Learn Hardcore Romanian: În grupul meu sunt doi elevi și o elevă. - In my group there are two male students and one female student.

…but even there the possessive element still follows the noun. Putting the possessive before the noun, like in English, is not how Romanian works.

Why does grup become grupul here?

Romanian uses a suffix for the definite article (the), instead of a separate word.

For grup (group), which is neuter:

un grup = a group (indefinite)
grupul = the group (definite)

In the sentence, you’re talking about a specific, known group (my group), so you need the definite form:

În grupul meu = In my group
(literally: In the group my)

Why is the verb sunt used, and not este?

Sunt is the 3rd person plural of a fi (to be), and este is the 3rd person singular:

el / ea este = he / she is
ei / ele sunt = they are

The real subject here is doi elevi și o elevă (two pupils and one schoolgirl) – that’s more than one person, so the verb must be plural:

… sunt doi elevi și o elevă.
= … there are two pupils and one schoolgirl.

Using este would be ungrammatical in standard Romanian in this sentence.

Why is the verb after grupul meu? Could I say Sunt doi elevi și o elevă în grupul meu?

Yes, you can say that. Both are correct:

În grupul meu sunt doi elevi și o elevă.
Sunt doi elevi și o elevă în grupul meu.

Romanian word order is fairly flexible. The main differences are of emphasis:

În grupul meu sunt…
Emphasis starts with in my group; you’re setting the location/topic first.
Sunt doi elevi și o elevă în grupul meu.
Emphasis starts with there are two pupils and one schoolgirl; then you add in my group.

Grammatically, both orders are fine here.

Why is it doi elevi but o elevă?

Because of gender and number agreement.

Gender of the noun “pupil”
- elev = masculine singular (a male pupil)
- elevă = feminine singular (a female pupil)
- elevi = masculine (or mixed-gender) plural
- eleve = feminine plural
Numbers agree with gender:
- Masculine 2: doi
- Feminine 2: două
- Feminine 1 / a / an: o
- Masculine 1 / a / an: un

So in the sentence:

doi elevi = two male (or male+female) pupils → masculine plural → doi
o elevă = one / a female pupil → feminine singular → o

If both were girls, you could say:

două eleve = two (female) pupils

What exactly is the difference between elev, elevă, and elevi?

They’re all related to the noun for “pupil / school student”:

elev – masculine singular: a male pupil
- un elev = a (male) pupil
elevă – feminine singular: a female pupil
- o elevă = a (female) pupil
elevi – plural, usually masculine or mixed-gender: pupils
- doi elevi = two pupils (at least one is male)

For a group of only girls, you’d use:

eleve (feminine plural)
- două eleve = two (female) pupils

How is elev different from student?

Both are “students” in English, but Romanian makes a clear distinction:

elev / elevă
- a pupil in primary, middle, or high school
- basically pre-university education
student / studentă
- a student at a university or similar higher-education institution

So someone at high school is an elev, not a student, even though in English you might still say “student”.

Is o here the word for “one” or the word for “a / an”?

In Romanian, o (for feminine nouns) plays both roles:

as an indefinite article:
- o elevă = a schoolgirl
as the number “one”:
- o elevă = one schoolgirl

Context usually makes it clear whether you mean specifically one or just a / some. In your sentence, o elevă can be understood as one schoolgirl or simply a schoolgirl in the list.

For masculine nouns, the corresponding form is un:

un elev = a / one male pupil

Why doesn’t elevi have any article in doi elevi? In English we’d say “two pupils” or “the two pupils”.

In doi elevi, the number doi already specifies the noun, so you don’t add an extra article in the basic form:

doi elevi = two pupils (no article, just like English “two pupils”)

To say “the two pupils”, Romanian uses a different structure:

cei doi elevi = the two pupils (masculine / mixed)
cele două eleve = the two (female) pupils

Notice that the definite article is not a separate word like the, but is embedded in cei / cele and, for simple nouns, as a suffix:

elevi = pupils
elevii = the pupils

Why is the preposition în used? Could I say La grupul meu sunt doi elevi…?

În is the normal preposition meaning “in / inside”:

În grupul meu = in my group

La often corresponds to “at / to”, and it’s not natural here with grup. You’d normally say:

în grupul meu (correct and natural)
la școală = at school
la grupă (in some contexts like kindergarten groups, but that’s a different noun: grupă, not grup)

So in this sentence, în is the appropriate choice; la grupul meu would sound odd.

Is the word order În grupul meu sunt doi elevi și o elevă the only correct one, or are there other natural variants?

There are several natural variants, all correct, with slightly different emphasis:

În grupul meu sunt doi elevi și o elevă.
- Neutral, very natural; starts with in my group.
Sunt doi elevi și o elevă în grupul meu.
- Starts with there are two pupils and one schoolgirl; adds the location at the end.
În grupul meu, doi elevi și o elevă sunt foarte serioși.
- If you continue the sentence (e.g. are very serious), the subject can move before the verb in more complex sentences.

What you generally don’t say is something like:

În grupul meu, doi elevi și o elevă sunt.
(ending the sentence right after sunt) – that sounds incomplete or unnatural in this simple context.

How do you pronounce elevi and elevă, especially the letter ă?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllable in caps):

elevi → eh-LEH-vee
- IPA: /eˈlevi/
- Stress on the second syllable: le
elevă → eh-LEH-və
- IPA: /eˈlevə/
- Stress on the second syllable: le

The letter ă is a separate vowel in Romanian. It sounds similar to the a in English sofa or the u in cup, but shorter and more central. It is not the same as a without a mark; it’s its own sound and its own letter in the alphabet.