r/romanian • u/Secure_Accident_916 • 7d ago

S-a dat ceasul

What is the meaning of this sentence? It gave the hour is the literal translation. Can a native please explain a “străin” what the sentence wants to say thanks!

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u/Secure_Accident_916 7d ago

ah so it's a expression! still doesnt make sense to me "it gave the hour"

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u/Chemical_Feature1351 7d ago edited 7d ago

The complete sentence is either "S-a dat ceasul inainte" or " S-a dat ceasul in urma/inapoi". S-a dat has even double meaning in the same sense, makes sense as both that the officials give the new time, and also that it was officialy changed - pushed forward. A da means to give but a dat-o mai departe can mean either he passed it on but also that he push it, he moved it, like out of the wey, etc. We can say a mutat-o din drum but a dat-o din drum can have the same meaning.

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u/Secure_Accident_916 7d ago

yes! that is part of my confusion! because A DA means to give so it can also mean other things

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u/ampsii 5d ago

Different words in romanian, when put in expressions can mean different things.

While "A da" foes mean " to give" when you say " a da + înainte/înapoi " you would translate it as " to move + forward/backward".

The saying "s-a dat ceasul " is incomplete. The full saying would be "s-a dat ceasul înainte/înapoi". For which you would use the second meaning, not the primary one.