Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

### Right after the noun, or with an article

A genitive or a possessive attaches straight to a noun that has the definite article: *cartea Mariei*, *prietenul meu*. Wherever it cannot attach that way, the possessive article steps in. It agrees with the thing owned, never with the owner:

| thing owned | nominative-accusative | genitive-dative |
|---|---|---|
| m. / n. singular | **al** | — |
| f. singular | **a** | — |
| m. plural | **ai** | **alor** |
| f. / n. plural | **ale** | **alor** |

### Where it appears

- after a noun with *un*, *o* or *niște*: *o colegă **a** Mariei*;
- when an adjective stands between the noun and the owner: *casa veche **a** bunicilor*;
- after *a fi*, or standing alone for the noun: *e **a** mea*, *dar **al** nostru e mai mare*;
- before every owner after the first.

{{item:1182475}}

{{item:1182476}}

### Two owners, two articles

Only the first owner touches the noun. The second one is separated from it by *și* or *sau*, so it needs its own article, matched to the thing owned: *cărțile mele **și ale** tale*, *nunta Anei **și a** lui Mihai*. Keep it even when the second owner is a short possessive like *tale*.

{{item:1182478}}

{{item:1182479}}

### To my folks: alor mei

**Ai mei** (literally *mine*) is everyday Romanian for *my folks*: my parents, my family. In the genitive and the dative it becomes **alor mei**, the same for every gender: *cadoul **alor** tăi* (your folks' gift), *le-am spus **alor** mei* (I told my folks). As with any dative, the pronoun *le* doubles it. **Alor** also replaces *ai* / *ale* whenever a plural possessive pronoun is in the genitive or dative: *copiilor mei și **alor** tăi* (to my children and to yours). Only the plural has a genitive-dative form of its own.

{{item:1182484}}

{{item:1182485}}

{{item:1182486}}

The possessive article everywhere (ale mele și ale tale, alor mei)

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
of / to (my, your …) folks: genitive-dative plural of the possessive article	alor
A colleague of Maria's moved to another city.	O colegă a Mariei s-a mutat în alt oraș.
My grandparents' old house is in a small village.	Casa veche a bunicilor mei este într-un sat mic.
My sister's new dress is red.	Rochia nouă a surorii mele e roșie.
My books and yours are on the table.	Cărțile mele și ale tale sunt pe masă.
I talked to his parents and hers.	Am vorbit cu părinții lui și ai ei.
Ana and Mihai's wedding was very beautiful.	Nunta Anei și a lui Mihai a fost foarte frumoasă.
I found my grandfather's and my grandmother's letters.	Am găsit scrisorile bunicului meu și ale bunicii mele.
Your car is new; mine is old.	Mașina ta e nouă, a mea e veche.
Your apartment is nice, but ours is bigger.	Apartamentul vostru e frumos, dar al nostru e mai mare.
My folks are coming over tomorrow.	Ai mei vin la noi mâine.
I told my folks I'm moving.	Le-am spus alor mei că mă mut.
I really liked your folks' gift.	Cadoul alor tăi mi-a plăcut mult.
Ion asked his folks for advice.	Ion a cerut sfatul alor săi.
Send your folks a card!	Trimite-le alor tăi o felicitare!
I bought ice cream for my kids and yours.	Le-am cumpărat înghețată copiilor mei și alor tăi.

Contributors