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A Romanian sentence is made negative with one word, nu, placed before the verb, and a yes-or-no question has the word order of a statement, said with a rising voice: no auxiliary like English do is used. A question word comes at the start of the question. Nimeni, nimic and niciodată are always used with nu.
The negative: nu before the verb, and nimeni, nimic, niciodată#
Formation
The negative is formed by placing nu immediately before the verb: Sunt obosit → Nu sunt obosit. A short pronoun said with the verb comes between nu and the verb: nu-mi place, nu mă simt bine. Nu is often joined to a following am, ai, a, ați, au or o să with a hyphen: n-am, n-a, n-o să. Nimeni (nobody), nimic (nothing) and niciodată (never) are used with nu before the verb: Nu văd nimic. As the subject, nimeni and nimic may come before nu or after the verb, which is in the third person singular: Nimeni nu știe or Nu știe nimeni.
Use
English “anything”, “anybody” and “ever” in a negative sentence are nimic, nimeni and niciodată: “I don’t have anything” is Nu am nimic, “I never drink coffee” Nu beau niciodată cafea. Used alone, as a short answer, they need no nu: — Ce faci? — Nimic.
- Ion nu e acasă, e la bancă.Ion isn’t at home, he’s at the bank.
- Mihai nu vorbește engleză.Mihai doesn’t speak English.
- Nu e nimeni acasă.There’s nobody at home.
- Nu mănânc nimic dimineața.I don’t eat anything in the morning.
- Irina nu fumează niciodată.Irina never smokes.
Difference from English
In English, not is placed after am, is or an auxiliary; in Romanian, nu is placed before the verb. English has one negative word in “I see nothing” or “I don’t see anything”; Romanian has two: Nu văd nimic.
Common mistakes
Am nimic.→ Nu am nimic.Nimic is used with nu before the verb.Sunt nu obosit.→ Nu sunt obosit.Nu comes before the verb.Nimeni vine.→ Nimeni nu vine.Nimeni before the verb is followed by nu.
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Yes-or-no questions and the answers da, nu, ba da#
Formation
A yes-or-no question has the words and the order of a statement; the question is shown only by the rising voice, and by the question mark in writing: Ești obosit. → Ești obosit? The answers are da (yes) and nu (no). In a negative answer, nu is said twice, as the answer and before the verb: Nu, nu sunt obosit.
Use
A negative question is answered “yes” with ba da, which contradicts the negative: Nu ai timp? — Ba da, am timp. A short answer often repeats the verb alone: — Ai timp? — Am. A question with a question word is explained in “Question words: cine, ce, unde, când, cum, de ce, cât”.
- Ești acasă? — Da, sunt acasă.Are you at home? — Yes, I am.
- Vorbiți engleză? — Nu, nu vorbesc engleză.Do you speak English? — No, I don’t.
- Nu ai timp? — Ba da, am.Haven’t you got time? — Yes, I have.
- Vine și Elena? — Da, vine.Is Elena coming too? — Yes, she is.
Difference from English
In English, a question is formed with do or does, or by putting the verb first (“Are you…?”); in Romanian, only the voice changes. A negative question is answered in English with a plain “yes”, in Romanian with ba da.
Common mistake
Nu ești obosit? — Da, sunt obosit.→ Nu ești obosit? — Ba da, sunt obosit.After a negative question, “yes” is ba da.
Practise
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Question words: cine, ce, unde, când, cum, de ce, cât#
Formation
A question word comes at the start of the question, followed by the verb; a subject named after it comes after the verb: Unde lucrează Ana?
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cine | who | Cine e la ușă? |
| ce | what | Ce citești? |
| unde | where | Unde locuiește Vlad? |
| de unde | where … from | De unde sunteți? |
| când | when | Când pleacă trenul? |
| cum | how | Cum te numești? |
| de ce | why | De ce nu vii? |
| cât | how much | Cât costă? |
Use
Cine is used for a person and takes the verb in the third person singular: Cine vine? Ce is used for a thing or, with a fi, for a job: Ce ești? A preposition is placed before the question word, never at the end: de unde (where from), cu cine (who … with), la ce oră (at what time). Ce mai faci? is the everyday “How are you?”. The answer to de ce? is given with pentru că, explained in “Saying what, why and if: că, să, ca să, pentru că, dacă”. Cât before a noun agrees with it, as explained in “How much and how many: cât, câtă, câți, câte”.
- Cine e la ușă?Who’s at the door?
- Ce citești?What are you reading?
- Când pleacă trenul?When does the train leave?
- De ce nu vii?Why aren’t you coming?
- Cu cine vorbești?Who are you talking to?
Difference from English
English “Where are you from?” and “Who are you talking to?” end with the preposition; in Romanian, the preposition comes first: De unde ești?, Cu cine vorbești?. English do and does have no equivalent: “When does the train leave?” is Când pleacă trenul?
Common mistakes
Unde ești de?→ De unde ești?The preposition comes before the question word.Cine vorbești cu?→ Cu cine vorbești?Cu comes before cine.
Practise
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How much and how many: cât, câtă, câți, câte#
Formation
Before a noun, the word for “how much” and “how many” agrees with the noun in gender and number, and the noun takes no article:
| Singular (how much) | Plural (how many) | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | cât | câți |
| feminine | câtă | câte |
| neuter | cât | câte |
Use
A neuter noun takes cât in the singular and câte in the plural: câte orașe. Alone, with no noun, the word is cât: Cât costă? (“How much is it?”). Age is asked with câți ani and a avea: Câți ani ai?
- Câte camere are apartamentul?How many rooms does the flat have?
- Cât zahăr vrei?How much sugar would you like?
- Câtă apă bei pe zi?How much water do you drink a day?
- Câți studenți are clasa?How many students are there in the class?
Difference from English
English has “much” and “many”; the Romanian word also agrees with the gender of the noun: câți frați, but câte surori.
Common mistakes
Câți ore lucrezi?→ Câte ore lucrezi?Oră is feminine, so the plural form is câte.Câte ani ai?→ Câți ani ai?An is masculine, so the plural form is câți.
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Still, more and no longer: mai before the verb#
Formation
Mai is placed immediately before the verb; in the negative, nu comes before it: nu mai.
Use
In a question or a statement, mai means “more”, “still” or “left”: Mai vrei supă? (“Would you like some more soup?”), Mai lucrezi la bancă? (“Do you still work at the bank?”), Mai avem o oră (“We have one more hour”). With nu, it means “no longer”, “not any more”: Nu mai locuiesc la Cluj. The question Ce mai faci? (“How are you?”) is built in the same way. Mai before an adjective forms the comparative, explained in “The comparative: mai … decât”.
- Mai bei o cafea? — Nu, nu mai beau.Will you have another coffee? — No, I won’t have any more.
- Mai lucrezi la bancă?Do you still work at the bank?
- Nu mai locuiesc la Cluj.I don’t live in Cluj any more.
- Mai avem o oră.We have one more hour.
Difference from English
English “still”, “more”, “any more” and “no longer” are different words in different places; Romanian has one word, mai, before the verb.
Common mistakes
Nu locuiesc mai la Cluj.→ Nu mai locuiesc la Cluj.Mai comes immediately before the verb.Vrei mai?→ Mai vrei?Mai is placed before the verb.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| the negative | nu before the verb | Nu sunt obosit. |
| nothing, nobody, never | nimic, nimeni, niciodată with nu | Nu am nimic. |
| yes-or-no question | the order of a statement, rising voice | Ești acasă? |
| “yes” after a negative question | ba da | Nu ai timp? — Ba da. |
| question words | at the start | Unde lucrează Ana? |
| preposition in a question | before the question word | De unde ești? |
| how much, how many | cât, câtă, câți, câte | Câte ore? Câți ani? |
| still, more, no longer | mai, nu mai before the verb | Nu mai vreau. |
Practise
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