Expressing "More" or "Another": mai
Whether you are hosting guests or ordering extra food at a restaurant, you will often need to offer or ask for "some more" or "another" of something.
In English, words like "more" or "another" typically sit right next to the noun (e.g., "more tea" or "another slice"). In Romanian, the adverb mai is placed directly before the verb.
Literally, Romanian phrasing works like this: "I more want a slice" or "The host more pours a cup."
| Do you want another slice of bread? | Mai dorești o felie de pâine? |
| The host is pouring another cup of tea. | Gazda mai toarnă o ceașcă de ceai. |
| This soup is delicious, I want another portion! | Această supă este delicioasă, mai vreau o porție! |
Using mai with să
When you use a verb structure connected by the conjunction să (such as when expressing "can eat" or "must buy"), mai is placed immediately after să, right before the main action verb.
| Can you eat another biscuit? | Poți să mai mănânci un biscuit? |
| We need to buy another new cup. | Trebuie să mai cumpărăm o ceașcă nouă. |
Saying "Not Another"
To say that someone does not want another serving or any more of something, combine the negative nu with mai. The word order is always nu mai followed by the verb.
Notice how this pairs naturally with the double negation rules you learned previously!
| The boy doesn't want another pancake. | Băiatul nu mai vrea nicio clătită. |