Romanian Language: Lesson 1

Note: I am not fluent in English, so please excuse my mistakes. Also, consider this more as a blueprint for the future lessons.

Nouns

In Romanian language nouns are of three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. The inanimate objects are usually of neuter gender.

Some words of masculine gender are:

man = bărbat

boy = băiat

dog = câine

father = tată

Words of feminine gender:

woman = femeie

girl = fată

cat = pisică

mother = mamă

Words of neuter gender:

chair = scaun

bed = pat

desk = birou

computer = calculator

The verbs to be (a fi) and to have (a avea) are quite important because they will be used in forming various tenses. Here they are:

A fi (to be)

- - - - - - - - - Singular - - - - - - - - - - - Plural - - - - - - - - - - - -

1st person: - - - Eu sunt (I am) - - - - - - - - Noi suntem (We are)

2nd person: - - - Tu ești (You are) - - - - - - - Voi sunteți (You are)

3rd person: - - - El/Ea este (He/She/It is) - - - Ei/Ele sunt (They are)

As you can see there isn’t a pronoun for it. Romanian language use el/ea or ei/ele, depending on noun gender.

A avea (to have)

- - - - - - - - - Singular - - - - - - - - - - - Plural - - - - - - - - - - - -

1st person: - - - Eu am (I have) - - - - - - - - Noi avem (We have)

2nd person: - - - Tu ai (You have) - - - - - - - Voi aveți (You have)

3rd person: - - - El/Ea are (He/She/It has) - - - Ei/Ele au (They have)

Now we have enough words to make some simple sentences:

Eu sunt bărbat. = I am a man.

Ea este femeie. = She is a woman.

Fata are un câine. = The girl has a dog.

Calculatorul este pe birou. = The computer is on the desk.

You maybe noticed the use of articles in these simple sentences. Romanian language has definite and undefinite articles, of masculine and feminine gender.

The undefinite articles are:

singular: o (feminine gender) and un (masculine gender)

plural: niște (both for feminine and masculine nouns)

Here there are some examples:

Eu am o pisică. = I have a cat.

Tu ai un câine. = You have a dog.

Noi avem niște scaune. = We have some chairs.

The definite article in Romanian language is postfixed (it appears after the noun):

singular: -a for feminine nouns and, in most cases, -ul for masculine and neuter nouns

plural: -le for feminine and neuter nouns, and -ii for masculine nouns

Some examples:

Băiatul este mare. = The boy is big.

Femeia are o pisică. = The woman has a cat.

Fetele au un câine. = The girls have a dog.

Câinii sunt negri. = The dogs are black.

Note: I will add more content later.