Breakdown of Cei doi prim-miniștri se întâlnesc adesea în capitală.
în
in
doi
two
adesea
often
capitala
the capital
cei
the ones (m)
se întâlni
to meet (each other)
prim-ministrul
the prime minister
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?
The verb a se întâlni is a reflexive verb, which in this case indicates a reciprocal action. The reflexive pronoun se shows that the two prime ministers are meeting each other, rather than meeting someone else.
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