Questions & Answers about Scaunul acesta este al meu.
What does scaunul mean, and why is there -ul at the end?
Scaun means “chair.” The ending -ul is the masculine singular definite article in Romanian, so scaunul literally means “the chair.”
Why is acesta placed after the noun, instead of saying acest scaun?
Romanian allows demonstratives either before or after the noun.
- acest scaun is more neutral: “this chair.”
- scaunul acesta often adds emphasis on this particular chair, especially in spoken or colloquial style.
Could I say scaunul ăsta este al meu instead?
Yes. ăsta is a colloquial reduced form of acesta. So scaunul ăsta este al meu means exactly the same but sounds more informal.
Why do we say al meu instead of just mine?
Romanian expresses possession with a genitive construction:
- A preposition al (or a, ai, ale) matches the gender and number of the noun.
- A possessive pronoun follows: meu (“my/mine”).
Together al meu means “(one) of mine,” i.e. “mine.”