In the previous lesson, we learned that to show possession in Romanian, you place the owner (in the Genitive case) immediately after the possessed object. But what happens if you want to say "a relative of my mother-in-law" instead of "the relative", or if the two words are separated in the sentence?
To bridge this gap, Romanian uses possessive linking articles (also called genitival articles).
The Four Linking Articles
The linking article you use depends strictly on the gender and number of the possessed object (the thing being owned), NOT the owner!
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | al | ai |
| Feminine | a | ale |
| Neuter | al | ale |
Here are the three main situations where you must use them.
1. When the Possessed Noun is Indefinite
If the noun being owned uses an indefinite article like un (a/an), o (a/an), or niște (some), you need a linking article to connect it to the Genitive possessor.
| Is the woman in the picture a relative of your mother-in-law? | Femeia din poză este o rudă a soacrei tale? |
| These boys are relatives of my brother-in-law. | Băieții ăștia sunt niște rude ale cumnatului meu. |
2. When an Adjective Separates the Nouns
Even if the possessed noun is definite (like "the wedding"), you still need a linking article if an adjective jumps in between the object and the owner.
In this next example, prieten is masculine singular, so it uses al:
| That boy is a good friend of my nephew. | Acel băiat este un prieten bun al nepotului meu. |
In the following sentence, nunta (the wedding) is feminine singular, so the linking article is a:
| His niece's beautiful wedding is tomorrow. | Nunta frumoasă a nepoatei lui este mâine. |
3. Stating "Whose it is" (After the verb "to be")
When you use the verb a fi (to be) to state who owns something, the verb separates the object from the possessor. Once again, the linking article acts as the bridge.
Notice how masculine plural objects take ai, while neuter/feminine plural objects take ale:
| Are the new glasses my female cousin's or your mother-in-law's? | Ochelarii noi sunt ai verișoarei mele sau ai soacrei tale? |
| The tickets for the wedding are my male cousin's and my sister-in-law's. | Biletele pentru nuntă sunt ale verișorului meu și ale cumnatei mele. |
| These expensive shoes are my niece's, not my sister-in-law's. | Acești pantofi scumpi sunt ai nepoatei mele, nu ai cumnatei mele. |
