Understanding the Genitive and Dative Cases in Romanian for English Speakers

What Are the Genitive and Dative Cases in Romanian?

In Romanian, the genitive and dative cases are used to show possession, relationships, and the indirect object of a sentence. Unlike English, which relies mostly on word order and prepositions, Romanian uses specific endings and articles to indicate these cases.

When to Use the Genitive Case

The genitive case in Romanian primarily expresses possession, similar to the English "of" or the possessive 's. It answers the question "Whose?" or "Of what?" For example, to say "the book of the teacher," Romanian uses the genitive case to mark "the teacher."

Examples of the Genitive Case

Here are some examples showing the genitive case in Romanian:

• Cartea profesorului – The teacher's book (literally: The book of the teacher)
• Casa fetei – The girl's house
• Culoarea mașinii – The color of the car

When to Use the Dative Case

The dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a verb, often answering the question "To whom?" or "For whom?" It shows the recipient or beneficiary of an action.

Examples of the Dative Case

Examples of the dative case in Romanian include:

• I-am dat cartea profesorului – I gave the book to the teacher
• Am scris o scrisoare fetei – I wrote a letter to the girl
• Le-am oferit cadoul prietenilor – I offered the gift to the friends

How to Recognize Genitive and Dative Forms

In Romanian, the genitive and dative cases share the same forms for nouns and adjectives. The difference is often understood from context and the prepositions or verbs used.

For example, the word profesor (teacher) changes to profesorului in both genitive and dative singular masculine forms.

Definite Articles in Genitive and Dative

Romanian uses special forms of the definite article attached to the noun in genitive and dative cases. For masculine singular nouns, the ending is usually -lui, and for feminine singular nouns, it is -ei.

Examples of Definite Articles in Genitive and Dative

• Masculine singular: fratele (the brother) → fratelui (of/to the brother)
• Feminine singular: sora (the sister) → sorei (of/to the sister)

Common Prepositions That Require Genitive or Dative

Certain prepositions in Romanian require the following noun to be in the genitive or dative case. Some common ones include:

• lângă (near) + dative
• pentru (for) + accusative but sometimes dative in older usage
• din (from, of) + genitive
• al (of the) + genitive

Tips for English Speakers Learning These Cases

Since English does not have a case system like Romanian, it can be challenging to learn. Here are some tips:

• Focus on learning the endings for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural nouns.
• Practice with common verbs that take indirect objects to get used to the dative case.
• Use context to understand whether a noun is in genitive or dative since forms are often identical.
• Memorize common prepositions that require these cases.