Sometimes you want to single out exactly who performed an action. Instead of just saying "The athlete finished first," you might want to emphasize, "The athlete is the one who finished first." This structure is frequently used to highlight winners, assign blame, or draw contrast.
"The One Who"
To build this in Romanian, you use the verb a fi (to be) followed by the demonstrative pronoun cel and the relative pronoun care.
Because cel must agree with the subject in gender and number, there are four different forms to remember:
| Gender & Number | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine Singular | cel care | the one who (m.) |
| Feminine Singular | cea care | the one who (f.) |
| Masculine Plural | cei care | the ones who (m./mixed) |
| Feminine Plural | cele care | the ones who (f.) |
Singular Focus
When emphasizing a single person, use cel care for masculine subjects (like an athlete or a coach) and cea care for feminine subjects. You can use either the full form of the verb "to be" (este) or the short form (e).
| Our athlete is the one who finished the race first. | Atletul nostru este cel care a terminat cursa primul. |
| The coach is the one who changed the strategy. | Antrenorul este cel care a schimbat strategia. |
| Maria is the one who scored and brought the victory. | Maria este cea care a înscris și a adus victoria. |
Plural Focus
When referring to multiple people, such as a team of girls or a group of fans, switch to the plural forms: cei care (masculine/mixed) or cele care (strictly feminine).
| The girls are the ones who qualified for the competition. | Fetele sunt cele care s-au calificat pentru concurs. |
| The fans are the ones who sang at the stadium. | Suporterii sunt cei care au cântat pe stadion. |
Negatives and Questions
This structure works exactly as you would expect for negative sentences and questions. Simply negate the verb a fi with nu, or raise your intonation to turn the sentence into a question.
| The referee is not the one who made a mistake against the player. | Arbitrul nu e cel care a greșit împotriva jucătorului. |
| Is this athlete the one who qualified? | Acest atlet e cel care s-a calificat? |