In Romanian, when you say "I like" (îmi place) or "I need" (îmi trebuie), you use short, unstressed dative pronouns. But what if you want to emphasize who likes something, or contrast your preference with someone else's?
For this, Romanian uses stressed (or full) dative pronouns.
| English | Stressed Dative |
|---|---|
| to me | mie |
| to you | ție |
| to him / to it | lui |
| to her / to it | ei |
| to us | nouă |
| to you (plural) | vouă |
| to them | lor |
Stressed pronouns do not replace the short ones; they work together with them (e.g., mie îmi). The stressed pronoun usually goes at the beginning of the clause for contrast, or at the very end of the sentence for strong emphasis.
Contrasting Preferences
Use mie and ție at the beginning of a sentence to contrast what you like or need with someone else's preferences.
| I like the classic style, but you like the modern style. | Mie îmi place stilul clasic, dar ție îți place stilul modern. |
| I need a useful car, but you need a modern car. | Mie îmi trebuie o mașină utilă, dar ție îți trebuie o mașină modernă. |
Emphasizing Third Parties
Use lui (him), ei (her), and lor (them) in the exact same way to emphasize their opinions or needs.
| He needs a modern phone, not a complicated phone. | Lui îi trebuie un telefon modern, nu un telefon complicat. |
| She likes the simple style, because it is very comfortable. | Ei îi place stilul simplu, pentru că este foarte comod. |
| They don't like the classic style, but I do. | Lor nu le place stilul clasic, dar mie da. |
Emphasizing the Receiver of an Action
Beyond likes and needs, use stressed dative pronouns whenever an action is directed to or for someone—like saying something belongs to them, offering a suggestion, or explaining an advantage.
| The choice of this comfortable chair belongs to me. | Alegerea acestui scaun comod îmi aparține mie. |
| We offer her a useful suggestion, but she decides. | Noi îi oferim ei o sugestie utilă, dar ea decide. |
| We explain the suggestion to the colleague, and we explain the advantage to them. | Noi îi explicăm colegei sugestia, iar lor le explicăm avantajul. |
| Does this choice suit you, or is it too complicated? | Vouă vă convine această alegere sau este prea complicată? |
