# My car has broken down



## karim37

Hi,
My car has broken down. I don't know what the problem is. I am in the countryside in Romania. I walk to a nearby farm and knock on the door hoping that the farmer can help me himself or phone someone to come and help me.
How do I say in Romanian "My car has broken down"?
I looked it up and found "Mașina mea are defalcat", but I think deflacare is more like breaking down into different items.
I also found "Mașina mea s-a stricat". Is the correct? What is s-a? how is it pronounced?
Perhaps the word "pană" is used somehow, like in German and French, though that might be for a puncture in Romanian.

Please comment on my thoughts and tell me what the best way is to say "My car has broken down."


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## farscape

Hello and welcome to the WR Romanian forum. According to the WR forum rules you can have only one topic per thread.

My car has broken down -> Maşina mea s-a defectat/stricat (1) or Maşina mea are o pană (2)

In principle when using the form (2) you'd have to specify what kind of defect:
flat tyre: Maşina mea are o pană de cauciuc
engine brake down: Maşina mea are o pană de motor


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## karim37

Thanks! Now I understand.


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## danielstan

karim37 said:


> I also found "Mașina mea s-a stricat". Is the correct? What is s-a? how is it pronounced?
> 9


'_s-a_' is the evolution of an Old Romanian form '_se a_', where '_se_' is the reflexive pronoun and '_a_' is the auxiliary verb '_a avea_' ("to have") used in perfect tense.

The same sentence in present tense is:
"Mașina mea *se *strică"


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## karim37

Thank you for the explanation.


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