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."

 

[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

 

[karim37]

Thanks! Now I understand.

 

[danielstan]

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"

 

[karim37]

Thank you for the explanation.