Casa ta este mică.

to be

Breakdown of Casa ta este mică.

• casa: the house
• mic: small
• ta: your

Questions & Answers about Casa ta este mică.

Why is the noun in the form casa instead of casă?

In Romanian the definite article is not a separate word but a suffix on the noun.

• casă = “a house” (indefinite)
• casa = casă
  • -a (definite article) = “the house”

Why do I still need a definite article when I already have a possessive pronoun? In English we say “your house,” not “the your house.”

In Romanian, possessive adjectives do not replace the definite article. The article remains on the noun to mark definiteness, and the possessive follows it.

• casa ta = “the house of yours” → idiomatically “your house”

What does ta mean and why is it placed after the noun?

ta is the second-person-singular feminine possessive adjective (“your”). Romanian word order for possessives is usually:
noun (with the article) + possessive adjective.
Hence casa ta = “your house.”

Why is the possessive adjective ta and not tău or tua?

Romanian possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. For the 2nd person singular:

• masculine singular = tău
• feminine singular = ta
  Since casă is feminine singular, we use ta.

Why is the adjective spelled mică and not mic?

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with their noun (or, here, the subject).

• mic = masculine singular “small”
• mică = feminine singular “small”
  Because casă is feminine singular, the predicative adjective becomes mică.

What is the letter ă and how do I pronounce mică?

The letter ă represents a mid-central vowel (schwa), pronounced like the ‘a’ in English “sofa.”

• mică is pronounced [ˈmi.kə], roughly “MEE-kə.”

What is este, and can I contract or omit it?

este = the third-person singular of a fi (“to be”).

• In informal speech/writing you can contract it to e: Casa ta e mică.
• You generally cannot omit the copula in a full sentence; dropping it (Casa ta mică) sounds incomplete or poetic.

Could I invert the order and say ta casă este mică or casă ta este mică?

• casă ta (without article) would mean “a house of yours,” not “your (specific) house.”
• ta casă is a poetic or emphatic inversion and is not common in everyday speech.
  Standard Romanian uses casa ta for “your house.”

How would I say simply “a small house” without possession?

Use the indefinite article and place the adjective after the noun:

• o casă mică = “a small house” (literal: “a house small”)