# Time- Masculine or Neuter?



## SerinusCanaria3075

I searched for "time" in an online dictionary and it gave me _timp_ as a neuter form. Then I searched for "timp" and gave me _time_ as a masculine noun.
So is it m. or n.?


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## jazyk

It can be either depending on the acceptation.

Jazyk


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## SerinusCanaria3075

Thanks, I didn't know it could be both (weird). I'm guessing it's not the only one (mostly inanimate objects, right?).


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## Trisia

Ouch... you ask such nasty questions.  thumbsup

Ok, I'm too lazy to check in a dictionary, but here's my take on this:

The answer is that we have a case of homonyms (or not! please correct me, people )

1. timp - _masculine_: un timp, doi timp*i* -  the thing you beat when you play music; a part of a very used phrase:

_ S-a îmbrăcat în doi timpi şi trei mişcări_ = She dressed [herself] in a very short time -- literally, in... (tough!)... two units of time and three movements (strange, yes, but sounds good in Romanian)

2. timp - _neuter_: timp, timp*uri* - period(s) of time.

_Ah, acele timpuri_... (those [were the] times...)
_Pe timpuri_ = în trecut (in the past)

Uhhh...maybe someone else could help more?

EDIT: I see I'm late. Well, I tried


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## SerinusCanaria3075

> _S-a îmbrăcat în doi timpi şi trei mişcări_


Actually, I think it's more common in Romance languages than in English. In Spanish this would be "...en dos tiempos y tres movimientos" which is a very quick time (almost record-breaking) for a girl to get dressed in. 

I don't know if in Romanian _fotbal_ (soccer,right?) a similar expression like _ în doi timpi _can be used when a player makes a mistake and corrects it quickly (at least in Mexican _fútbol_ it's common).

About the neuter _timp*uri*_, it can be used to express periods of time in history, like "In Roman _times_..." if I understood your explanation.


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## Trisia

Heh, wait till you see me get dressed for school - there's a record-breaking speed for ya 

Actually, for Roman times, we use "pe vremea romanilor." (although... wait, also "pe timpul romanilor") I'll think about it, but right now my brain won't work well - no valid examples, sorry.


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## OldAvatar

SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> I don't know if in Romanian _fotbal_ (soccer,right?) a similar expression like _ în doi timpi _can be used when a player makes a mistake and corrects it quickly (at least in Mexican _fútbol_ it's common).



Exactly. Not really when a player makes a mistake, but especially when a goalkeeper uses the procedure of catching the ball using two moves. First he stopes a difficult shot by hitting the ball to the ground with his hands and then holding it to the chest.

Actually, this subject is quite interesting. If you watch live soccer commentaries you will find that Romanian commentaries are very very similar with Portuguese and Spanish commentaries, for examples. The similarities are much more obvious than in common spoken language. We used to laugh when we first heard Brazilian commentators, for example. They sound very very funny, it is almost like a Romanian spoken by a Moldovan. Funny accent. . 
_Ex: 
Portarul blochează balonul în doi timpi._


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## SerinusCanaria3075

You're right. After I posted this I thought about it and realized it had to do with the goalkeeper holding on to the ball rather than fixing a mistake.
I think it's quite easy to understand a soccer match in almost any romance language (except French, sorry but the commentators sound _much much_ different). I've heard matches in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese (unfortunately none in Romanian,yet) and like you said, in Portuguese it sounds like a Spanish version with an *U* at the end of each word. 
Lastly, I think the terms that change the most are those involving free kicks and penalties.
Spanish: _Tiro libre_ and _penal_.
Italian: _Calcio di punizione_ and _rigore_.


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