How to Use Romanian Adjectives: Agreement and Placement Explained

Understanding Romanian Adjectives: Basics for English Speakers

Romanian adjectives describe nouns by providing qualities or characteristics, similar to English. However, unlike English, Romanian adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. This means the adjective changes its ending depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.

Gender Agreement in Romanian Adjectives

Romanian nouns are either masculine or feminine (and sometimes neuter, which behaves like masculine in singular and feminine in plural). Adjectives must match the gender of the noun. For example, the adjective for "beautiful" is frumos for masculine singular and frumoasă for feminine singular.

• Masculine singular: frumos
• Feminine singular: frumoasă
• Masculine plural: frumoși
• Feminine plural: frumoase

Number Agreement: Singular and Plural Forms

Adjectives also change to agree with the number of the noun. For example, frumos (masculine singular) becomes frumoși in masculine plural, and frumoasă (feminine singular) becomes frumoase in feminine plural.

Placement of Adjectives in Romanian Sentences

In Romanian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe, unlike English where adjectives typically come before the noun. For example, "a beautiful house" in Romanian is o casă frumoasă (literally "a house beautiful").

When Adjectives Precede the Noun

Sometimes adjectives can come before the noun for emphasis or stylistic reasons, but this is less common. When placed before the noun, the adjective often conveys a subjective or poetic tone.

Examples of Adjective Placement

• un băiat inteligent – an intelligent boy (adjective after noun)
• o fată frumoasă – a beautiful girl (adjective after noun)
• frumos băiat – handsome boy (adjective before noun, poetic)

Common Romanian Adjective Endings and Patterns

Most Romanian adjectives follow predictable patterns for their endings based on gender and number. Recognizing these patterns helps in forming correct adjective forms.

• Masculine singular: usually ends in -u or -e (e.g., frumos, mare)
• Feminine singular: often ends in -ă or -e (e.g., frumoasă, mare)
• Masculine plural: typically ends in -i or -e (e.g., frumoși, mari)
• Feminine plural: usually ends in -e (e.g., frumoase, mari)

Tips for English Speakers Learning Romanian Adjectives

Since English adjectives do not change form, it can be challenging to remember to adjust Romanian adjectives for gender and number. Practice by pairing adjectives with nouns and paying attention to their endings. Also, remember that adjective placement is usually after the noun in Romanian.

Summary: Mastering Romanian Adjective Agreement and Placement

To use Romanian adjectives correctly, always match the adjective's gender and number to the noun it describes, and place the adjective after the noun in most cases. With practice, these rules will become natural and help you speak Romanian more fluently.