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Questions & Answers about Casa mea este mare.
Why is casa written with -a at the end instead of casă?
In Romanian the definite article is attached as a suffix to the noun.
- casă = “a house” (indefinite)
- casa = “the house” (definite)
When you say casa mea, it literally means “the house my,” which we translate as “my house.”
Why does the possessive pronoun mea come after the noun instead of before, like in English (“my house”)?
Romanian normally places possessive pronouns after the noun, and they agree in gender and number.
- casa mea (feminine singular) – correct
You wouldn’t say mea casă, as that order is ungrammatical in Romanian.
Why is mea used here instead of meu?
Possessive pronouns change to match the noun’s gender and number:
- meu = masculine singular (“my” for masculine nouns)
- mea = feminine singular (“my” for feminine nouns)
Since casă is feminine singular, you use mea.
What is este, and why is it used here?
este is the third-person singular present form of a fi (“to be”). It means “is.” In Casa mea este mare, it links the subject (casa mea) with the adjective (mare).
Can you drop este and just say Casa mea mare, like in English “My house big”?
No. Romanian generally requires the copula este (or its colloquial contraction e) for a complete statement:
- Casa mea este mare (standard)
- Casa mea e mare (informal, spoken)
Why is the adjective mare not mareă or something ending in -ă for the feminine?
Adjectives of the second declension (those ending in -e in the singular) use the same form for masculine and feminine singular.
- Singular (m/f): mare (“big”)
- Plural (m/f): mari
There is no mareă in standard Romanian.
Is mare the exact equivalent of English “big,” or can it mean “large” or “great” as well?
mare primarily means “big” or “large.” Context can stretch it toward “great” in a figurative sense, but if you want “great” as in “wonderful,” you’d more often use adjectives like grozav or minunat.
How do you pronounce Casa mea este mare?
Each vowel is clearly pronounced:
/ˈka.sa ˈme.a ˈes.te ˈma.re/
– ca-sa me-a es-te ma-re