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A Romanian adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes, and it usually comes after the noun: o carte bună, două trenuri bune. The comparative is formed with mai and decât, and foarte means “very”. Mult, puțin and tot agree with their noun but come before it.
The adjective: four forms, after the noun: alb, albă, albi, albe#
Formation
Most adjectives have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural and feminine plural. The feminine singular is formed by adding -ă, the masculine plural by adding -i, the feminine plural by adding -e. Before the -i, t becomes ț, s becomes ș and st becomes șt; in frumos, o becomes oa in the feminine. Adjectives ending in -e, such as mare (big) and verde (green), have two forms: one for the singular and one for the plural.
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| alb | albă | albi | albe |
| bun | bună | buni | bune |
| înalt | înaltă | înalți | înalte |
| frumos | frumoasă | frumoși | frumoase |
| trist | tristă | triști | triste |
| nou | nouă | noi | noi |
| mare | mare | mari | mari |
| verde | verde | verzi | verzi |
Use
An adjective describing a noun is placed after it, and agrees with it: un câine mic, o casă albă, copii fericiți, mașini ieftine. A neuter noun takes the masculine form in the singular and the feminine form in the plural: un oraș mare, un tren nou, două trenuri noi. After a fi, the adjective agrees with the subject: Ana e obosită. For a man and a woman together, the adjective is masculine plural: Dan și Elena sunt fericiți.
- Am o mașină albă.I have a white car.
- Elena e obosită.Elena is tired.
- Copiii sunt fericiți.The children are happy.
- Locuim într-o casă mare.We live in a big house.
- Avem două scaune noi.We have two new chairs.
Difference from English
An English adjective has one form and comes before the noun: “a white house”, “white houses”. A Romanian adjective comes after the noun and has a form for each gender and number: o casă albă, case albe.
Common mistakes
Ana e obosit.→ Ana e obosită.The adjective agrees with the subject, a woman.Băieții sunt înalti.→ Băieții sunt înalți.Before the masculine plural -i, t becomes ț.Am două caiete nou.→ Am două caiete noi.A neuter noun takes the feminine form in the plural.
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The comparative: mai … decât#
Formation
The comparative is formed with mai (more) before the adjective, which still agrees with its noun: mai înalt, mai înaltă, mai înalți, mai înalte. English “than” is decât.
Use
English “better” is mai bun, formed in the same way and agreeing like any adjective: o carte mai bună. After decât, a personal pronoun takes the form used after a preposition: decât mine, decât tine, as explained in “Pronouns after a preposition: cu mine, pentru tine”. Mai is also placed before an adverb: mai bine (better), mai des (more often).
- Trenul e mai rapid decât autobuzul.The train is faster than the bus.
- Fratele meu e mai mare decât mine.My brother is older than me.
- Azi e mai cald decât ieri.It’s warmer today than yesterday.
- Ceaiul e mai bun decât cafeaua?Is tea better than coffee?
Difference from English
In English, -er is added to a short adjective, and some forms are irregular, such as “better”; in Romanian, the comparative of every adjective is formed with mai.
Common mistakes
Ana e mai înalt decât Ion.→ Ana e mai înaltă decât Ion.The adjective agrees with Ana.Ion e mai înalt decât eu.→ Ion e mai înalt decât mine.After decât, eu becomes mine.
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Very, and exclamations with ce: foarte bun, Ce zi frumoasă!#
Formation
Foarte (very) is placed before an adjective or an adverb and has one form; the adjective agrees as usual: foarte frumoasă, foarte obosiți, foarte bine. An exclamation is formed with ce and an adjective in the masculine singular (Ce frumos!, “How beautiful!”), or with ce, a noun with no article and an adjective that agrees with it: Ce zi frumoasă!
Use
English “very much” after a verb is foarte mult: Îmi place foarte mult. An exclamation may also be ce and a noun alone: Ce oraș!
- Lecția e foarte interesantă.The lesson is very interesting.
- Vorbești foarte bine!You speak very well!
- Ce frumos!How beautiful!
- Ce casă mare!What a big house!
- Ce copii frumoși!What beautiful children!
Difference from English
English has “how” before an adjective and “what a” before a noun; Romanian has ce for both, never cum, and no un or o after it.
Common mistakes
Cum frumos!→ Ce frumos!An exclamation is formed with ce.Ce o zi frumoasă!→ Ce zi frumoasă!No article follows ce in an exclamation.Îmi place foarte.→ Îmi place foarte mult.After a verb, “very much” is foarte mult.
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A lot, a little, all and every: mult, puțin, tot, fiecare#
Formation
Mult (much, a lot of), puțin (little, few) and tot (all, the whole) agree with their noun like adjectives, but are placed before it. After mult and puțin the noun takes no article; after tot, it takes the definite article: toată ziua, toți copiii. Fiecare (each, every) has one form and is followed by a singular noun with no article.
| Masculine and neuter singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine and neuter plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a lot of | mult | multă | mulți | multe |
| a little, few | puțin | puțină | puțini | puține |
| all | tot | toată | toți | toate |
Use
After a verb, mult and puțin have one form: Lucrez mult, Dorm puțin. Tot with the article corresponds to English “all” and “the whole”: tot orașul (the whole town), toate camerele (all the rooms).
- În Cluj locuiesc mulți studenți.A lot of students live in Cluj.
- Bei multă apă?Do you drink a lot of water?
- Am puțin timp.I have little time.
- Lucrez toată ziua.I work all day.
- Toți studenții vorbesc engleză.All the students speak English.
- Fiecare student are un caiet.Every student has an exercise book.
Difference from English
English “a lot of” has one form and the word of; Romanian mult agrees with its noun and has no of: multe întrebări, mulți oameni. English “all day” has no article; Romanian has one after tot: toată ziua.
Common mistakes
Am mult prieteni.→ Am mulți prieteni.Mult agrees with the masculine plural prieteni.Lucrez toată zi.→ Lucrez toată ziua.After tot, the noun takes the definite article.Fiecare studenții are un caiet.→ Fiecare student are un caiet.Fiecare is followed by a singular noun with no article.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| four forms | -, -ă, -i, -e | alb, albă, albi, albe |
| place | after the noun | o casă albă |
| neuter | masculine singular, feminine plural | un tren nou, trenuri noi |
| comparative | mai + adjective + decât | mai înalt decât mine |
| very | foarte | foarte bun |
| exclamation | ce + noun + adjective | Ce zi frumoasă! |
| a lot, a little | mult, puțin before the noun | mulți oameni |
| all | tot + the noun with its article | toată ziua |
| every | fiecare + singular noun | fiecare student |
Practise
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