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### The Dative of Possession

When talking about actions that affect body parts, clothing, or personal belongings, Romanian rarely uses possessive adjectives (like *meu* or *tău*). Instead, it uses a **dative pronoun** before the verb to show *who* the item belongs to, while the item itself takes a **definite article**.

Think of it as indicating who is experiencing the action. Instead of saying "I am taking off my coat," Romanian phrasing is closer to "I take off to myself the coat."

| Owner | Dative Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| **I** | îmi | my (to me) |
| **You (sg.)** | îți | your (to you) |
| **He / She** | îi | his / her (to him/her) |
| **We** | ne | our (to us) |
| **You (pl.)** | vă | your (to you all) |
| **They** | le | their (to them) |

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### When Someone Else Does the Action

The dative pronoun always points to the *owner* of the object, regardless of who is doing the action. For example, if a child dirties *my* jacket, the sentence uses the pronoun **îmi** (to me); if a dog tears *his* shirt, it uses **îi** (to him).

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### Past Tense and Short Forms

When these pronouns are followed by a vowel—such as the auxiliary verb *a avea* in the past tense (*am, ai, a*...)—they attach to the next word with a hyphen, and some drop their final vowel. 

The hyphenated forms are: **mi-**, **ți-**, **i-**, **ne-**, **v-**, and **le-**.

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Dative of possession (îmi, îți, îi...)

adjective

adverb

adverbial phrase

auxiliary

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The verb to be and definite articles (a fi, -ul, -le)

Feminine definite articles (-a, -ua)

Indefinite articles (un, o)

Negative sentences (nu)

Question words (ce, unde, cine)

The verb to have (a avea)

Masculine plural nouns (-i, -ii)

Feminine plural nouns (-e, -i, -le)

Neuter plural nouns (-uri, -e, -le)

Adjectives and agreement

Present tense of regular -a verbs

Present tense of -a verbs with suffix (-ez)

Present tense of regular -i and -î verbs

Present tense of -i and -î verbs with suffix (-esc / -ăsc)

Present tense of -ea and -e verbs

Reflexive pronouns (mă, te, se, ne, vă)

Accusative prepositions (în, la, pe, din, cu)

Likes and dislikes (îmi place)

Possessive adjectives (meu, tău, său)

Third-person possessives (lui, ei, lor)

Possessive articles (al, a, ai, ale)

Formal politeness (dumneavoastră)

Demonstrative adjectives (acest, acel)

Numbers 1 to 10

The number two (doi, două)

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Quantifying large numbers (de)

The subjunctive (să)

Third-person subjunctive (să)

Direct object pronouns (îl, o, îi, le)

Personal direct objects (pe)

Days of the week

Telling time (e ora...)

Months of the Year (January to June)

Months of the Year (July to December)

The Four Seasons

Weather Conditions

Rooms in a House

Basic Body Parts: Upper Body

Basic Body Parts: Limbs

Everyday Clothing

Basic Foods: Groceries

Fruits and Vegetables

Around Town

Getting Around

Setting the Table

A Colorful World

Common Animals

In the Wild

Jobs and Careers

Everyday Tech

Describing people (tânăr, bătrân, înalt)

Asking when and why (când, de ce, care)

Hello and goodbye (bună ziua, la revedere)

Coming and going (intra, sta, trece)

Where is it? (sub, lângă, între)

Knowing and thinking (știu că, cred că)

Sorry, welcome, congratulations (îmi pare rău, la mulți ani)

Introducing yourself (mă numesc, sunt din România)

How much and how many (puțin, prea, doar)

Can and may (pot merge, pot să merg)

If and whether (dacă)

At school and university

Irregular verbs in the present (vrea, lua, da, bea, sta)

Free time and sport

How much is it? (cât costă, câți, câte)

Before and after (înainte, după, până)

At the doctor (mă doare)

Meals of the day (micul dejun, prânzul, cina)

At the restaurant

Ability and permission (a putea să)

Obligation and necessity (trebuie să)

Desires and intentions (a vrea să)

Impersonal statements (se)

Adverbs of frequency (adesea, uneori)

Conjunctions for reasons and links (pentru că, deci)

Stressed accusative pronouns (pe mine, pe tine)

Indefinite pronouns (cineva, ceva)

Negative pronouns and double negation (nimeni, nimic)

The past tense auxiliary (am, ai, a)

The past tense (am, ai, a)

Regular past participles (-at, -it)

Regular past participles (-ut, -s, -t)

Negative past tense (nu am)

Question	Answer
to take off / to take out / remove	scoate
the winter coat	paltonul
I am taking off my winter coat.	Îmi scot paltonul.
The doctor pulled my tooth.	Medicul mi-a scos dintele.
to iron	călca
the tie	cravata
I am ironing my red tie.	Îmi calc cravata roșie.
She ironed his tie.	Ea i-a călcat cravata.
to dirty	murdări
Are you dirtying your new coat?	Îți murdărești haina nouă?
The boy dirtied her coat.	Băiatul i-a murdărit haina.
The child is dirtying my jacket.	Copilul îmi murdărește geaca.
the glove	mănușa
My glove fell on the street.	Mi-a căzut mănușa pe stradă.
Are you tearing your expensive shirt?	Îți rupi cămașa scumpă?
The dog is tearing his shirt.	Câinele îi rupe cămașa.
the bracelet	brățara
He found our gold bracelet.	Ne-a găsit brățara de aur.
I am taking off my bracelet.	Îmi scot brățara.
to beat	bate
the heart	inima
My heart is beating fast.	Îmi bate inima repede.
He likes coffee, but his heart beats too fast.	Îi place cafeaua, dar îi bate inima prea tare.
the belt	cureaua
I am putting on my coat and my belt.	Îmi pun paltonul și cureaua.
the boot	cizma
Why are you taking off your glove and your boot?	De ce îți scoți mănușa și cizma?
I am looking for my belt and my boot now.	Îmi caut cureaua și cizma acum.
(for) himself / herself / themselves (reflexive dative)	își
She makes her bed.	Ea își face patul.
The children are looking for their ball.	Copiii își caută mingea.
He is packing his bag.	Își face bagajul.
to remember	își aminti
I remember you.	Îmi amintesc de tine.
I don't remember his name.	Nu-mi amintesc numele lui.
Do you remember grandma?	Îți amintești de bunica?

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