Who? What? Why? When?
Wh- Questions
România Internațional, 19.01.2014, 12:14
Your ability to relate to people around you is crucial, since you need to function socially in a proper and efficient way. If you are a foreign speaker of Romanian, you need to be a lot more mindful of how you reason what you do in a certain context.
The well-known wh- questions seems to be working well in this respect.
As usual, we begin with a set of useful words and phrases:
De ce= Why
A intarzia= to be late
Copii=children
Ceas=alarm clock
A suna=ring
Autobuz=bus
A sosi=arrive
La timp= on time
A se rataci= to get lost
Now let us use some of the words and phrases in a relevant set of wh-questions:
Din ce cauza ati intirziat?
Why are you late?
Am intirziat din cauza copiilor.
I was late because of the children.
Am intirziat fiindca n-a sunat ceasul.
I was late because the alarm clock didn’t ring.
Am intirziat pentru utobuzul nu a venit la timp.
I was late because the bus didn’t arrive on time.
Am intirziat pentru ca a fost pana de curent.
I was late because we had a power cut.
Din ce cauza nu stii bine romaneste?
Why can’t you speak Romanian well?
Nu stiu bine romaneste pentru ca nu am prea avut cu cine sa vorbesc.
I can’t speak Romanian well because I did not have someone to speak to.
Din ce cauza ai ramas acasa?
Why did you stay at home?
Am ramas acasa pentru ca am racit.
I stayed at home because I caught a cold.
Din ce cauza te-ai ratacit?
Why did you get lost?
