Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

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.

{{item:1123839}}

{{item:1123841}}

### 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**:

{{item:1123836}}

In the following sentence, *nunta* (the wedding) is feminine singular, so the linking article is **a**:

{{item:1123847}}

### 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**:

{{item:1123849}}

{{item:1123851}}

{{item:1123853}}

Possessive linking articles (al, a, ai, ale)

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
the nephew / the grandson	nepotul
That boy is a good friend of my nephew.	Acel băiat este un prieten bun al nepotului meu.
the relative	ruda
the mother-in-law	soacra
Is the woman in the picture a relative of your mother-in-law?	Femeia din poză este o rudă a soacrei tale?
the brother-in-law	cumnatul
These boys are relatives of my brother-in-law.	Băieții ăștia sunt niște rude ale cumnatului meu.
the male cousin	verișorul
the father-in-law	socrul
This tall man is a male cousin of my father-in-law.	Acest bărbat înalt este un verișor al socrului meu.
the wedding	nunta
the niece / the granddaughter	nepoata
His niece's beautiful wedding is tomorrow.	Nunta frumoasă a nepoatei lui este mâine.
the female cousin	verișoara
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 sister-in-law	cumnata
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.
The money is my brother-in-law's; I found it on the desk.	Banii sunt ai cumnatului meu; i-am găsit pe birou.
These expensive shoes are my niece's, not my sister-in-law's.	Acești pantofi scumpi sunt ai nepoatei mele, nu ai cumnatei mele.
I am cold, but the warm coats are my female cousin's, not my father-in-law's.	Mi-e frig, dar hainele calde sunt ale verișoarei mele, nu ale socrului meu.
We are tired after our nephew's wonderful wedding.	Noi suntem obosiți după nunta minunată a nepotului nostru.
the son-in-law	ginerele
Our son-in-law is a doctor.	Ginerele nostru este medic.
My mother-in-law loves her son-in-law.	Soacra mea îl iubește pe ginerele ei.
the daughter-in-law	nora
My daughter-in-law cooks very well.	Nora mea gătește foarte bine.
Maria is the family's daughter-in-law.	Maria este nora familiei.
the cousin	vărul
My cousin lives in town.	Vărul meu locuiește în oraș.
Ion is a cousin of mine.	Ion este un văr al meu.

Contributors