Unit 10: Meryem vorbește la telefon (Meryem is speaking on the phone)

• In this unit you will learn about :

• • Telephoning

• • More about Verbs in the Present Indicative

Dialog (Dialogue)

Meryem: Alo, Biroul Erasmus al Universității Constantin Brâncuși?
      Hello, is this the Erasmus Office of Constantin Brâncuși University?
Andreea(the Erasmus Officer): Da, cine e la telefon?
Meryem :Bună ziua.Mă numesc Meryem Ozdemir și sunt studentă Erasmus.
Andreea :Bună ziua! Cu ce vă pot ajuta?
    Hello, good afternoon!How can I help?
Vă sun pentru ca aș dori sa vorbesc cu doamna Ionescu, va rog.
     I want to talk to Mrs. Ionescu, please.
Andreea: Nu are ore astazi dar puteți să lăsați un mesaj.
     She doesn t have classes today but you can leave a message.
Meryem: Puteți să îi transmiteți, vă rog, că nu pot veni mâine la cursul de română, merg la București la o întâlnire cu studenții Erasmus de la alte universități..
     Could you please tell her that I can’ t come to the Romanian class tomorrow, I am going to Bucharest for a meeting with the Erasmus students from other universities.
Andreea: Sigur, o să îi transmit!
     Sure, I will let her know!
Meryem :Mulțumesc!
     Thank you!
Andreea: Cu plăcere!
     You are welcome!
Meryem: La revedere!
     Good -bye
Andreea: O zi bună!
     Have a nice day!

Useful Phrases

Cu cine doriți sa vorbiți? - Who do you want to talk to?
Aș dori sa vorbesc cu domnul X.- I would like to talk to Mr. X.
Vreau să vorbesc cu doamna Y.- I want to talk to Mrs. Y
Pot să îi las un mesaj? - May I leave him/her a message?
Vă sun in legătură cu - I am calling you about ...
Pot sa folosesc telefonul dumneavoastră? - May I use your phone?
Mi se descarcă bateria.- My battery is low.
Puteti sa vorbiți mai tare, vä rog?- Could you speak up, please?
Care este numarul dumneavoastră de telefon? -What is your phone number?
Puteti să repetați, va rog? - Could you repeat, please?
Cine e la telefon? Linia este ocupata.-Who s calling? The line is busy.
Așteptați, vă rog- Hold on,please
telefon mobil / telefon celular –mobile/cell phone
cartelă telefonică-telephone card
prefix international –international code

More about verbs in the Present Indicative

There are four principal families of verbs in Romanian; they are distinguished by the endings of the infinitive.
1.The first family (or conjugation) is represented in our dialogue by the verb a suna(in the infinitive) in Meryam s sentence : Vă sun pentru ca aș dori sa vorbesc cu doamna Ionescu, va rog. , and the present tense forms are:

Eu sun	Noi sunăm
Tu suni	Voi sunați
El/ea sună	Ei/ele sună

2.The second conjugation, with an infinitive ending in -ea, is represented by:
A putea(in Meryem s question Puteți să îi transmiteți, vă rog, că nu pot veni mâine la cursul de română?)
The present tense forms of a vedea and a putea are:

Eu pot	Noi putem
Tu poţi	Voi puteţi
El/ea poate	Ei/ele pot

3.The third conjugation is illustrated by a merge (Meryem Merg la București la o întâlnire cu studenții Erasmus de la alte universități), whose present-tense forms are:

Eu merg	Noi mergem
Tu mergi	Voi mergeţi
El/ea merge	Ei/ele merg

4.The fourth conjugation, ending in -i, exemplified here by a vorbi (' Meryem vorbește la telefon) , whose present tense forms are:

Eu vorbesc	Noi vorbim
Tu vorbești	Voi vorbiți
El/ea vorbește	Ei/ele vorbesc

Amongst verbs commonly used by students of Romanian are
• a învăţa 'to learn'

Eu învăț	Noi învățăm
Tu înveți	Voi învățați
El/ea învață	Ei/ele învață

• a scrie 'to write'

Eu scriu	Noi scriem
Tu scrii	Voi scrieți
El/ea scrie	Ei/ele scriu

• a citi 'to read'

Eu citesc	Noi citim
Tu citești	Voi citiți
El/ea citește	Ei/ele citesc

Practice

I.Roleplay the phone conversation in the dialogue and then make up a similar one.2.
II.Translate the following sentences into Romanian.
1.I am calling Mihaela tonight.
2.He is writing a message for you.
3.She is reading Harry Potter.
4.We are speaking Romanian now.
5.We are learning the Present Tense
6.I can help you.
7.Merve is going to Turkey next month.
8.Mary writes poems every day.
III.Make up sentences with all the verbs in the grammar section.

A Glimpse of Romanian Culture:

Education and Childrearing:Women were encouraged to work outside the home by the communist regime, which constructed state-run crèches. Children are left in these centers all day long from a young age while their parents work. Many nurseries are overcrowded and understaffed.

Babysitting. Childbirth was prioritized by Ceaușescu in order to increase the population. He outlawed birth control and abortion while requiring all women to have at least five children. Although his methods were successful in increasing the number of children, they frequently did so at the expense of the kids. Orphanages were overloaded with unwanted children, and poor families were unable to provide them with food or clothing..

Schools: From the age of six to sixteen, attendance at school is both free and compulsory. Children attend elementary school from the age of six to fourteen; to continue their education in secondary school, they must pass exams. About half of these students continue their study at vocational schools, while the other pupils enroll in technical colleges or teacher preparation courses.

University education. Only 5% of secondary school pupils take a college preparatory course. To attend a university, you must first pass a hard examination, which frequently necessitates outside assistance. The University of Bucharest, founded in 1864, is the country's largest and most famous university.
Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and the Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest are two other institutions of higher learning.


Etiquette: ORomanians are well-known for their generosity and hospitality. Guests are consistently fed. A tip of the hat, a kiss on the hand, or standing to offer them a seat are all ways males show their respect for women. Younger people are also expected to respect their elders.

(https://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Romania.html)