# ca pe-un



## mihi

Hello everyone,

I'm stuck with this structure. What is the function of _pe _here and why is there a hyphen between _pe _and _un_?

_Te voi înveli *ca pe-un* burrito.
Ia-o *ca pe-un* meci de șah.
Și nu mă cocoloși *ca pe-un* copil._

Is it incorrect to say something like "_ia-o ca un meci de șah"?
_
Thank you


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## irinet

1.I would think of 'as if' structure; but  reduced by retaining the essential elements: _as if [you were] a hamburger.

2. _The hyphen is optional. If we use it, it means that the 2 words will be uttered as if [ ] one.

3. If you miss _pe_ it's like missing _if_. Can you do that?


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## mihi

Thank you for your response. 

Does this mean that in most situations the _pe _is optional?

For example, if I take this example sentence:

_Ascuzându-se în tufișuri *ca un* iepuraș speriat. 
Cowering in the bushes *like a* scared little bunny rabbit. _

Can I modify it like this?:

_Ascuzându-se în tufișuri *ca pe-un* iepuraș speriat.
Cowering in the bushes *as if you were a* scared little bunny rabbit._


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## irinet

I didn't say* pe is optional.
*
You cannot modify the way you showed to me. This structure, as you well made it bold, [*like-structure*], is not the same as the _as_ _if-structure.
_
I hope you can see the difference:

with *pe*

1. the subject [ human 1] - object 1 [human 2 ] is the subject of your comparison (= as if you were a burrito); object 2 = the burrito.

no *pe*
2. subject - NO OBJECT to compare.


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## irinet

mihi said:


> Hello,
> 
> I'm stuck with this structure. What is the function of _pe _here and why is there a hyphen between _pe _and _un_?
> 
> _Te _*[human 2 - you] *_voi înveli_ [human 1 - I ]_ *ca pe-un* burrito.
> Ia-o *ca pe-un* meci de șah. [ you - it]
> Și nu mă cocoloși *ca pe-un* copil. [you - I ]_
> 
> Is it incorrect to say something like "_ia-o ca un meci de șah"?
> _
> Welcome


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## irinet

mihi said:


> Thank you for your response.
> 
> Does this mean that in most situations the _pe _is optional?
> 
> For example, if I take this example sentence:
> 
> _Ascuzându-*se* în tufișuri *ca un* iepuraș speriat. *(no transitivity; reflexive VB)*
> Cowering in the bushes *like a* scared little bunny rabbit. _
> 
> Can I modify it like this?:
> 
> _Ascuzându-se în tufișuri *ca pe-un* iepuraș speriat.
> Cowering in the bushes *as if you were a* scared little bunny rabbit._



It's a subject and no object, though you used 'as if'. I didn't say that your structure overlaps ours.

It's a different way of looking at the Romanian _transitivity .
_
*VB + double transitivity (T1, T2)
*
_*Am* ascuns-*o [ T1 ] *în tufișuri *ca [pe *un iepuraș - *T2* ] . _('pe' is a mark for transitivity, which case here is _false _like in 'as if-structure).

_I was hiding / cowering her THE WAY I would be doing WITH A RABBIT._


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