Language/Romanian/Grammar/Plurals
Hi Romanian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about plurals in Romanian. If you want to improve your Romanian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
The formation of regular plurals[edit | edit source]
To form the plural of a Romanian noun, the following rules apply:
- Singular nouns ending in a consonant or in "-e" (with the exception of "-ie" and "-ee") add -uri to form the plural. - Nouns ending in "-ie" will replace this ending with "-ii", or "-i" for feminine nouns. - Nouns ending in "-ee" will replace this ending with "-i". - Nouns ending in a soft vowel ("i", "â", "î", "ă" and "e") just add "-uri" to the singular form without changing the spelling.
Examples:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| casă (house) | /ka.'sə/ | houses |
| masă (table) | /ma.'sə/ | tables |
| frate (brother) | /'fra.te/ | brothers |
| copil (child) | /ko.'pil/ | children (general) |
| fată (girl) | /'fa.tə/ | girls |
| carte (book) | /'kar.te/ | books |
| brad (fir tree) | /brad/ | fir trees |
Exceptions to the rule[edit | edit source]
As is the case with many languages, there are exceptions to the general rules of forming Regular Plurals.
A few examples of these exceptions are:
- băiat ("boy") becoming băieți (not băiaturi); - leu ("lion") becoming lei (not leuri); - om ("man/person") becoming oameni (not omuri); - scaun ("chair") becoming scaune (not scauri); - ochi ("eye") becoming ochi (not ochii).
Plurals of compound nouns[edit | edit source]
If a noun is a compound noun (a noun that is composed of two or more words), the plural form will be created based on the last word of the compound.
Examples:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| cap de copil (child's head) | /kap de ko.'pil/ | children's heads |
| măr de aur (golden apple) | /mər de aur/ | golden apples |
| lac de pădure (forest lake) | /lak de pə.'du.re/ | forest lakes |
Gender and plural forms[edit | edit source]
In Romanian, nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter. In general, the endings used for the formation of plural forms differ depending on the gender of the noun.
Masculine nouns usually end in "-i", "-e", or a consonant, and add "-i" to form the plural.
Feminine nouns end in "-ă", "-ea", "-ie", "-i", "-oare", "-toare", and "-ție", and add "-le" to form the plural.
Neuter nouns end in "-u", "-iu", and "-e" and add "-uri" to form the plural.
Examples:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| copil (child) (masc.) | /ko.'pil/ | children |
| pom (tree) (masc.) | /pom/ | trees |
| fată (girl) (fem.) | /'fa.tə/ | girls |
| carte (book) (fem.) | /'kar.te/ | books |
| ou (egg) (neuter) | /ow/ | eggs |
| scaun (chair) (neuter) | /skawn/ | chairs |
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Let's see some examples of how plurals are used in a dialogue:
- Person 1: Am cumpărat 3 mere de Aur. (I bought 3 golden apples.)
- Person 2: Ce frumos sună! Sper că le-ai plăcut. (That sounds nice! I hope you liked them.)
- Person 1: M-am jucat cu câinii vecinului. (I played with the neighbor's dogs.)
- Person 2: Wow, câți câini are vecinul tău? (Wow, how many dogs does your neighbor have?)
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Romanian Nouns: Gender and Declension Reference Grammar
- romanian-grammar/plurals.md at master · dragostis/romanian ...
- Romanian Plural
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Genitive Case in Romanian
- Inclusive Case in Romanian
- The Locative Case in Romanian
- Verb to be with names and places
- Cardinal Numbers in Romanian
- How to use the verb there to be in Romanian
- Ordinal Numbers in Romanian
- Dative Case in Romanian
- Ablative Case in Romanian
- Interrogative Words in Romanian