Question 1

Since "ideea" is a feminine word, why do we use lui instead of a feminine possessive?

Accepted Answer

Lui means "his". Unlike the possessive words for "my" or "your", the 3rd person pronouns lui (his), ei (her), and lor (their) are invariable. This means they never change to match the gender or number of the object being owned. Because the owner is a man, we use lui, even though the thing he owns (ideea) is feminine.

Question 2

Why does lui come after ideea?

Accepted Answer

In Romanian, possessive words usually come immediately after the noun they describe. When this happens, that noun must have the definite article ("the") attached to its end. So, instead of saying "his idea", the Romanian phrasing acts like "the idea of his" (ideea lui).

Question 3

Why does ideea have two E's and an A at the end?

Accepted Answer

The basic dictionary word for "idea" is idee. To say "the idea", we need to add the feminine definite article to the end, which is -a. Putting them together gives us ideea. You pronounce both E's clearly when speaking!

Question 4

Why is it o problemă and not un problemă?

Accepted Answer

The noun problemă is feminine, which you can often guess because it ends in -ă. Because it is feminine, it uses the feminine word for "a" or "an", which is o. If the noun were masculine or neuter, you would use un.

Ideea lui este o problemă.

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