Part one can be found here.
A few months ago, I mentioned that on the back of all Romanian money it says Banca Nationala a Romaniei and someone asked what that “a” means, and how to use it.
As we know quite well, Romanian is a language with declinations, which means that the “receiving” noun has a special form which can denote possession.
Ex:
Centrul orasului – The center of the city (or “the city’s center”).
Casa lui Bogdan – Bogdan’s house.
Sometimes though there are a number of linked nouns in a sentence and it is unclear which noun is “possessing” the adjective in question.
Banca Nationala a Romaniei means “Romania’s National Bank” but without the “a” in there it would be “National Romania’s Bank”.
There’s a large building in Cluj named “Casa de Cultura A Studentilor” meaning “The Students’ House of Culture”. Again, without the “a” in there it would be “The House of Students’ Culture”.
Therefore the possessive “A” always comes immediately before the receiving noun.
The good news is that there are only a few forms to learn.
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine |
| al | a | ai | ale |
.
Keep in mind that for “neuter” words, they take the masculine form in the singular and the feminine in the plural.
When you look at “Casa de Cultura A Studentilor” it’s pretty obvious that the word “studentilor” is plural (and masculine). So why is it “A”, the singular feminine form?
The possessive “A” reflects the gender/number of the noun that’s being possessed, not the possessor. In other words, the “A” refers to the word “Casa”, which is singular and feminine, not “Studentilor” which is plural and masculine.
If the students got together and pooled their money together and bought several buildings all with the same name then it’d be “Casele de Cultura ale Studentilor”.
Let’s try some! Remember that the “A” form modifies the noun that’s the “subject” of the sentence.
Highlight the blank portion with your mouse if you get stuck.
| Sentence |
|---|
| Casa cea noua a parintilor mei |
| Computerul cel nou al fratelui meu |
| Pantofii noi ai studentilor |
| Cartile bune ale profesorului |
| Masina verde a lui Bogdan |
| Pisicile frumoase ale vecinului |
.
AND NOW YOU KNOW!
All Things Romania 
Oh Sam, you have a few mistakes in your examples.
It’s Cartile (with one “i”) bune (not buni) – that’s because the noun “carte” is feminine. Same goes for “Masina rosu” which should be “Masina rosie” (“masina” is a feminine noun). And when unless it’s a typo, it’s “pisicile” – with one “i”.
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Thanks – I’ll fix it. I’ve noticed like with Clinicilor Street (where my friends’ pub is) I tend to add the extra “I” because “clinici” and “clincilor” seems to have an “extra” i sound in there to my brain. Same for “carti” (one syllable) and “cartile” (three syllables) so my fingers add the second syllable (two I’s) involuntarily :P
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Great lesson. I’m with the others – hearing it/seeing it explained makes it much harder to understand. I guess I take it for granted.
[What’s funny to me is that you’ve become a Romanian even when writing. Your periods are now hanging outside the quotations marks. Hehe.]
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Brother my head is such a ciorba it sloshes when I walk down the street :P
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you’ve become a Romanian even when writing. Your periods are now hanging outside the quotations marks.
Is that where that’s from?! I’m a stickler for correct English grammar/usage but I refuse to put a period inside ending quotation marks. (So I just looked it up on the web and it confirmed that regarding this, American English follows convention, whereas British English follows logic.) So I don’t know if this whole time I’ve been following Romanian usage or logical usage or both.
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Well I worked for an American company and our style guide definitely said periods INSIDE quotes so the first commenter was right – I’m being “corrupted”. I also say “remember me” instead of “remind me” these days too :))
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french grammar is much harder than the Romanian grammar
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yes! i was wondering when you’d do another of these. thanks, the grammar ones are so helpful.
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Also, it’s “cartile bune”, “masina rosie” and “pisicile frumoase”.
When you say “cartile” it already has an article, “le” feminine plural, there is no need for the extra “i” as the books are in the possession of the teacher, not the other way around (paginile cartii – the pages of the book). Same thing with the cats :)
Keep up the good work!
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Even for a native speakers, this topics are very tricky. Very good job.
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I’m very happy I know Romanian since birth and I don’t have to learn it. It’s so complicated once you hear it explained… the other Romance languages I know, French and Spanish, are easy as pie compared to it.
(By the way, it’s “centruL orasului”. In case it’s not a typo, here’s the explanation: “centru” = center, “centrul” = THE center.)
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Fixed! Thanks :D
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