: 'sunt' (not 'sînt' in current standard), 'î' is written at the beginning and end of words (în, a coborî) and 'â' in the middle (când, pâine); exceptions: 'î' in the middle after prefixes (reîncepe) and in 'îi/îl'.
Agreement: adjective agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun; predicate agrees with the subject in person and number.
Editing checklist: read aloud for comma pauses, verify subject–verb agreement, check diacritics (ă, â, î, ș, ț), and ensure no double spaces or missing punctuation at sentence ends.