Summer Berries and Fruits

Berries and Comparisons

Summer is the perfect time to visit the farmers' market for fresh berries. Let's start with the strawberry (căpșuna) and the raspberry (zmeura).

To say that two things are equal in a certain quality (like "as sweet as"), use the phrase la fel de followed by the adjective, and then ca.

Blueberries, Blackberries, and Plurals

You might also find the blueberry (afina) and the blackberry (mura). When talking about them in general or as "the blueberries", their plural definite forms end in -le (afinele, murele).

To ask or state if something is less of a certain quality than something else, use mai puțin before the adjective, followed by decât.

Remember that adjectives must always match the noun in gender and number. For example, the masculine singular adjective zemos (juicy) becomes zemoase for feminine plural nouns like berries.

Summer Fruits and Flavors

Other popular summer fruits include the melon or watermelon (pepenele), the apricot (caisa), the plum (pruna), and the sour cherry (vișina).

Just like with plural adjectives, singular adjectives must match their noun's gender. The masculine/neuter acru (sour) becomes acră for feminine nouns, and zemos becomes zemoasă.

Emphasizing with Conjunctions

To group items together and say "both [A] and [B]", use the phrase atât [A], cât și [B].

Conversely, to say "neither [A] nor [B]", use nici [A], nici [B]. Because Romanian uses double negation, the main verb of the sentence must also be negative (preceded by nu).

Finally, to add extra emphasis to a negative statement and say "not at all", use the word deloc after the verb.