Nouns · Romanian grammar A1

The gender of nouns: masculine, feminine, neuter#

Formation

Romanian nouns have three genders. Nouns ending in a consonant or in -u are usually masculine or neuter (un student, un pix, un muzeu), and nouns ending in -ă usually feminine (o casă, o mașină). Nouns ending in -e can be of any gender, so each one is learnt with its article: un câine, o carte, un nume. A neuter noun is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural: it takes un like a masculine noun, but două like a feminine one. The gender of a noun therefore shows with un or o and with doi or două:

Gender	One	Two
masculine	un student, un câine	doi studenți, doi câini
feminine	o casă, o carte	două case, două cărți
neuter	un tren, un scaun	două trenuri, două scaune

Use

For people, the gender is that of the person, whatever the ending: tată (father) ends in -ă but is masculine, un tată. The feminine of many nouns for people is formed by adding -ă: un student, o studentă; un prieten, o prietenă. In profesor, the o before the ending becomes oa: o profesoară. Some pairs are two different words: bărbat and femeie, tată and mamă, frate and soră, fiu and fiică, băiat and fată. The adjective and the possessive agree with the gender of the noun, the neuter included: un tren nou, două trenuri noi.

Am un câine și o pisică.I have a dog and a cat.
Mama e profesoară, tata e doctor.My mother is a teacher, my father is a doctor.
Pe masă sunt două pixuri și un caiet.There are two pens and an exercise book on the table.
În oraș sunt două muzee.There are two museums in the town.

Difference from English

In English, gender concerns people and a few animals only; in Romanian, o masă (“a table”) is feminine and un scaun (“a chair”) neuter. English “teacher” and “friend” have one form; Romanian has profesor and profesoară, prieten and prietenă.

Common mistakes

~~Am un mașină nouă.~~ → Am o mașină nouă.Mașină is feminine and takes o.
~~Sunt doi trenuri la Cluj.~~ → Sunt două trenuri la Cluj.Tren is neuter, so its plural takes the feminine două.
~~Ioana e profesor.~~ → Ioana e profesoară.A woman teacher is profesoară.

Practise

“Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Naming one thing: un student, o studentă “Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Neuter nouns: un tren, două trenuri

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The indefinite article: un, o, niște#

Formation

The indefinite article is placed before the noun. It is un before a masculine or a neuter noun and o before a feminine noun. Its plural is niște (“some”), the same for every gender.

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
singular	un student	o casă	un tren
plural	niște studenți	niște case	niște trenuri

Use

Un and o are used much as English “a” and “an”, for a person or a thing not yet named. Niște is used with a plural noun and with a noun that has no plural, for an amount: niște prieteni, niște pâine. A job after a fi takes no article, as explained in “Saying who you are: the present of a fi, eu sunt, tu ești”. Un and o are also the number “one”, explained in “Cardinal numbers: un, o, doi, două, douăzeci de”.

Lângă gară e un hotel.There’s a hotel near the station.
Cumpăr niște mere.I’m buying some apples.
Vrei niște pâine?Would you like some bread?
Lângă școală sunt niște magazine.There are some shops near the school.

Difference from English

English “a” and “an” are chosen by the sound that follows; Romanian un and o by the gender of the noun: un hotel, o oră. English “some” is often left out (“I’m buying apples”); niște may be left out in the same way, but it is never replaced by un or o before a noun with no plural.

Common mistakes

~~Am o pix.~~ → Am un pix.Pix is neuter and takes un in the singular.
~~Cumpăr un zahăr.~~ → Cumpăr niște zahăr.An amount of a food with no plural takes niște.

Practise

“Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Naming one thing: un student, o studentă “Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Some, and nouns with no plural: niște, lapte

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The plural of nouns: studenți, case, cărți, trenuri#

Formation

The plural is formed with one of four endings, -i, -e, -uri or -le, which replaces the last vowel of the noun or is added to it. Each gender has its own endings:

Noun	Plural	Examples
masculine	-i	student, studenți; prieten, prieteni; câine, câini
feminine in -ă	-e or -i	casă, case; masă, mese; mașină, mașini; școală, școli
feminine in -e	-i	carte, cărți; floare, flori
feminine in -ie	-ii	familie, familii
feminine in stressed -ea	-ele	cafea, cafele
neuter	-uri or -e	tren, trenuri; scaun, scaune; oraș, orașe

Use

The consonant before -i. Before the -i of the plural, t becomes ț, d becomes z, s becomes ș and st becomes șt: student, studenți; frate, frați; stradă, străzi. These changes are always written. The final -i of a masculine plural is hardly heard: it softens the consonant before it, and studenți is pronounced [stuˈdent͡sʲ].

The vowel of the stem. The stem often changes too: a becomes e (masă, mese; fată, fete) or ă (carte, cărți), and oa becomes o (școală, școli; floare, flori). The plural of zi (day) is zile.

Learnt with the noun. Nothing in the singular shows whether a feminine noun in -ă takes -e or -i, or a neuter noun -uri or -e: the plural is learnt with each noun.

Am doi frați: Dan și Mihai.I have two brothers, Dan and Mihai.
Avem două școli noi în sat.We have two new schools in the village.
Pe masă sunt cărți și flori.There are books and flowers on the table.
Cumpărăm două bilete de tren.We’re buying two train tickets.
Lucrez trei zile pe săptămână.I work three days a week.

Difference from English

In English, -s is added to almost every noun; in Romanian, the plural ending depends on the gender of the noun and on its last letter, and the consonant or the vowel of the stem often changes as well: carte, cărți.

Common mistakes

~~Am două carte.~~ → Am două cărți.The plural of carte is cărți.
~~Aici sunt trei studenti.~~ → Aici sunt trei studenți.Before the plural -i, t becomes ț.
~~Ion are două mașine.~~ → Ion are două mașini.The plural of mașină is mașini, learnt with the noun.

Practise

“Nouns: un, o and the plural”, The plural of masculine nouns: studenți, frați “Nouns: un, o and the plural”, The plural of feminine nouns in -ă: case, mașini “Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Neuter nouns: un tren, două trenuri

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Irregular plurals: oameni, surori, ouă#

Formation

A few common nouns have an irregular plural: om (man, person), oameni; soră (sister), surori; ou (egg), ouă, a neuter noun. In copil (child), the l is dropped: copii.

Use

Oameni is the usual word for “people”: mulți oameni. With the definite article, these plurals take the usual endings: oamenii, surorile, ouăle, copiii.

Azi sunt mulți oameni la muzeu.There are a lot of people at the museum today.
Mama are trei surori la Iași.My mother has three sisters in Iași.
Cumpăr șase ouă.I’m buying six eggs.
Câți copii aveți?How many children do you have?

Difference from English

English also has a few plurals learnt one by one, such as “men”, “people” and “children”; Romanian om, oameni and copil, copii are learnt in the same way.

Common mistakes

~~Am două sore.~~ → Am două surori.The plural of soră is surori.
~~Am trei ou.~~ → Am trei ouă.The plural of ou is ouă.

Practise

“Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Irregular plurals and one-form nouns: oameni, ochi

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Nouns with no plural: lapte, carne, miere, unt, zahăr#

Formation

Some nouns for food are used in the singular only: lapte (milk), carne (meat), miere (honey), unt (butter), zahăr (sugar), brânză (cheese), orez (rice). The verb after them is singular, and an amount is expressed with niște, not with un or o.

Use

With the definite article, these nouns take the ending of their gender: laptele, carnea, mierea, untul, zahărul. Their rare plural forms (brânzeturi) name kinds, not amounts.

Cumpăr niște brânză și niște carne.I’m buying some cheese and some meat.
Bei cafea cu zahăr?Do you take sugar in your coffee?
Mierea din sat e dulce.The honey from the village is sweet.

Difference from English

English “milk”, “sugar” and “butter” are also used without “a” and without a plural; niște corresponds to English “some” before them.

Common mistake

~~Pe masă sunt niște zahăr.~~ → Pe masă e niște zahăr.A noun with no plural takes a singular verb.

Practise

“Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Some, and nouns with no plural: niște, lapte

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Nouns with one form for singular and plural: ochi, pui, ochelari, vânzătoare#

Formation

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and in the plural: un ochi, doi ochi (eye); un pui, doi pui (chick, young animal); o vânzătoare, două vânzătoare (shop assistant). The plural is shown by the number, the article or the verb: ochiul, ochii; vânzătoarea, vânzătoarele. A few nouns are used in the plural: ochelari (glasses), which has no singular, pantaloni (trousers) and bani (money).

Use

A noun used in the plural takes a plural verb and a plural adjective, even where English has a singular: Banii mei sunt aici (“My money is here”).

Pisica are patru pui.The cat has four kittens.
Ochelarii lui Radu sunt noi.Radu’s glasses are new.
Irina și sora ei sunt vânzătoare.Irina and her sister are shop assistants.

Difference from English

English “glasses” and “trousers” are plural too; English “money” is singular, but Romanian bani is a plural.

Common mistake

~~Unde e ochelarii?~~ → Unde sunt ochelarii?Ochelari is a plural and takes a plural verb.

In short

Point	Form	Example
masculine	un, doi	un câine, doi câini
feminine	o, două	o casă, două case
neuter	un, but două	un tren, două trenuri
“some”	niște	niște prieteni, niște pâine
plural endings	-i, -e, -uri, -le	studenți, case, trenuri, cafele
changes in the stem	t → ț, d → z, a → e, oa → o	frați, mese, școli
irregular plurals	learnt one by one	oameni, surori, ouă, copii
no plural	singular verb, niște	niște lapte
one form	the article or the number shows the plural	un ochi, doi ochi

Practise

“Nouns: un, o and the plural”, Irregular plurals and one-form nouns: oameni, ochi

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