Learn Romanian: Domnii au o mașină. - The gentlemen have a car.

Domnii au o mașină.

The gentlemen have a car.

Breakdown of Domnii au o mașină.

the gentleman / Mr., sir (title in address)

Questions & Answers about Domnii au o mașină.

Why does domnii end in two 'i's?

The base word for 'gentleman' is domn. To make masculine nouns plural, we usually add an -i, making it domni (gentlemen). To say 'the gentlemen', we attach a second -i, which acts as the word 'the' for masculine plural nouns. This gives us domnii.

How do you pronounce the double 'i' at the end of domnii?

When a masculine plural noun has just one -i, it is usually a short, whispered sound. But when you add the second -i to mean 'the', it becomes a full, clear 'ee' sound. You pronounce domnii roughly like 'dom-nee'.

Why do we use au instead of are for the verb 'have'?

Because domnii is plural (they). The word au is the 'they' form of the verb. You would use are ('he/she/it has') only if the sentence was about a single gentleman, like domnul are o mașină.

Why is the word for 'a' here o instead of un?

The word mașină (car) is a feminine noun. In Romanian, we use o for 'a' before feminine nouns, while un is used before masculine and neuter nouns.