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When tracking movement or describing a location, Romanian uses specific compound prepositions that require the following noun to be in the **Genitive** case. Let's look at two of the most common ones for mapping out routes and spatial relationships.

### De-a lungul (Along)

The compound preposition **de-a lungul** means "along" (literally, "along the length of"). Because it dictates the Genitive case, the noun that follows it must take the Genitive definite article ending.

For feminine nouns, this usually means the ending becomes **-ei** or **-ii** (e.g., *frontiera* → *frontierei*, *cărarea* → *cărării*).

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### De-a latul (Across)

Similarly, **de-a latul** means "across" (literally, "along the width of"). It also strictly requires the noun to be in the Genitive case.

For masculine and neuter nouns, the Genitive definite article ending is typically **-lui** (e.g., *râul* → *râului*, *drumul* → *drumului*).

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### Putting it all together

Whenever you use **de-a lungul** or **de-a latul**, always check the gender of the noun to apply the correct Genitive ending. 

Here is an example of **de-a latul** used with a feminine noun (*granița* → *graniței*):

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And one more example showing operations along a border:

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Spatial compound prepositions (de-a lungul)

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
to detect	depista
illegal	ilegal
along	de-a lungul
the frontier	frontiera
My colleague detected the illegal merchandise along the frontier.	Colega mea a depistat marfa ilegală de-a lungul frontierei.
the smuggling	contrabanda
across	de-a latul
The smuggling network stretches across the river.	Rețeaua de contrabandă se întinde de-a latul râului.
the smuggler	contrabandistul
to sneak (move stealthily)	se furișa
the path	cărarea
The smuggler sneaked along the path in the forest.	Contrabandistul s-a furișat de-a lungul cărării din pădure.
The dogs ran toward me across the road.	Câinii au fugit spre mine de-a latul drumului.
to confiscate	confisca
All the merchandise was confiscated along the frontier.	Toată marfa a fost confiscată de-a lungul frontierei.
The policeman hid the car behind the tree to detect the smuggling.	Polițistul a ascuns mașina în spatele copacului pentru a depista contrabanda.
This path passes across the village.	Această cărare trece de-a latul satului.
She confiscated the illegal package right from the smuggler's hand.	Ea a confiscat pachetul ilegal chiar din mâna contrabandistului.
Two smugglers were sneaking along the wall.	Doi contrabandiști se furișau de-a lungul peretelui.
The inspector observed an illegal activity across the border.	Inspectorul a observat o activitate ilegală de-a latul graniței.