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Sometimes you want to highlight a specific action, object, or concept rather than a person. Instead of simply saying "I like art," you might want to emphasize, "**What** interests me most is art." This structure is called a pseudo-cleft sentence, and it is perfect for discussing your main interests and hobbies.

### "What" or "That Which"

To build these emphasizing sentences in Romanian, you use the compound relative pronoun **ceea ce**. 

Unlike *cel care* (which changes form to match a specific person or noun), **ceea ce** is invariable. It never changes gender or number because it refers to abstract ideas, whole situations, or unspecified objects. In English, it translates to "what" or "that which" when making a statement.

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### Emphasizing Your Hobbies

The most common way to use **ceea ce** is at the beginning of the sentence. You start with **ceea ce** and the action, follow it with the verb **este** (is), and end with the specific noun or action you want to focus on.

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If the focus of your sentence is another action (like wanting *to collect* or *to dedicate* yourself), you will connect it using the subjunctive marker **să**.

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### Flipping the Focus

You can also reverse this structure. If you want the focus to hit the listener's ear immediately, place the emphasized noun at the very beginning of the sentence, followed by the verb *a fi* (to be) and then **ceea ce**.

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If the thing you are emphasizing at the beginning of the sentence is plural—such as a list of two distinct qualities—remember to use the plural form **sunt** (are) instead of *este*.

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Pseudo-cleft sentences (ceea ce)

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 art	arta
What interests me the most is art.	Ceea ce mă interesează cel mai mult este arta.
the passion	pasiunea
The passion for art is what makes him happy.	Pasiunea pentru artă este ceea ce îl face fericit.
to collect	colecționa
What he wants is to collect stamps.	Ceea ce vrea el este să colecționeze timbre.
My colleague prefers to collect something old.	Colega mea preferă să colecționeze ceva vechi.
relaxing	relaxant
What I do on the weekend is very relaxing.	Ceea ce fac în weekend este foarte relaxant.
What I need now is a relaxing tea.	Ceea ce îmi trebuie acum este un ceai relaxant.
the gardening	grădinăritul
Gardening is the hobby that I prefer.	Grădinăritul este hobby-ul pe care îl prefer.
the enthusiasm	entuziasmul
What is missing from this project is enthusiasm.	Ceea ce lipsește din acest proiect este entuziasmul.
The enthusiasm that your colleague has is wonderful.	Entuziasmul pe care îl are colega ta este minunat.
to dedicate oneself	se dedica
What I want is to dedicate myself to gardening.	Ceea ce vreau este să mă dedic grădinăritului.
I feel like dedicating myself to music entirely.	Îmi vine să mă dedic muzicii în totalitate.
the fishing	pescuitul
What we do on Friday morning is fishing.	Ceea ce facem vineri dimineața este pescuitul.
Fishing is the sport that the grandfather prefers.	Pescuitul este sportul pe care bunicul îl preferă.
captivating	captivant
What he tells about fishing is captivating.	Ceea ce povestește el despre pescuit este captivant.
The documentary that I am watching is captivating.	Documentarul pe care îl urmăresc este captivant.
the creativity	creativitatea
What matters in a hobby is creativity.	Ceea ce contează într-un hobby este creativitatea.
Creativity and enthusiasm are what help her.	Creativitatea și entuziasmul sunt ceea ce o ajută.
What I want is to explore the passion for art.	Ceea ce vreau este să explorez pasiunea pentru artă.

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