"Motorul cel nou este din Egipt."

Translation: The new engine is from Egypt.

[crbratu]

As Octavian pointed out, "cel" is an identifier and Romanian requires it when you have to identify a particular subject. "Motorul nou este bun" would correctly translate to "new engines are good " (generic) while "Motorul cel nou este bun " is definitely "THE new engine is good " (supposed you have more than one and you need to specify which one). If you do not use "cel" you will probably be understood but it is poor Romanian. There are also cases where "cel" is mandatory and the sentence has no meaning in Romanian without it : "ștefan cel mare " "mircea cel bătrân " "fratele cel mare este blond"

[manuna84]

So it is like "Stefan THE Great", right?

[crbratu]

yes ;-)

[nunes89]

Sorry for asking this here, but how do I use these ce, cei, cel, etc.? I keep on translating them to this :\

[PirvuOctavian97]

it's used as an identifying mark around the adjective, "nou" in this case, to mark the identity of the subject compared to others ("Motorul CEL nou", not any other engine, but the new one only)

[Schattenparker]

Sorry, I don't get it yet. How could "Motorul nou este din Egipt" mean any other engine but the new one? Or does it sound to vague without "cel" - so that it was not clear that "new" ist the property one needs to identify the one from Egypt?

I don't know such a logic problem from other languages: "The new engine is from Egypt" implies that you should not consider old engines right now - regardless of their origin.

[KrapocK]

As I understand, both can be translated by "the new engine is from Egypt", but with very different meanings :
"Motorul nou este din Egipt" could translate to "each new engine is from Egypt".
"Motorul cel nou este din Egipt" could translated by "the engine that is new is from Egypt".

[nunes89]

Got it, mulțumesc!

[Corry467713]

Cel = the in male form ,only when it is for one thing
Cea=the in female form ,only when its about one thing
Ce = what cei= the ,or it

[xavi75724]

I think it is an emphasis. "The engine, the new one, is from Egypt ".

[Skain00]

Not quite an emphasis, but the meaning is correct. Cel and its variants are used to define an item or person when the article can't be used. In a sense, it can be translated to "the [adj.] one". Alexandru cel mare = lit. "Alexander, the great one"

[cheerfulcharlie]

I have the same question as Schattenparker. I don't understand the difference between "Motorul nou este din Egipt" and "Motorul cel nou este din Egipt." PirvuOctavian97 says that the "cel" is used to somehow further distinguish the noun but is not already clear that we are talking about the new motor and not the other motors that are not new?

Every time I see one of the cei/cel animals in a Duolingo sentence, it always seem gratuitous or superfluous. Before I was just rolling with the flow, thinking that I would somehow come to understand the function of this animal, but it remains elusive.

[xavi75724]

I think this is used for emphisis.

The engine, the new one, is from Egypt.

[Skain00]

From my understanding, cel and its variants are used to define an item or person when the article can't be used. In a way, their meaning is "the [adj.] one" (or "ones" for the plural forms).
Alexandru cel mare = lit. "Alexander, the great one".
Motorul cel nou = lit. "The motor, the new one". In this case I think it's used to define the adjective.