When discussing politics and elections, you will often need to talk about things happening "despite" the odds or "in spite of" a situation. In Romanian, we use specific concessive compound prepositions for this. Just like many spatial prepositions, these require the noun that follows to be in the Genitive case.
În ciuda (Despite)
The compound preposition în ciuda is the most common way to say "despite". Because it dictates the Genitive case, the noun following it must take the Genitive definite article ending.
For masculine and neuter nouns, this typically means adding -lui (e.g., pronosticul → pronosticului).
| Despite the negative forecast, the candidate won the vote. | În ciuda pronosticului negativ, candidatul a câștigat votul. |
For feminine nouns, the ending usually becomes -ei or -ii (e.g., corupția → corupției).
| Despite the corruption, the minister has the same electorate. | În ciuda corupției, ministrul are același electorat. |
În pofida (In spite of)
A highly synonymous alternative is în pofida, which translates to "in spite of". It functions exactly the same way as în ciuda and also strictly requires the Genitive case.
Here it is used with a feminine noun (controversa → controversei):
| In spite of the controversy, the mayor obtained a new mandate. | În pofida controversei, primarul a obținut un nou mandat. |
And here it is used with a neuter noun:
| The electorate voted, in spite of the official forecast. | Electoratul a votat, în pofida pronosticului oficial. |
Putting it all together
Whether you choose în ciuda or în pofida, always remember to check the gender of the noun to apply the correct Genitive ending. These prepositions are incredibly useful for describing campaign trials and election results.
| The opposition's triumph was clear, despite the scandal. | Triumful opoziției a fost clar, în ciuda scandalului. |
| In spite of the failure, the law was voted by the opposition. | În pofida eșecului, legea a fost votată de către opoziție. |
