A demonstrative is a pointing word — English this (near) and that (far). Romanian has the same two-way contrast, acest ("this") versus acel ("that"), but two things will surprise an English speaker: each one agrees with its noun in gender and number (where English freezes this/that and only changes this → these), and each one lives in two positions with two different shapes — a short form before the noun and a long form after it. The position you pick decides whether the noun wears its definite article, the same wiring you met in the Determiners overview.
The full paradigm
Acest and acel are built on the same skeleton: acest- ("this") and acel- ("that"), each agreeing across the usual four slots. The preposed (before-noun) forms are shorter; the postposed (after-noun) forms add a final -a.
| "this" — preposed | "this" — postposed | "that" — preposed | "that" — postposed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| masc. sing. | acest | acesta | acel | acela |
| fem. sing. | această | aceasta | acea | aceea |
| masc. plur. | acești | aceștia | acei | aceia |
| fem. plur. | aceste | acestea | acele | acelea |
The pattern is regular: the postposed forms are the preposed forms plus -a (acest → acesta, acei → aceia). Note the feminine singular oddity — preposed această / acea, but postposed aceasta / aceea — and the spelling aceea ("that", fem. sg., after the noun) with two e's, which trips up natives in writing too.
Acest film mi-a plăcut mult mai mult decât celălalt.
I liked this film a lot more than the other one.
Această rochie e perfectă pentru nuntă.
This dress is perfect for the wedding.
Acei copii fac gălăgie de o oră întreagă.
Those kids have been making noise for a whole hour.
Two positions, and the article that comes with them
This is the mechanism that has no English parallel. English never says "the this man" — a demonstrative already makes a noun definite, so an article on top is ungrammatical. Romanian does mark definiteness twice, but only in one of the two word orders.
- Preposed (demonstrative before the noun): the noun stays bare. acest om — no article on om. The demonstrative carries the definiteness.
- Postposed (demonstrative after the noun): the noun must take its definite article, and the demonstrative switches to its long form. omul acesta — om
- -ul (the article) + acesta.
| Position | Form | Noun | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| before the noun | acest om | bare — no article | more formal / written |
| after the noun | omulacesta | articled (omul) + long form | neutral / everyday |
Both mean "this man". The postposed omul acesta is the everyday default in speech; the preposed acest om sounds slightly more formal or bookish. This co-occurrence of article + demonstrative is double determination, treated in full on the double determination page.
Acest oraș s-a schimbat enorm în zece ani.
This city has changed enormously in ten years. (preposed — bare noun oraș)
Orașul acesta s-a schimbat enorm în zece ani.
This city has changed enormously in ten years. (postposed — articled noun orașul)
Femeia aceea de la geam e noua dirigintă.
That woman by the window is the new homeroom teacher. (postposed far — femeia + aceea)
Proximal vs. distal: this here, that there
The near/far contrast in Romanian is sharper than English's, because speakers often reinforce it with the adverbs aici ("here") and acolo ("there"). Acest/acesta points at what is close to the speaker; acel/acela points at what is farther away — in space, in time, or in the discourse (the thing mentioned earlier vs. the thing just mentioned).
Nu vreau cartea aceea de pe raftul de sus, vreau cartea asta de aici.
I don't want that book on the top shelf, I want this book here.
În acei ani totul părea posibil.
In those years everything seemed possible. (distal — distant in time)
Acela e fratele meu, cel care stă lângă ușă.
That one is my brother, the one standing by the door.
The colloquial forms: ăsta / ăla
In everyday spoken Romanian, almost nobody says acesta and acela out loud for ordinary "this one / that one". They use the reduced colloquial forms ăsta ("this", from acesta) and ăla ("that", from acela). These are postposed forms — they follow an articled noun, exactly like the long forms.
| "this" (colloquial) | "that" (colloquial) | |
|---|---|---|
| masc. sing. | ăsta | ăla |
| fem. sing. | asta | aia |
| masc. plur. | ăștia | ăia |
| fem. plur. | astea | alea |
Băiatul ăsta nu se mai oprește din vorbit.
This boy never stops talking. (informal — băiatul + ăsta)
Dă-mi telefonul ăla, te rog.
Pass me that phone, please. (informal)
Fata asta chiar știe ce vrea.
This girl really knows what she wants. (informal)
A note on case
Like all Romanian determiners, demonstratives inflect for the genitive-dative when the noun phrase is a possessor or an indirect object. The preposed forms become acestui/acestei (sg.) and acestor (pl.), and acelui/acelei, acelor. This is covered fully on the case on determiners page, but a single example fixes the idea.
I-am explicat acestui student tot ce trebuia să știe.
I explained to this student everything he needed to know. (acestui — gen-dat of acest)
Common Mistakes
❌ acest mașină
Gender mismatch — mașină is feminine, so the demonstrative is feminine: această mașină.
✅ această mașină
this car
❌ om acesta
Missing article — a postposed demonstrative forces the definite article onto the noun: omul acesta.
✅ omul acesta
this man
❌ acest omul
Double-marked — a preposed acest takes a BARE noun; you can't also article it. Pick one order: acest om OR omul acesta.
✅ acest om / omul acesta
this man (either order, never both markings at once)
❌ aceste copii
Number/gender mismatch — copii is masculine plural, so it takes acești (not the feminine aceste): acești copii.
✅ acești copii
these children
❌ Vreau acela carte.
Wrong shape — acela is the postposed/standalone form; before a noun use the preposed acea: acea carte (or postposed cartea aceea).
✅ acea carte / cartea aceea
that book
Key Takeaways
- Acest = "this" (near), acel = "that" (far); each agrees in gender and number across four forms.
- Preposed demonstrative → bare noun (acest om). Postposed demonstrative → noun takes its definite article
- the long form (omul acesta).
- Postposed forms = preposed forms + -a (acest → acesta); watch the feminine aceasta / aceea.
- Spoken Romanian prefers the (informal) ăsta/ăla; acesta/acela are neutral; preposed acest/acel is the most (formal).
- In the genitive-dative the demonstrative inflects: acestui om, acelei femei.
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- Determiners: An OverviewA1 — A map of the Romanian determiner system — demonstratives (acest/acel), possessives (meu/tău), the genitival article (al/a/ai/ale), indefinites (vreun, niște, fiecare), interrogatives (care, ce), and quantifiers (tot, mult, puțin). Romanian determiners inflect for gender, number, and sometimes case, and their position interacts with the enclitic article.
- Choosing Article vs Demonstrative vs PossessiveB1 — A decision guide for the same noun with three determiners: the bare definite article for known reference (cartea — 'the book'), the demonstrative for pointing or contrast (cartea aceasta / această carte — 'this book'), and the possessive for ownership (cartea mea — 'my book'). The key for English speakers: Romanian's enclitic article already means 'the', so reach for a demonstrative only to POINT or CONTRAST, never by default.
- Double DeterminationB1 — Why Romanian marks definiteness twice — the postposed demonstrative forces the definite article onto the noun (omul acesta) while the preposed one does not (acest om) — and how cel links a definite noun to a following adjective (fata cea frumoasă).
- Demonstrative Pronouns (acesta, acela, ăsta, cel)A2 — A Romanian demonstrative pronoun stands alone for 'this one / that one': formal acesta/aceasta/acela/aceea (+ plurals aceștia/acestea/aceia/acelea), colloquial ăsta/asta/ăla/aia, and cel/cea/cei/cele = 'the one(s)' (cel de acolo = the one over there). Distinct from the demonstrative DETERMINER, which modifies a present noun (acest om, omul acesta).
- Case Marking on Adjectives and DeterminersB2 — How case concord spreads across the whole noun phrase in the genitive-dative — demonstratives (acestui/acestei/acestor), the cel-article (celui/celei/celor), and adjectives all inflect to agree, so 'to this man' is acestui om, not acest om.
- The Adjectival Article cel/cea + AdjectiveB1 — How cel/cea/cei/cele — Romanian's third article type — links a definite noun to a following adjective, nominalizes adjectives, and powers epithets and the superlative.