Breakdown of Cei doi prim-miniștri se întâlnesc adesea în capitală.
în
in
doi
two
adesea
often
capitala
the capital
Questions & Answers about Cei doi prim-miniștri se întâlnesc adesea în capitală.
Why does only the second half of prim-miniștri change in the plural?
In Romanian compound nouns formed by an invariable word or adjective plus a noun, usually only the noun part changes. Here, prim- acts as a fixed prefix, so only ministru takes the plural ending to become miniștri.
If the noun is plural, why don't we say primii-miniștri?
That is a logical guess based on normal adjectives, but prim in this specific compound acts as an invariable element rather than a separate adjective. It is treated almost like a prefix, so it never changes to match the plural noun.
How would I say "the prime ministers" if I dropped the number two?
You would attach the plural definite article directly to the end of the compound noun. Since the bare plural is prim-miniștri, adding the masculine plural definite article -i makes it prim-miniștrii.
Why do we use Cei at the beginning of the sentence?
Because numbers like doi cannot take a definite article directly, Romanian uses the demonstrative article cei to mean "the" before plural masculine numbers. Cei doi translates directly to "the two".
Why is se needed before întâlnesc?