The Cutlery
Let's set the table! Romanian words for everyday cutlery and tableware mix feminine and neuter genders. In their definite ("the") forms, feminine words usually end in -a (like furculița and lingura), while neuter words end in -ul (like cuțitul).
Just as you travel "with" a vehicle, when you want to express that you eat a meal "with" an instrument, you use the preposition cu (with).
Prepositions and Adjectives
You have learned in previous lessons that prepositions of location (în, pe, din) force a noun to drop its definite article. For example, masa (the table) simply becomes pe masă (on the table).
However, there is a crucial exception: if you add an adjective to describe that noun, the noun gets its definite article back.
Notice in the examples below how șervețel (napkin) and castron (bowl) keep their definite -ul endings after a preposition specifically because they are followed by adjectives (curat, albastru).
Enjoying the Meal
Whether you are sipping wine from a glass (paharul) or searching for your fork, the items on the table act as direct objects when you look for them, use them, or put them down. They take their standard definite forms without needing extra prepositions.