Learn Romanian: Dumneavoastră doriți o cafea, domnule?

Dumneavoastră doriți o cafea, domnule?

Do you want a coffee, sir?

Breakdown of Dumneavoastră doriți o cafea, domnule?

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

dumneavoastră

you (formal)

Questions & Answers about Dumneavoastră doriți o cafea, domnule?

Why does the sentence use the plural verb doriți when addressing only one person (domnule)?

When you use the formal pronoun dumneavoastră (polite you), the verb must always be in the plural form, even if you are only talking to one person. That is why we use the plural doriți here instead of the informal singular dorești.

Is it mandatory to include the word dumneavoastră here?

No, you can drop it! Just like with informal pronouns, Romanian often leaves the subject pronoun out because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. Saying Doriți o cafea, domnule? is very natural and still completely polite.

Why is the word for sir spelled domnule instead of just domn?

When you are speaking directly to someone, Romanian often adds a special ending to the noun. This is called the vocative form. The base word for a gentleman or Mr. is domn, but when you talk to him directly as Sir, it becomes domnule.

A quick refresher: why do we say o cafea instead of un cafea?

Because cafea (coffee) is a feminine noun in Romanian. We use o for the word a with feminine nouns, and un for masculine or neuter nouns, like un ceai for a tea.