Lesson 15 – Speaking on the phone

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Hey, yeaaaah, just wanted to let you know you’re fired!

Street Rejection XV

If you thought so far that I don’t get rejected, then you were sadly mistaken.

 

Girl: Scuze.

Sorry.

Sergiu: Da, serios?

Yes, really?

Girl: O să te las baltă* acum. Scuză-mă.

I’m going to leave you alone now. Excuse me.

Sergiu: Bine.

Fine.

*This expression is rude. If you want to say to someone that you want to leave them in a polite way, just say O să te las acum or the simple Te las.

Baltă means “puddle” so you can imagine why the person you are speaking to might feel dirty and used after you utter the above expression.

Grammar XV

Verbs

Today is the greatest, since you are going to be learning the past tense of verbs. We’ll take a look at two new verbs and then we will be revisiting all the other verbs from weeks 1 and 2.

 

A zice (to say)

Zic I say
Zici You say
Zice He, she says
Zicem We say
Ziceți You say
Zic They say

A învăța (to learn)

Învăț I learn
Înveți You learn
Învață He, she learns
Învățăm We learn
Învățați You learn
Învață They learn

 

Past participles of all the known verbs so far

Fost Was
Chemat Called
Numit Named
Venit Came
Plăcut Liked
Scuzat Excused
Rugat Begged
Dus Went
Ajuns Arrived
Spus Said
Putut Could
Vorbit Spoke
Ascultat Listened
Înțeles Understood
Cântat Sang
Scris Wrote
Citit Read
Cumpărat Bought
Vrut Wanted
Avut Had
Mâncat Ate
Așteptat Waited
Gustat Tasted
Băut Drank

The very simple way of expressing that somebody drank something in the past is by saying Am/Ai/A/Am/Ați/Au băut where Am, ai, a…are simplified variants of the verb “to have”. The verb a avea was shortened so it would be easier to say a gustat (he/she tasted) than are gustat (which should not be used).

Dialogue XV

 

Sergiu: Alo, e acasă Sergiu?

Hello, is Sergiu home?

Daniela: Nu e aici. Cine ești?

He’s not here. Who are you?

Sergiu: Sebi sunt.

I’m Sebi.

Daniela: Ce zici? Nu înțeleg. Învață să vorbești mai tare!

What are you saying? Learn to speak louder!

Sergiu: Sebi sunt. Unde e Sergiu acum?

It’s Sebi. Where is Sergiu now?

Daniela: La mama ta.

At your mother.

Sergiu: Ok, mersi, pa!

Ok, thanks, bye!

Daniela: Apropo, e numărul greșit. Nu știu cine e Sergiu!!

By the way, it’s the wrong phone number. I don’t know who Sergiu is!!

The worst thing you could ever say to me is:

Bonus words

Mamă (f.) – Mother (Pl. Mame) Articulated as Mama

Tată (m.) – Father (Pl. Tați) Articulated as either Tata or Tatăl (usually followed by meu, tău, lui, ei etc.)

Key Vocabulary XV

 

Scuză (f.) – Excuse (Pl. Scuze)

A scuza – To excuse

A lăsa baltă – To abandon, to leave alone

Acum – Now

Alo – Hello (said on the phone)

Acasă – Home

Aici – Here

Cine – Who

Unde – Where

La mama ta – at your mother

Mersi, pa – Thanks, bye

Apropo – By the way

Număr (n.) – number (Pl. numere)

Greșit – wrong

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Salvează

3 thoughts on “Lesson 15 – Speaking on the phone”

  1. Hi Sergiu! 🙂 i have 2 questions.
    “Alo, e acasă Sergiu?” is this the only way to ask this? i would have surely said “e Sergius acasa?”
    Similarly, “Sebi sunt”, i would say “Sunt Sebi.”
    are these completely incorrect?

    1. Hi Emese!
      Both “Sebi sunt” and “Sunt Sebi” are correct to say.
      “E Sergiu acasă?” is not that common (it emphasizes the word Sergiu) but still a valid expression. Usually you would want to emphasize the word home, then it’s recommended to say “E acasă Sergiu?”.

  2. Am o intrebare foarte importantă..!!Ce -a întâmplat cu (the imperative) ? De ce acest lucru a fost șters pe lecția asta ? L-am imprimat de curând…!!E- ciudat?

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