Breakdown of Grădina vecinului este plină de flori colorate.
a fi
to be
de
of
vecinul
the neighbor
grădina
the garden
plin
full
floarea
the flower
colorat
colorful
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Questions & Answers about Grădina vecinului este plină de flori colorate.
Why don’t we use an apostrophe in grădina vecinului like in English?
Romanian marks possession with case endings, not an apostrophe. Here:
- vecinului is the genitive form of vecinul (the neighbor).
- grădina vecinului literally means “the garden of the neighbor.”
There’s no apostrophe—possession is clear from the ending -ului on vecin.
How is the definite article formed in grădina?
Romanian uses enclitic articles attached to the end of nouns:
- Feminine nouns add -a (e.g. grădină → grădina).
- Masculine nouns add -ul (e.g. vecin → vecinul).
So grădină (garden) + -a = grădina (the garden).
What case is vecinului, and why is it used here?
vecinului is in the genitive (also identical to the dative) singular masculine:
- Genitive expresses “of the neighbor.”
- The ending -ului shows both definiteness and the possessive relation.
Thus grădina vecinului = “the garden of the neighbor.”
Why is the adjective plină used instead of plin?
Adjectives in Romanian agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:
- grădina is feminine singular.
- The masculine form plin becomes plină to match.
Hence grădina este plină = “the garden is full.”
Why do we say plină de instead of plină cu?
When saying “full of” something, Romanian typically uses plin/plină + de + [noun]:
- plină de flori = “full of flowers.”
Using cu (with) is less common in this idiom and can change nuance.
Why is colorate plural and feminine?
Adjectives must agree with the noun in both gender and number:
- flori is feminine plural (indefinite).
- The adjective colorat (colored) takes the feminine plural ending -e → colorate.
So flori colorate = “colored flowers.”
Why do adjectives like colorate come after the noun?
In Romanian, descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun:
- flori colorate (flowers colored)
You can move some adjectives before the noun for emphasis or poetic effect, but the neutral order is noun → adjective.
Can we replace este with e, and what’s the difference?
Yes. este is the full third-person singular of a fi (to be). e is its common contracted form:
- Grădina vecinului este plină… (more formal/written)
- Grădina vecinului e plină… (colloquial/spoken)
Both mean the same; choose este for formality and e for casual speech.