The relative pronoun 'pe care' (pe care)

The Relative Pronoun "pe care"

When the relative pronoun is the direct object of its clause—meaning it receives the action, like the podcast that you are listening to or the book that I am reading—Romanian adds the preposition pe to make pe care.

When using pe care, Romanian requires an unstressed pronoun (a clitic) right before the verb in the relative clause. This short pronoun "doubles" the direct object and must match the gender and number of the noun you are describing.

Here are the direct object clitics you need to know:

• Masculine / Neuter singular: îl (or -l)
• Feminine singular: o
• Masculine plural: îi (or i-)
• Feminine / Neuter plural: le

Let's look at a neuter singular noun. Because podcastul is neuter singular, we use îl before the verb ascult:

For a feminine singular noun like cartea, we use o:

For a neuter plural noun like episoadele, we use le:

Pronoun Placement with Other Tenses

When using the past tense or the o să future tense, the short pronoun often attaches directly to the helping verb. For example, îl drops its first letter to become l- or -l: