# A Simplified Grammar of the Roumanian Language

TRÜBNER’S COLLECTION
OF
SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS
OF THE PRINCIPAL
ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.
EDITED BY REINHOLD ROST, Ll. D., Ph. D.
VI.
ROUMANIAN.
BY R. TORCEANU.
LONDON: PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED, ST. JOHN’S SQUARE.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE.
There is hardly a language, or even a dialect, to be found unworthy of the philologist’s attention. The Roumanian tongue can claim that attention on more grounds than one. It is the language of an European country as independent as England itself, and is spoken by a population numbering eight millions of souls, extending beyond the bounds of Roumania itself into Bulgaria, Servia, Transylvania, Hungary, the Austrian province of the Bukovina, and the Russian province of Bessarabia. These are the people who speak the Roumanian proper, the language whose Grammar is treated of in the following pages, called also, for the sake of distinction, the Northern or Daco-Rouman. A closely allied dialect known as the Southern or Macedo-Rouman is spoken by a scattered population of about half a million, in Macedonia, Thessaly, and the adjoining highlands of Albania. The popular element it contains is rightly considered a rich treasure by philologists and students of folk-lore. The Roumanian Language owes its origin and distinctive character to the influx of heterogeneous words and expressions into “the ​rustic Latin” spoken by the Roman provincials between Pontus and Adria. These provincials became barbarized in consequence of the protracted miseries induced by the repeated invasions of the northern barbarians. The western portion of the Roman Empire was conquered once for all by the Teutonic invaders. The lands north and south of the eastern course of the Danube were repeatedly laid waste for many centuries by successive waves of barbarians—Goths and Huns, Slavs and Bulgars. This unsettled state of things, though disastrous for the political and social development of the Roumanian people, rendered possible the growth of an original language differing in a marked manner from the other Romance languages of the West.
I have endeavoured in this short Grammar to give the student a clear notion of the framework of the Roumanian Language, and to help him in becoming acquainted with it without unnecessary consumption of his time. Any elucidatory details which may be considered not absolutely indispensable in a strictly philological handbook will nevertheless, it is hoped, prove useful to those who learn the language for some practical purpose.
R. TORCEANU.
       London,
    September, 1883.
ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR.
Alphabet and Pronunciation.
The Roumanian Alphabet consists of the following letters:—
| A, | a, | as a in father. |
| B, | b, | as in the English. |
| C, | c, | before e and i as ch in cheese, softer than in the English: otherwise as k. |
| D, | d, | as in the English. |
| D, | d, | like z. |
| E, | e, | as é in the French, sometimes as ye in yet. |
| F, | f, | as in the English. |
| G, | g, | hard, as in gum, but before e and i like j in joke. |
| H, | h, | guttural, as ch in loch. |
| I, | i, | as in police. |
| J, | j, | as in the French jour. |
| K, | k, | as in the English. |
| L, | l, | as in„ the English.„ |
| M, | m, | as in„ the English.„ |
| N, | n, | as in„ the English.„ |
| O, | o, | as in„ the English.„ |
| P, | p, | as in„ the English.„ |
| R, | r, | a rolling r. |
| S, | s, | as in the English. |
| S, | s, | as sh in ship. |
| T, | t, | softer than in the English. |
| T, | t, | as ts, or like the German z in zeit. |
| U, | u, | as oo in tool. |
| V, | v, | as v in the English. |
| X, | x, | as x in„ the English.„ |
| Y, | y, | as i in the English word king. |
| Z, | z, | as in the English. |
ŭ, when it occurs at the end of a word, is pronounced like a silent u, which is called ŭ short.
ó and é are pronounced as if followed by a: mórte, pronounced moarte; pétră, pronounced peatră. But at the end of words these diphthongs are to be written ea, oa.
ĭ, at the end of a word, is pronounced generally as a silent i, which is called ĭ short.
î: this is generally confounded in writing with ĭ, but has a very different sound, approaching the French nasal vowel un.
e is pronounced like the French é in fermé; but at the beginning of words, except in the case of neologisms, and occasionally in the middle, e is pronounced like ye in yet—e. g., el era, ‘he was.’ This peculiarity is of Slavonic origin.
s. When s occurs between two vowels it is pronounced as in English z. Sometimes it retains its original sound, as in casa, but some modern writers spell such words with a double s.
Phonetic Remarks.
One of the greatest difficulties which the Roumanian language presents to foreigners is the difficulty of learning and remembering the nice modifications of sound to which certain letters (both vowels and consonants) are subject. It ​is impossible, however, in the present space to specify all such modifications, and we must content ourselves with the following hints, which will be of service to the student.
a.
1. a, in an accented syllable, becomes ă, so soon as that syllable becomes through inflection unaccented:
| eŭ tac, | ‘I am silent;’ | eŭ tăcuĭ, | ‘I was silent.’ |
| el tace, | ‘He is silent;’ | tăcere, | ‘silence’ (noun). |
| barbă, | ‘beard;’ | bărbat, | ‘man.’ |
etc.
2. a becomes ă in the plural of many words, even though the accentuation is unchanged:
| carte, | ‘book;’ | cărțĭ, |
| parte, | ‘part;’ | părțĭ, |
| ogradă, | ‘yard;’ | ogrăḑĭ, |
| sabie, | ‘swrod;’ | săbiĭ, |
etc.
e.
e is often modified into ĕ in the singular of nouns and in the conjugation of verbs:
| pĕr, | ‘hair;’ | perĭ. |
| rĕŭ, | ‘bad;’ | reĭ. |
| mĕr, | ‘apple;’ | mere. |
| a vede, | ‘to see;’ | eŭ vĕd, | ‘I see.’ |
| eŭ vĕḑuĭ, | ‘I saw;’ | vĕḑĕnd, | ‘seeing.’ |
etc.
eŭ vin, ‘I come;’ el vine, ‘he comes;’ vină, ‘come.’
i.
i becomes î long in the singulars of some nouns, and in the root syllable of certain persons of the verbs:
| mormînt, | ‘grave;’ | morminte, | ‘graves.’ |
| sfînt, | ‘saint;’ | sfințĭ, | ‘saints.’ |
| cuvînt, | ‘word;’ | cuvinte, | ‘words.’ |
| tînĕr, | ‘youth;’ | tinerĭ, | ‘youths.’ |
| eŭ vînd, | ‘I sell;’ | tu vinḑĭ, el vinḑe, etc. | tu vinḑĭ, el vinḑe, etc. |
o.
Sometimes o is changed into u when the syllable in which it stands becomes unaccented:
| joc, | ‘play;’ | jucărie, | ‘toy.’ |
| eŭ port, | ‘I wear;’ | eŭ purtam, | ‘I wore.’ |
| eŭ rog, | ‘I pray;’ | eŭ rugam, | ‘I prayed.’ |
| rugăciune, ‘prayer.’ ||||
| eŭ sbor, | ‘I fly.’ | eŭ sburam, | ‘I flew.’ |
etc.
More important than any of the foregoing modifications of sounds are those of e and o into the diphthongs é (ea), ó (oa), in which the stress falls on the a.
e.
e changes into é (ea) generally when it is accented in a ​word, and when an affix containing the vowel a or ă has to be added:
| acest, | ‘this;’ | acéstă (fem.), | acésta. |
| drept, | ‘upright;’ | dréptă (fem.),„ | drépta, etc. |
With some of the words which have had the e modified into é the sound of e has subsequently disappeared; thus—
| fétă, | plur. fete | (girls), is | pronounced and written fată. |
| méssă, | plur.„ messe | (tables), | pronounced„ and written„ massă. |
| vétră, | plur.„ vetre | (hearths), | pronounced„ and written„ vatră. |
| véră, | plur.„ vere | (cousins), | pronounced„ and written„ vară. |
etc.
It is only by the plural that we discover that the a of the singular is a modification of e.
o.
ochanges into ó (oa) when we affix to the word, in which it occurs accented, a syllable containing one of the vowels a, ă, e:
| eŭ port, | ‘I wear;’ | el pórtă, ‘he wears.’ |
| pórte (el), | ‘let him wear’ | (imperat). |
| frumos, | ‘handsome,’ | frumóssă, frumóssa. |
etc.
Note.—This modification is not made in imported words, or in neologisms:
| onest, ‘honest;’ | onestă. |
| chines, | chinesă. |
| engles, | englesă. |
| eŭ onor, ‘I honour;’ | el onoră, ‘he honours.’ |
It is impossible, however, to attempt to alter those cases in ​which the passage from e to é and from o to ó are time honoured.
d, s, t.
D, s, and t, at the end of words to which an ĭ has been affixed, change respectively into ḑ, ș, and ț:
| eŭ cred, | ‘I believe;’ | tu creḑĭ. |
| brad, | ‘fir-tree;’ | braḑĭ. |
| eŭ cos, | ‘I sew;’ | tu coșĭ. |
| eŭ socot, | ‘I think;’ | tu socoțĭ, etc. |
If the word ends in st, the s alone undergoes modification:
| acest, ‘this;’ | aceștĭ, ‘these.’ |
| onest, ‘honest;’ | oneștĭ (plural). |
With verbs this change occurs sometimes before u, ĕ, i:
* eŭ vĕd, ‘I see;’ eŭ vĕḑuĭ, ‘I saw.’
* vĕḑĕnd, ‘seeing;’ etc.
Euphony occasionally requires that certain letters should be (1) omitted from, (2) interpolated in, or (3) affixed to a word:
| (1) cale, | ‘road;’ | căĭ (plural for călĭ). |
| (1) vițel, | ‘calf;’ | vițeĭ (plur. f. vițelĭ). |
* eŭ vin, ‘I come;’ tu viĭ, ‘thou comest;’ for tu vinĭ.
* tu saĭ, ‘thou leapest;’ for tu sarĭ, etc.
* (2) omuluĭ, ‘to the man;’ for omluĭ.
* (2)  veniuar, ‘should he come;’ for veniar.
etc.
(3) îmĭ vine reŭ, ‘I feel ill;’ for mi vine reŭ.
Nouns (Nume).
Masculine Terminations.
The determination of the gender of the noun is one of the difficulties of the Roumanian language. The student, however, must first observe that masculine nouns generally end in a consonant:
| Romăn, | ‘Roumanian.’ |
| Engles, | ‘Englishman.’ |
| Grec, | ‘Greek.’ |
| nepot, | ‘nephew.’ |
| professor, | ‘teacher.’ |
| împărat, | ‘emperor.’ |
| tun, | ‘cannon.’ |
There are, however, a few masculine nouns which end with a vowel, and here the real difficulty begins. They will generally be found to end in—
* e short: rege, ‘king;’ peṣte, ‘fish;’ frate, ‘brother.’
* u or ŭ: socru, ‘father-in-law;’ Dumnezeŭ, ‘God.’
* ĭ short: usturoĭ, ‘onion;’ ciocoĭ, ‘parvenu.’
* ă short: tată, ‘father;’ popă, ‘priest.’
The Plural of Masculine Nouns.
The plurals of all masculine nouns without exception end in ĭ short. This ĭ is added to the singular when the singular ends in a consonant. When it ends in a vowel, that vowel is ​changed into ĭ. When the singular ends in ĭ, no change is made:
| pom, | ‘fruit tree;’ | pomĭ, | ‘fruit trees.’ |
| tălhar, | ‘thief;’ | tălharĭ, | ‘thieves.’ |
| împărat, | ‘emperor;’ | împăraṭĭ, | ‘emperors.’ |
| rege, | ‘king;’ | regĭ, | ‘kings.’ |
| peṣte, | ‘fish;’ | peṣtĭ, | ‘fishes.’ |
| frate, | ‘brother;’ | fraṭĭ, | ‘brothers.’ |
| socru, | ‘father-in-law;’ | socrĭ, | ‘fathers-in-law.’ |
| Dumnezeŭ, | ‘God;’ | Dumnezeĭ, | ‘Gods.’ |
| tată, | ‘father;’ | taṭĭ, | ‘fathers.’ |
| popă, | ‘priest;’ | popĭ, | ‘priests.’ |
| ciocoĭ, | ‘parvenu;’ | ciocoĭ, | ‘parvenus.’ |
Note I.—If cal, ‘horse,’ has for plural caĭ, this is done for the sake of euphony.
Note II.—Om, ‘man,’ has its plural ómenĭ (homines); nume, ‘noun,’ numenĭ; but nume also is more generally used for the plural.
Feminine Terminations.
As masculine nouns generally end with a consonant, so feminine nouns generally end with the vowel ă:
| Romănă, | ‘Roumanian’ (f.) |
| Englesă, | ‘Englishwoman.’ |
| Grécă, | ‘Greek woman.’ |
| nepótă, | ‘niece.’ |
| professóră, | ‘teacher’ (f.). |
| ĭmpărătéssă, | ‘empress.’ |
| cassă, | ‘house.’ |
| miréssă, | ‘bride.’ |
* e short: carte, ‘book;’ păne, ‘bread;’ curte, ‘court.’
* a long: basma, ‘handkerchief;’ para, ‘farthing.’
* e long: ste, ‘star;’ bele, ‘grievance.’
The Plural of Feminine Nouns.
There are several ways in which the feminine plural is formed. Nouns ending in ă make their plural by changing ă into e:
| mamă, | ‘mother;’ | mame, | ‘mothers.’ |
| dómnă, | ‘lady;’ | dómne, | ‘ladies.’ |
| copilă, | ‘girl;’ | copile, | ‘girls.’ |
| regină, | ‘queen;’ | regine, | ‘queens.’ |
Those ending in e short, take ĭ in the plural:
| carte, | ‘book;’ | cărṭĭ, | ‘books.’ |
| păne, | ‘bread;’ | pănĭ, | ‘breads.’ |
| curte, | ‘court.’ | curṭĭ, | ‘courts.’ |
Those ending in a long, add the particle le to the singular:
| basma, | ‘handkerchief;’ | basmale, | ‘handkerchiefs.’ |
| para, | ‘farthing;’ | parale, | ‘money,’ or ‘farthings.’ |
Those ending in e long (pronounced ea, é in the singular), and zi (the only word ending in i long), add also le for the plural:
| ste, | ‘star;’ | stele, | ‘stars.’ |
| căṭe, | ‘bitch;’ | căṭele, | ‘bitches.’ |
| nue, | ‘rod;’ | nuele, | ‘rods.’ |
| zi, | ‘day;’ | zile, | ‘days.’ |
Neuter Nouns.
But there are greater difficulties than these with which we have to deal. There are in the Roumanian language nouns which though masculine in the singular become feminine in the plural. This plural ends in e or urĭ:
| palat, | ‘palace;’ | palate, | ‘palaces.’ |
| pod, | ‘bridge;’ | podurĭ, | ‘bridges.’ |
| folos, | ‘advantage;’ | folósse, | ‘advantages.’ |
Many nouns belong to this class, and they can be learnt only by long practice.
To sum up what has already been said:—Masculine nouns generally end with a consonant; there are a few exceptions which end in e, ŭ, ĭ, and ă. All masculine nouns end in ĭ in the plural.
Feminine nouns end for the most part in ă, which in the plural is changed to e. A few end in e short, which in the plural becomes ĭ. Those nouns which end in a long, e long, and i long, form their plural by the addition of le to the final letter.
There are also nouns masculine in the singular, and feminine in the plural, this plural ending in e or urĭ.
The Accent or Intonation.
Having treated of the terminations of masculine and feminine nouns, we come next to speak of the different particles affixed to nouns, which vary according to the gender and the ending of the nouns.
But before showing systematically these variations of the particles, we most apprise the student that for the sake of euphony a vowel will sometimes be placed between the noun ​and the particle, so that the noun will receive the addition of one or more syllables. The foreigner will often be surprised to find a noun thus changed from a monosyllable to a word of three, four, or five syllables, and will find it difficult to discover the accented syllable of such a word.
To make his task easier, let him remember that the intonation of the word remains unchanged, that the accented syllable of the word keeps its accent by whatever number of syllables the word has been lengthened.
Note.—The only exception is when we affix diminutives or augmentatives to the nouns, in which case the accent falls upon those particles:
| Romăn, | ‘Roumanian.’ |
| Romănuluĭ, | ‘to the Roumanian.’ |
| Romănilor, | ‘to the Roumanians.’ |
| raționament, | ‘reasonings.’ |
| raționamentelor, | ‘of the reasonings.’ |
| capăt, | ‘extremity.’ |
| capetelor, | ‘of the extremity.’ |
| capătuluĭ, | ‘to the extremities.’ |
The Article.
The Masculine Article.
The masculine nouns endings with a consonant take the article l preceded by u; thus:
| om, | ‘man;’ | om-u-l, | ‘the man.’ |
| cal, | ‘horse;’ | cal-u-l, | ‘the horse.’ |
| tun, | ‘cannon;’ | tun-u-l, | ‘the cannon.’ |
| tălhar, | ‘thief;’ | tălhar-u-l, | ‘the thief.’ |
| pĕr, | ‘hair;’ | pĕr-u-l, | ‘the hair.’ |
It is easy to see that in these words the vowel u is interpolated for the sake of euphony; for it is disagreeable to the ear of a Roumanian to pronounce oml, tunl, focl, pĕrl, tălharl, as in the English words ‘people,’ ‘little,’ ‘nimble.’
When a masculine noun ends with u there is no occasion to insert another u, and so the definite noun will be—
| socru, | ‘father-in-law;’ | socru-l, | ‘the father-in-law.’ |
| leŭ, | ‘lion;’ | leu-l, | ‘the lion.’ |
The masculine nouns ending with e take the article le:
| rege, | ‘king;’ | rege-le, | ‘the king.’ |
| frate, | ‘brother;’ | frate-le, | ‘the brother.’ |
| munte, | ‘mountain;’ | munte-le, | ‘the mountain.’ |
Those ending in ĭ follow the rule of those ending with a consonant:
| usturoĭ, | ‘onion;’ | usturoi-u-l, | ‘the onion.’ |
| ciocoĭ, | ‘parvenu;’ | ciocoi-u-l, | ‘the parvenu.’ |
Those ending in ă change the ă to a, following the analogy of feminine nouns:
| tată, | ‘father;’ | tata, | ‘the father.’ |
| popă, | ‘priest;’ | popa, | ‘the priest.’ |
| Romănĭ, | ‘Roumanians;’ | Romăniĭ, | ‘the Roumanians.’ |
| pomĭ, | ‘fruit-trees;’ | pomiĭ, | ‘the fruit-trees.’ |
| regĭ, | ‘kings;’ | regiĭ, | ‘the kings.’ |
| socrĭ, | ‘father-in-law;’ | socriĭ, | ‘the fathers-in-law.’ |
| dumnezeĭ, | ‘gods;’ | dumnezeiĭ, | ‘the gods.’ |
| popĭ, | ‘priests;’ | popiĭ, | ‘the priests.’ |
| ciocoĭ, | ‘parvenus;’ | ciocoiĭ, | ‘the parvenus.’ |
| caĭ, | ‘horses;’ | caiĭ, | ‘the horses.’ |
Note.—Copil, ‘boy,’ has the plural copiĭ, by the omission of l; the articled noun will be of course copiiĭ; thus fiŭ, ‘son,’ fiĭ, ‘sons,’ fiiĭ, ‘the sons.’
The Feminine Article.
The article is expressed in the feminine by an affixed a, but how this is done depends upon the final letter of the noun itself.
A noun ending in ă will change ă into a:
| Romănă, | ‘Roumanian;’ | Romăna, | ‘the Roumanian.’ |
| nepótă, | ‘niece;’ | nepóta, | ‘the niece.’ |
| professóră, | ‘teacher;’ | professóra, | ‘the teacher.’ |
| cassă, | ‘house;’ | cassa, | ‘the house.’ |
| miréssă, | ‘bride;’ | miréssa, | ‘the bride.’ |
Those ending in e do not change this e, but add the letter a to it; thus—
| carte, | ‘book;’ | cartea, | ‘the book.’ |
| păne, | ‘bread;’ | pănea, | ‘the bread.’ |
| curte, | ‘court;’ | curtea, | ‘the court.’ |
| basma, | ‘handkerchief;’ | basma-u-a, | ‘the handkerchief.’ |
| sté, | ‘star;’ | stéua, | ‘the star.’ |
| belé, | ‘grievance;’ | beléua, | ‘the grievance.’ |
| zi, | ‘day;’ | ziua, | ‘the day.’ |
Feminine nouns, as we have seen, form their plurals in several ways—nouns which end in ă changing the ă into e in the plural, those ending in e changing the e into ĭ, those ending with a, e, and i long all adding the particle le in the plural. In all cases the plural definite article is formed by the addition of le:
| casse, | ‘houses;’ | cassele, | ‘the houses.’ |
| cărṭĭ, | ‘books;’ | cărṭile, | ‘the books.’ |
| basmale, | ‘handkerchiefs;’ | basmalele, | ‘the handkerhicefs.’ |
| stele, | ‘stars;’ | stelele, | ‘the stars.’ |
Cases of Nouns.
Roumanian grammarians usually arrange the cases as follows:
| Nominative. | Dative. |
| Vocative. | Accusative. |
| Genitive. | Ablative. |
We have already seen the nominative case, this being the noun with or without the article.
The vocative case for the masculine ends in e for the singular, and lor for the plural; to the feminine o for the singular, and lor for the plural:
| om, | ‘man;’ | omule, ómenilor. |
| copilă, | ‘girl;’ | copilo, copilelor. |
| a omuluĭ, | ‘of the man;’ | a ómenilor, | ‘of the men.’ |
| a leuluĭ, | ‘of the lion;’ | a leilor, | ‘of the lions.’ |
For feminine nouns we change the final vowel into eĭ in the singular, and add lor to the plural:
| a copileĭ, | ‘of the girl;’ | a copilelor, | ‘of the girls.’ |
| a Regineĭ, | ‘of the Queen;’ | a Reginelor, | ‘of the Queens.’ |
The dative, singular and plural, are formed in the same way, but without the addition of a:
| omuluĭ, | ‘to the man;’ | ómenilor, | ‘to the men.’ |
| leuluĭ, | ‘to the lion;’ | leilor, | ‘to the lions.’ |
| copileĭ, | ‘to the girl;’ | copilelor, | ‘to the girls.’ |
| Regineĭ, | ‘to the Queen;’ | Reginelor, | ‘to the Queens.’ |
The accusative is like the nominative, but with the addition of the preposition pe placed before the noun in the case of animate beings:
* pe om or pe omul, pe ómenĭ or pe ómeniĭ.
* pe regină or pe regina, pe regine or pe reginele.
The ablative is expressed by the nominative, preceded by one of the following prepositions: în, la, din, de la, etc.
Note.—The masculine nouns ending with ă in their cases follow the analogy of feminine nouns.
Masculine proper nouns do not take generally the definite article, and the particles marking the genitive and dative are placed before them:
| Gheorghe, | ‘George.’ |
| a luĭ Gheorghe, | ‘of George.’ |
| luĭ Gheorghe, | ‘to George.’ |
Adjectives (Agective).
After what has been previously said concerning the nouns, it will be found easy to understand the declination of adjectives, whose modifications of gender, number, and case are regulated by the same rules as apply to nouns.
Formation of the Feminine from the Masculine.
Before proceeding to explain the use of adjectives in relation to nouns substantive, a few words must be said concerning the derivation of the feminine gender from the masculine.
The masculine gender, when it ends with a consonant, turned into the feminine by the addition of ă; as—
| bun, | ‘good;’ | bună. |
| nalt, | ‘high;’ | naltă. |
| frumos, | ‘beautiful;’ | frumóssă. |
etc.
Those ending with u or ŭ change that vowel into ă:
| negru, | ‘black;’ | négră. |
| aspru, | ‘rough;’ | aspră. |
| noŭ, | ‘new;’ | noă. |
| ebreŭ, | ‘Hebrew;’ | ebreă. |
A few of those ending in ŭ preceded by e, change that ŭ into a long in the feminine:
| greŭ, | ‘heavy;’ | grea. |
| rĕŭ, | ‘bad;’ | rea. |
| viŭ, | ‘living;’ | vie. |
| viṣiniŭ, | ‘cherry-coloured;’ | viṣinie, etc. |
Those ending in e remain unchanged in the feminine.
Relation of Substantive and Adjective.
In general use the adjectives follow the nouns:
| ziua bună, | ‘(the) good day.’ |
| séra bună, | ‘(the) good evening.’ |
| nópte bună, | ‘good night.’ |
In this case the substantive alone is declined, while the adjective takes no modification except the mark of number:
| om bun, | ‘good man;’ | ómenĭ bunĭ, | ‘good men.’ |
| a omuluĭ bun, | ‘of the good man;’ | a ómenilor bunĭ, | ‘of the good men.’ |
| omuluĭ bun, | ‘to the good man;’ | ómenilor bunĭ, | ‘to the good men.’ |
etc.
The only exception is in the case of feminine adjectives, whose form in the genitive and dative singular depart a little from that of the nominative:
| cassă bună, | ‘good house;’ | casse bune. |
| a casseĭ bune, | | a casselor bune. |
| casseĭ bune, | | casselor bune. |
When the noun takes the article, the adjective can be preceded by the demonstrative cel (feminine cea), ‘this,’ ‘that.’ This takes all the modifications of gender, number, and case, but should be omitted in translation into English
| omul cel bun,— | cassa cea bună. etc. |
| a omuluĭ celuĭ bun, | a casseĭ celeĭ bune, etc. |
| bunul om, | buniĭ ómenĭ. |
| a bunuluĭ om,———— | ————a bunilor ómenĭ. |
| bunuluĭ om,———— | ————bunilor ómenĭ. |
| etc. ||
| buna cassă, | bunele casse. |
| a buneĭ casse, | a bunelor casse. |
| buneĭ casse, | bunelor casse. |
| etc. ||
Note.—The use of the determinative cel and cea, when the adjective precedes the substantive is more common in verse than prose.
Comparison.
The comparison is formed by placing before the adjective the particle maĭ (magis) for the comparative, and cel maĭ for the superlative:
omul bun,maĭ bun,cel maĭ bun.
Numerals.
The following is a list of the names of numerals:—
| 1. un (masc.), una or o (fem.) | 5. cincĭ. |
| 2. doĭ (masc.),„ doă (fem.) | 6. ṣesse. |
| 3. treĭ. | 7. ṣepte. |
| 4. patru. | 8. opt. ​ |
| 9. nouă. | 37. treĭ zecĭ ṣi ṣepte. |
| 10. zece. | 38. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ opt. |
| 11. un-spre-zece (one after ten). | 39. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ nouĕ. |
| 12. doĭ-spre-zece. | 40. patru zecĭ. |
| 13. ——treĭspre„zece.„ | 50. ——cincĭ zecĭ.„ |
| 14. ——patruspre„zece.„ | 60. ——ṣesse zecĭ.„ |
| 15. ——cincĭspre„zece.„ | 70. ——ṣepte zecĭ.„ |
| 16. ——ṣessespre„zece.„ | 80. ——opt zecĭ.„ |
| 17. ——ṣeptespre„zece.„ | 90. ——nouĕ zecĭ.„ |
| 18. ——optspre„zece.„ | 100. o sută (sometimes una sută). |
| 19. ——nouăspre„zece.„ | 101. o sută un. |
| 20. doă zecĭ. | 102. o sută„ doĭ. |
| 21. doă zecĭ ṣi un (twenty and one). | 103. o sută„ treĭ. |
| 22. doă zecĭ ṣi doĭ. | 104. o sută„ patru. |
| 23. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ treĭ. | 105. o sută„ cincĭ. |
| 24. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ patru. | 110. o sută„ zece. |
| 25. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ cincĭ. | 115. o sută„ cincĭ-spre-zece. |
| 26. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ ṣesse. | 200. doă sute. |
| 27. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ ṣepte. | 300. ——treĭ sute.„ |
| 28. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ opt. | 400. ——patru sute.„ |
| 29. doă„ zecĭ ṣi„ nouĕ. | 500. ——cincĭ sute.„ |
| 30. treĭ zecĭ. | 600. ——ṣesse sute.„ |
| 31. treĭ zecĭ ṣi un. | 700. ——ṣepte sute.„ |
| 32. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ doĭ. | 800. ——opt sute.„ |
| 33. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ treĭ. | 900. ——nouă sute.„ |
| 34. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ patru. | 1000. o mie (sometimes una mie). |
| 35. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ cincĭ. | 2000. doă miĭ. |
| 36. treĭ„ zecĭ ṣi„ ṣesse. | 1,000,000. un milion, etc. |
(1.) The numerals 1 and 2 have the masculine and ​the feminine form; so also has 3 (treĭ), but rarely trele. Un, una, is declinable, and serves as the indefinite article:
| Te-a căutat un domn, | ‘A gentleman called on you.’ |
| Uniĭ ómenĭ, | ‘Some people (men).’ |
(2.) The following numerals have a second, abbreviated, form.
| 11. unsprece. | 17. ṣeptsprece. |
| 12. doĭsprece. | 18. optsrece. |
| 13. treĭsprece. | 19. nouăsprece. |
| 14. paĭsprece. | 50. cinzecĭ. |
| 15. cinsprece. | 60. ṣeĭzecĭ. |
| 16. ṣeĭsprece. |
(3.) Fractions are expressed by the affix ime:
treime, ‘third;’pătrime, ‘quarter;’ etc.
Ordinal Numbers.
The Ordinal Number for un is întăĭ. The other Ordinal Numbers are formed by affixing the particle le in masculine, and a in feminine, and placing before the numbers the particle al in the first, and a in the second case:
| 1. întăĭ or al unule, | a una. |
| 2. al doile, | a doa. |
| 3. al treile, | a treia. |
| 4. al patrule, | a patra. |
| 5. al cincile, | a cincea. |
| 12. al doĭsprezecile, | a doăsprezecea. |
| 20. al doăzecile, | a doăzecea. |
| 21. al doăzecĭ ṣi unule, | a doăzecĭ si una. |
etc.
Proportional Numbers.
For these numbers two forms are used, one of Latin origin:
1. simplu,2. duplu,3. triplu, etc.
The other is formed by affixing it to the cardinal number and prefixing to it the particle în:
| 1. simplu, | 4. împătrit, împătrită. |
| 2. îndoit, îndoită. | 100. îmsutit, însutită. |
| 3. întreit, întreită. | 1000. înmiit, înmiită. |
etc.
Pronouns (Pronume).
Personal Pronouns.
The personal pronouns are:
Eŭ, ‘I;’ tu, ‘thou;’ el (masc.), ea (fem.), ‘he,’ ‘she.’
Note.—Eŭ, el, ea, are pronounced as if written yeŭ, yel, yea.
They are declined as follows:—
Singular.
Nom. Eŭ, ‘I;’ tu, ‘thou;’ el (masc.), ea (fem.), ‘he,’ ‘she.’
Dat. mie, ‘to me;’ ṭie, ‘to thee;’ luĭ, eĭ, ‘to him,’ ‘to her.’
Plural.
| Nom. | Noĭ, ‘we;’ | voĭ, ‘you;’ | eĭ, ele, ‘they.’ |
| Dat. | nouă, ‘to us;’ | vouă, ‘to you;’ | lor, ‘them.’ |
| Acc. | pe noĭ, | pe voĭ, | pe eĭ, pe ele. |
The genitive is replaced by the possessive pronouns.
For the Vocative and Ablative cases we use different interjections or prepositions, followed by the Dative or Accusative. (See Syntax.)
For the third person, instead of el, ea, the pronouns, dînsul, dînsa, are often used.
The Abbreviated Forms of the Genitive and Dative.
We have an abbreviated form of the personal pronouns the right use of which is very difficult for foreigners to acquire.
Singular.
DATIVE.
| Instead of mie: | instead of ție: | instead of luĭ or eĭ: |
| mi, | ṭi, | i, |
| -mĭ, | -ṭĭ, | -ĭ, |
| mĭ-, | ṭĭ-, | ĭ-, |
| îmĭ. | îṭĭ. | îĭ. |
ACCUSATIVE.
| Instead of mine: | instead of tine: | instead of el, ea: |
| mĕ. | te. | -l, o, |
| | | l’, o, |
| | | îl, o. |
Plural.
DATIVE.
| Instead of nouĕ: | instead of vouĕ: | instead of lor: |
| ne or ni. | vĕ or vi. | le or li. |
ACCUSATIVE.
| Instead of pe noĭ: | instead of pe voĭ: | instead of pe eĭ or ele: |
| ne. | vĕ. | -ĭ. ĭ-, or le, iĭ. |
Both forms of the personal pronouns are often used in one and the same sentence.
| Imĭ trebue mie, | ‘I want.’ |
| Mie-mĭ trebue, | ‘I want.’„ |
| Imĭ spune, | ‘He tells me.’ |
| Imĭ spune mie, | ‘He tells me.’„ |
| Mie-mĭ spune, | ‘He tells me.’„ |
| Te rog dă-mi-l mie, | ‘I beseech thee to give it me.’ |
| Te rog dă-mi-l, | ‘I beseech thee„ to give it me.’„ |
| Dă-mi-o, | ‘Give it me’ (if the object is fem.). |
| Dă-mi-o mie, | ‘Give it me.’„ |
The Reflexive Pronouns.
These are formed by adding to the personal pronouns the word însu, însa, ‘self,’ followed by the abbreviated dative of the corresponding person:
Masculine.
| Eŭ însu-mĭ, ‘I myself.’ | noĭ înṣi-ne, |
| tu însu-ṭi, | voĭ înṣi-vĕ, |
| el însu-ṣĭ, | eĭ înṣi-ṣĭ. |
Feminine.
| Eŭ însa-mĭ, | noĭ înṣi-ne, |
| tu însa-ṭĭ, | voĭ înṣi-vĕ, |
| ea însa-ṣĭ, | ele înṣi-le. |
Note.—For the third person, instead of the abbreviated form of luĭ or eĭ, we use another personal pronoun in the form ṣĭ for ṣie. This personal pronoun is made use of in genitive, dative, and accusative only:
Gen. al sĕŭ, ‘his;’dat. ṣie, ‘to him;’pe sine, ‘him.’
Possessive Pronouns.
The possessive pronouns are as follows:—
| meŭ, | ‘mine.’ | nostru, | ‘our.’ |
| tĕŭ, | ‘thine.’ | vostru, | ‘your.’ |
| sĕŭ or luĭ, eĭ, | ‘his.’ | lor or sĕĭ, | ‘their.’ |
They are treated as adjectives, agreeing in gender and number with the object of which they indicate the possession:
| calul meŭ, | ‘my horse;’ | caiĭ meĭ, | ‘my horses.’ |
| cassu mea, | ‘my house;’ | cassele mele, | ‘my houses.’ |
When they precede the noun (which they can do only in nominative and accusative), the article al for masculine, and a for feminine, and aĭ, ale for plural, are placed before them:
| al meŭ căne, | ‘my dog;’ | aĭ meĭ cănĭ. |
| a mea cassă, | ‘my house;’ | a or ale mele casse. |
Dumneata, Dumneavóstră.
In conversation it is usual, instead of using the direct personal pronoun tu, ‘thou,’ voĭ, ‘you,’ to use the compound words dumneata, dumneavóstră, derived from domnia ta, ‘thy lordship,’ domnia vóstră, ‘your lordship.’
These words have thus become a sort of personal pronoun. Dumneavóstră is also used for the singular as well as for the plural:
Ce facețĭ Dumneavóstră domnule, ‘How are you, sir?’
Demonstrate Pronouns.
There are two demonstrative pronouns:
* acest, acéstă, ‘this’ (for objects which are near).
* acel, acea, ‘that’ (for objects which are further off).
They follow the rule of adjectives in agreeing with the nouns they indicate, in gender, number, and case. It is to be observed that a is the definite article for the masculine acest, acel.
We frequently use the abbreviated forms of these demonstratives:
| ăst, astă, | for acest. | ăl, aia, | for acel. |
| ist, iastă, | for acest. | cel, ceea, | for acel. |
Interrogative and Relative Pronouns.
We put them under the same head because they are identical in form:
care, ‘which;’ce, ‘what;’cine,‘who.’
Indeterminate Pronouns.
Their list is very long, but it may be sufficient to indicate the principle of their formation, which is to prefix to the interrogative pronouns one of the particles orĭ, verĭ, fie:
| orĭ cine, | orĭ care, | orĭ ce, | whoever, whatever. |
| verĭ cine, | verĭ care, | verĭ ce, | whoever, whatever. |
| fie cine, | fie care, | fie ce, | whoever, whatever. |
Or, by affixing the particle va to them:
cineva, careva, ‘some one;’ ceva, ‘something.’
To these we add:
* un, vre un, ‘some one;’ nicĭ un, ‘no one;’
* numenĭ or nime, ‘nobody;’
* niṣte, ‘some;’ alt, ‘other.’
Verbs (Verbe).
In order to render the study of the verbs easier, we will class them under three heads, according to the termination of the infinitive present in a, e, or i. Before considering these inflections let us look at the three verbs—a ave, ‘to have;’ a fi, ‘to be;’ and a voi, ‘to will;’ which serve as auxiliary verbs. ‘To will’ being a regular verb, we insert it here only in the present indicative.
A ave, ‘to have.’
Indicative Present (Presentul Indicativuluĭ).
| eŭ am, ‘I have.’ | noĭ avem, |
| tu aĭ, | voĭ aveṭĭ, |
| el are, | eĭ aŭ. |
| eŭ am arat, ‘I have ploughed.’ | noĭ am arat (not avem arat). |
| tu aĭ arat, | voĭ aṭĭ arat (not avetĭ arat). |
| el or ea a arat (not are arat). | eĭ aŭ arat. |
Imperfect (Imperfect).
| eŭ avém, ‘I had’ (j’avais). | noĭ avém, |
| tu avéĭ, | voĭ avéṭĭ, |
| el avea, | eĭ avéŭ. |
Simple Perfect (Perfectual Simplu).
| eŭ avuĭ, ‘I had’ (j’eus). | noĭ avurăm, |
| tu avuṣĭ, | voĭ avurăṭĭ, |
| el avu, | eĭ avură. |
Simple Pluperfect (Plusquam Perfectul Simplu).
| eŭ avussem, ‘I had had.’ | noĭ avussem, |
| tu avusseṣĭ, | voĭ avusseṭĭ, |
| el avusse, | eĭ avusse. |
Perfect (Perfect).
| eŭ am avut, ‘I have had.’ | noĭ am avut, |
| tu aĭ avut, | voĭ aṭĭ avut, |
| el a avut, | eĭ aŭ avut. |
Pluperfect (Plusquam Perfect).
| eŭ am fost avut, ‘I had had.’ | noĭ am fost avut, |
| tu aĭ fost avut, | voĭ aṭĭ fost avut, |
| el a fost avut, | eĭ aŭ fost avut. |
I. Future (Viitorul întăĭ).
| eŭ voiŭ ave, ‘I shall have.’ | noĭ vom ave, |
| tu veĭ ave, | voĭ veṭĭ ave, |
| el va ave, | eĭ vor ave. |
II. Future (Viitorul al doilea).
| eŭ voiŭ fi avut, ‘I shall have had.’ | noĭ vom fi avut, |
| tu veĭ fi avut, | voĭ veṭĭ fi avut, |
| el va fi avut, | eĭ vor fi avut. |
Imperative (Imperativ).
| aibĭ (tu), ‘Have.’ | aveṭĭ (voĭ), |
| aibe (el), | aibe (eĭ). |
Subjunctive Present (Conjunctivul Present).
| eŭ să am, ‘I may have.’ | noĭ să avem, |
| tu să aĭ, | voĭ să aveṭĭ, |
| el să aĭ, | eĭ să aveṭĭ. |
Subjunctive Past (Conjunctivul Trecut).
| eŭ să fi avut, ‘I may have had.’ | noĭ să fi avut, |
| tu să fi avut, | voĭ să fi avut, |
| el să fi avut, | eĭ să fi avut. |
A subjunctive form of the future is frequently used instead of the indicative future:
| o să am, ‘I shall have.’ | o să avem, |
| o să aĭ, | o să aveṭĭ, |
| o să aibă, | o să aibă. |
Conditional Present (Conditional Present).
| eŭ aṣĭ ave, ‘I should have.’ | noĭ am ave, |
| tu aĭ ave, | voĭ aṭĭ ave, |
| el ar ave, | eĭ ar ave. |
Conditional Past (Conditional Trecut).
| eŭ aṣĭ fi avut, ‘I should have had.’ | noĭ am fi avut, |
| tu aĭ fi avut, | voĭ aṭĭ fi avut, |
| el ar fi avut, | eĭ ar fi avut. |
Infinitive (Infinitiv).
| Present (Present). | Past (Trecut). |
| a ave, ‘to have.’ | a fi avut, ‘to have had.’ |
Participle (Particip).
| Present (Present). | Past (Trecut). |
| avĕnd, ‘having.’ | avut, ‘had.’ |
A fi, ‘to be.’
Indicative Present.
| eŭ sunt, ‘I am.’ | noĭ suntem, |
| tu eṣtĭ, | voĭ sunteṭĭ, |
| el este or e, | eĭ sunt. |
Imperfect.
| eŭ eram, ‘I was’ (j’étais). | noĭ eram, |
| tu eraĭ, | voĭ eraṭĭ, |
| el era, | eĭ eraŭ. |
Simple Perfect.
| eŭ fuĭ, ‘I was’ (je fus). | noĭ furăm, |
| tu fuṣĭ, | voĭ furăṭĭ, |
| el fu, | eĭ fură. |
Simple Pluperfect.
| eŭ fussem or fussessem, ‘I had been.’ | noĭ fussessem, |
| tu fusseṣĭ or fussesseṣĭ, | voĭ fussesseṭĭ, |
| el fusse or fussesse, | eĭ fussesse. |
Perfect.
| eŭ am fost, ‘I have been.’ | noĭ am fost, |
| tu aĭ fost, | voĭ aṭĭ fost, |
| el a fost, | eĭ aŭ fost. |
Pluperfect.
| eŭ am fost fost, ‘I had been.’ | noĭ am fost fost, |
| eŭ amtu aĭ fost fost„ | noĭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fost fost„ |
| eŭ amel a fost fost„ | noĭ ameĭ aŭ fost fost„ |
I. Future.
| eŭ voiŭ fi, ‘I shall be.’ | noĭ vom fi, |
| tu veĭ fi, | voĭ veṭĭ fi, |
| el va fi, | eĭ vor fi. |
II. Future.
| eŭ voiŭ fi fost, ‘I shall have been.’ | noĭ vom fi fost, |
| eŭ voiŭtu veĭ fi fost„ | noĭ vomvoĭ veṭĭ fi fost„ |
| eŭ voiŭel va fi fost„ | noĭ vomeĭ vor fi fost„ |
Imperative.
| fiĭ (tu), ‘Be.’ | fiṭĭ (voĭ), |
| fie (el), | fie (eĭ). |
Subjunctive Present.
| eŭ să fiŭ, (If) ‘I were.’ | noĭ sǎ fim, |
| tu sǎ fiĭ, | voĭ să fiṭĭ, |
| el să fie, | eĭ să fie. |
Subjunctive Past.
| eŭ să fi fost, ‘I may have been.’ | noĭ să fi fost, |
| eŭtu să fi„ fost„ | noĭvoĭ să fi„ fost„ |
| eŭel să fi„ fost„ | noĭeĭ să fi„ fost„ |
Subjunctive Future.
| eŭ o să fiŭ, ‘Should I be.’ | noĭ o să fim, |
| tu o să fiĭ, | voĭ o să fiṭĭ, |
| el o să fie, | eĭ o să fie. |
Conditional Present.
| eŭ aṣĭ fi, ‘I should be.’ | noĭ am fi, |
| tu aĭ fi, | voĭ aṭĭ fi, |
| el ar fi, | eĭ ar fi. |
Conditional Past.
| eŭ aṣĭ fi fost, ‘I should have been.’ | noĭ am fi fost |
| eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ fi fost„ | noĭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fi fost„ |
| eŭ aṣĭel ar fi fost„ | noĭ ameĭ ar fi fost„ |
Infinitive.
| Present. | Past. |
| a fi, ‘To be.’ | a fi fost, ‘To have been.’ |
Participle.
| Present. | Past. |
| fiind, ‘Being.’ | fost, ‘Been.’ |
The same forms of the auxiliary verbs are used in the formation of the compound tenses, both of transitive and intransitive verbs. These forms are:—
| eŭ am arat, ‘I have ploughed.’ | noĭ am arat, |
| tu aĭ arat, | voĭ aṭĭ arat, |
| el a arat, | eĭ aŭ arat. |
| eŭ am fost arat, ‘I had ploughed.’ | noĭ am fost arat, |
| eŭ amtu aĭ fost arat„ | noĭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fost arat„ |
| eŭ amel a fost arat„ | noĭ ameĭ a fost arat„ |
| eŭ voiŭ ara, ‘I shall plough.’ | noĭ vom ara, |
| tu veĭ ara, | voĭ veṭĭ ara, |
| el va ara, | eĭ vor ara. |
| eŭ voiŭ fi arat, ‘I shall have ploughed.’ | noĭ vom fi arat, |
| eŭ voiŭtu veĭ fi arat„ | noĭ vomvoĭ veṭĭ fi arat„ |
| eŭ voiŭel va fi arat„ | noĭ vomeĭ vor fi arat„ |
5. As the subjunctive is formed by placing before the verb the particle să and the auxiliaries aṣĭ, aĭ, ar, am, aṭĭ, ar, before the conditional, the perfects of those moods will be formed if we put after să or aṣĭ the infinitive of ‘to be:’
Conditional Perfect.
| eŭ aṣĭ fi arat, ‘I should have ploughed.’ | noĭ am fi arat, |
| eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ fi arat„ | noĭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fi arat„ |
| eŭ aṣĭel ar fi arat„ | noĭ ameĭ ar fi arat„ |
Subjunctive Perfect.
| eŭ să fi arat, ‘I may have ploughed.’ | noĭ să fi arat, |
| eŭtu să fi arat„ | noĭvoĭ să fi arat„ |
| eŭel să fi arat„ | noĭeĭ să fi arat„ |
And only in the passive form is the verb ‘to be’ used exclusively as auxiliary.
Having now considered the auxiliary verbs, and their use in the formation of the compound tenses of other verbs, we can speak of the verbs themselves. These have five different terminations for the infinitive present, which can be reduced to three.
| a ara, ‘to till.’ | a da, ‘to give.’ |
| a mănca, ‘to eat.’ | a lua, ‘to take;’ etc. |
| a ave, ‘to have.’ | a vede, ‘to see.’ |
| a ṣede, ‘to sit.’ | a tăce, ‘to be silent;’ etc. |
| a crede, ‘to believe.’ | a perde, ‘to lose.’ |
| a merge, ‘to go.’ | a alege, ‘to choose, elect;’ etc. |
The verbs ending in e long and in e short, as nearly similar in their inflections, may be classed together.
| a voi, ‘to will.’ | a iubi, ‘to love.’ |
| a cinsti, ‘to honour.’ | a opri, ‘to stop, to hider;’ etc. |
| a omorî, ‘to murder.’ | a ocărî, ‘to defame.’ |
| a coborî, ‘to descend.’ | etc. |
These two kinds may be classed together.
FIRST CLASS.
A ara, ‘to plough.’
Indicative Present.
| eŭ ar, ‘I plough.’ | noĭ arăm, |
| tu arĭ, | voĭ araṭĭ, |
| el ară, | eĭ ară. |
| ar, ‘I plough;’ | arŭ, ‘they plough.’ |
| spăl, ‘I wash;’ | spălŭ, ‘they wash.’ |
| etc. ||
But many verbs belonging to this class have a prolonged form in ez for the three persons singular and the third plural:
a onora, ‘to honour.’
| eŭ onorez, | noĭ onorăm, |
| tu onorezĭ, | voĭ onoraṭĭ, |
| el onoréză, | eĭ onoréză. |
Imperfect.
| eŭ aram, ‘I ploughed’ (je labourais). | noĭ aram, |
| tu araĭ, | voĭ araṭĭ, |
| el ara, | eĭ araŭ or ara (in poetry). |
Simple Perfect.
| eŭ araĭ, ‘I ploughed’ (je labourai). | noĭ ararăm, |
| tu araṣĭ, | voĭ ararăṭĭ, |
| el ară, | eĭ arară. |
Simple Pluperfect.
| eŭ arassem, ‘I had ploughed.’ | noĭ arassem, |
| tu arasseṣĭ, | voĭ arasseṭĭ, |
| el arasse, | eĭ arasse. |
These perfect and pluperfect tenses are frequently used in narration, whereas in conversation in speaking of past time the following compound perfect is used:
Perfect.
| eŭ am arat, ‘I have ploughed.’ | noĭ am arat, |
| tu aĭ arat, | voĭ aṭĭ arat, |
| el a arat, | eĭ aŭ arat, |
This perfect is used as frequently as the English imperfect, for expressing the time past.
Pluperfect.
| eŭ am fost arat, ‘I had ploughed.’ | noĭ am fost arat, |
| eŭ amtu aĭ fost„ arat„ | noĭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fost„ arat„ |
| eŭ amel a fost„ arat„ | noĭ ameĭ aŭ fost„ arat„ |
I. Future.
| eŭ voiŭ ara, ‘I shall plough.’ | noĭ vom ara, |
| tu veĭ ara, | voĭ veṭĭ ara, |
| el va ara, | eĭ vor ara. |
It may be remarked that voiŭ, the auxiliary for the future, is written with ŭ to distinguish it from the personal pronoun voĭ, ‘you.’
II. Future.
| eŭ voiŭ fi arat, ‘I shall have ploughed.’ | noĭ vom fi arat, |
| eŭ voiŭtu veĭ fi arat„ | noĭ vomvoĭ veṭĭ fi arat„ |
| eŭ voiŭel va fi arat„ | noĭ vomeĭ vor fi arat„ |
Imperative.
| ară (tu), ‘plough.’ | araṭĭ (voĭ), |
| are (el), | are (eĭ). |
Subjunctive Present.
| eŭ să ar, ‘I may plough.’ | noĭ să arăm, |
| tu să arĭ, | voĭ să araṭĭ, |
| el să are, | eĭ să are. |
It may be observed here that in the subjunctive the third person singular of verbs belonging to this class ends in e, whereas in those which have the infinitive in e and i, it ends in ĕ.
Subjunctive Past.
| eŭ să fi arat, ‘I may have ploughed.’ | noĭ să fi arat. |
| eŭtu să fi arat„ | noĭvoĭ să fi arat„ |
| eŭel să fi arat„ | noĭeĭ să fi arat„ |
| eŭ să fiǔ arat, | noĭ să fim arat, |
| tu să fiĭ arat, | voĭ să fiṭĭ arat, |
| el să fie arat, | eĭ să fie arat. |
But the former is more correct.
I. Conditional.
| eŭ aṣĭ ara, ‘I should plough.’ | noĭ am ara, |
| tu aĭ ara, | voĭ aṭĭ ara, |
| el ar ara, | eĭ ar ara. |
II. Conditional.
| eŭ aṣĭ fi arat, ‘I should have ploughed.’ | noĭ am fi arat, |
| eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ fi arat„ | noĭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fi arat„ |
| eŭ aṣĭel ar fi arat„ | noĭ ameĭ ar fi arat„ |
Infinitive.
| Present. | Past. |
| a ara or arare, ‘to plough.’ | a fi arat, ‘to have ploughed.’ |
Participle.
| Present. | Past. |
| arănd, ‘ploughing.’ | arat, ‘ploughed.’ |
As seen here, the infinitive present has two forms. The first, as a verb, is preceded by the particle a, corresponding to the English ‘to:’ a ara, ‘to plough,’ a da, ‘to give,’ etc.; and the second form is treated as a noun: arare, dare, etc.
SECOND CLASS.
| a vede, ‘to see.’ | a crede, ‘to believe.’ |
Indicative Present.
| eŭ vĕd, ‘I see.’ | eŭ cred, ‘I believe.’ |
| tu veḍĭ, | tu creḍĭ, |
| el vede, | el crede. |
| noĭ vedem, | noĭ credem, |
| voĭ vedeṭĭ, | voĭ credeṭĭ, |
| eĭ vĕd or vede. | eĭ cred or crede. |
| vĕd, ‘I see;’ | rĕdŭ, ‘they see.’ |
| cred, ‘I believe;’ | credŭ, ‘they believe.’ |
| etc. ||
| vedem, ‘we see;’ | vedeṭĭ, ‘you see;’ |
| credem, ‘we believe;’ | credeṭĭ, ‘you believe;’ |
Imperfect.
| eŭ vedém, ‘I saw.’ | eŭ credém, ‘I believed.’ |
| tu vedéĭ, | tu credéĭ, |
| el vedea, | el credea, |
| noĭ vedém, | noĭ credém, |
| voĭ vedéṭĭ, | voĭ credéṭĭ, |
| eĭ vedéŭ. | eĭ credéŭ. |
| el credea (not credé). | el vedea (not vedé). |
Simple Perfect.
| eŭ vĕḍuĭ, ‘je vis.’ | eŭ creḍuĭ, |
| tu vĕḍuṣĭ, | tu creḍuṣĭ, |
| el vĕḍu, | el creḍu, |
| noĭ vĕḍurăm, | noĭ creḍurăm, |
| voĭ vĕḍurăṭĭ, | voĭ creḍurăṭĭ, |
| eĭ vĕḍură. | eĭ creḍură. |
| eŭ merseĭ, ‘I went.’ | noĭ mereserăm, |
| tu merseṣĭ, | voĭ merserăṭĭ, |
| el merse, | eĭ merseră. |
| a scrie, | ‘to write;’ | perfect, | eŭ scrisseĭ. |
| a duce, | ‘to bring;’ | perfect„ | eŭ dusseĭ. ​ |
| a purcede, | ‘to start;’ | perfect„ | eŭ purcesseĭ. |
| a alege, | ‘to choose;’ | perfect„ | eŭ alesseĭ. |
| a culege, | ‘to gather;’ | perfect„ | eŭ culesseĭ. |
| etc. ||||
It will be shown that the past participle of these verbs is also different from the past participles of other verbs, and therefore all their compound tenses will differ too, as also the simple pluperfect, as it is formed from the simple perfect.
Simple Pluperfect.
| eŭ vĕḍussem, ‘I had seen.’ | eŭ creḍussem, ‘I had believed.’ |
| tu vĕḍusseṣĭ. | tu creḍusseṣĭ. |
| el vĕḍusse. | el creḍusse. |
| noĭ vĕḍussem. | noĭ creḍussem. |
| oĭ vĕḍusseṭĭ. | voĭ creḍusseṭĭ. |
| eĭ vĕḍusse. | eĭ creḍusse. |
| a scrie | will have, | of course, | eŭ scrissessem. |
| a duce | will have„ | of course„ | eŭ dussessem. |
| etc. ||||
Perfect.
| eŭ am vĕḍut, ‘I have seen.’ | eŭ am creḍut, ‘I have believed.’ |
| tu aĭ vĕḍut, | tu aĭ creḍut. |
| el a vĕḍut, | el a creḍut. |
| noĭ am vĕḍut, | noĭ am creḍut. |
| voĭ aṭĭ vĕḍut, | voĭ aṭĭ creḍut. |
| eĭ aŭ vĕḍut, | eĭ aŭ creḍut. |
Pluperfect.
| eŭ am fost vĕḍut, ‘I had seen.’ | eŭ am fost creḍut, ‘I had believed.’ |
| eŭ amtu aĭ fost„ vĕḍut„ | eŭ amtu aĭ fost„ creḍut„ |
| eŭ amel a fost„ vĕḍut„ | eŭ amel a fost„ creḍut„ |
| eŭ amnoĭ am fost„ vĕḍut„ | eŭ amnoĭ am fost„ creḍut„ |
| eŭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fost„ vĕḍut„ | eŭ amvoĭ aṭĭ fost„ creḍut„ |
| eŭ ameĭ aŭ fost„ vĕḍut„ | eŭ ameĭ aŭ fost„ creḍut„ |
As we remarked before, this tense is very rarely made use of.
I. Future.
| ‘I shall see.’ | ‘I shall believe.’ |
| eŭ voiŭ vede, | eŭ voiŭ crede, |
| eu voiŭtu veĭ vede„ | eŭ voiŭtu veĭ crede„ |
| eŭ voiŭel va vede„ | eŭ voiŭel va crede„ |
| eŭ voiŭnoĭ vom vede„ | eŭ voiŭnoĭ vom crede„ |
| eŭ voiŭvoĭ veṭĭ vede„ | eŭ voiŭvoĭ veṭĭ crede„ |
| eŭ voiŭeĭ vor vede„ | eŭ voiŭeĭ vor crede„ |
| II. Future. ||
| ‘I shall have seen.’ | ‘I shall have believed.’ |
| eŭ voiŭ fi vĕḍut, | eŭ voiŭ fi creḍut, |
| eŭ voiŭ fitu veĭ vĕḍut„ | eŭ voiŭ fitu veĭ creḍut„ |
| eŭ voiŭ fiel va vĕḍut„ | eŭ voiŭ fiel va creḍut„ |
| eŭ voiŭ finoĭ vom vĕḍut„ | eŭ voiŭ finoĭ vom creḍut„ |
| eŭ voiŭ fivoĭ veṭĭ vĕḍut„ | eŭ voiŭ fivoĭ veṭĭ creḍut„ |
| eŭ voiŭ fieĭ vor vĕḍut„ | eŭ voiŭ fieĭ vor creḍut„ |
| Imperative. ||
| veḍĭ (tu), ‘see.’ | crede (tu), ‘believe.’ |
| véḍă (el), | créḍă (el), |
| vedeṭĭ (voĭ), | credeṭĭ (voĭ), |
| véḍă (eĭ). | créḍă (eĭ). |
I. Subjunctive.
| eŭ să vĕd, ‘I may see.’ | eŭ să cred, ‘I may believe.’ |
| tu să veḍĭ, | tu să creḍĭ, |
| el să véḍă, | el să créḍă, |
| noĭ să vedem, | noĭ să credem, |
| voĭ să vedeṭĭ, | voĭ să credeṭĭ, |
| eĭ să véḍă. | eĭ să créḍĕ. |
We remark once more that the third person singular ends in e in the indicative for the verbs of the second and third classes, and in ă for the conjunctive; whereas for those of the first class, and for those ending in î long, the rule is inverted.
II. Subjunctive.
| eŭ să fi vĕḍut, ‘I may have seen.’ | eŭ să fi creḍut, ‘I may have believed.’ |
| eŭ să fitu să vĕḍut„ | eŭ să fitu să creḍut„ |
| eŭ să fiel să vĕḍut„ | eŭ să fiel să creḍut„ |
| eŭ să finoĭ să vĕḍut„ | eŭ să finoĭ să creḍut„ |
| eŭ să fivoĭ să vĕḍut„ | eŭ să fivoĭ să creḍut„ |
| eŭ să fieĭ să vĕḍut„ | eŭ să fieĭ să creḍut„ |
I. Conditional.
| eŭ aṣĭ vede, ‘I should see.’ | eŭ aṣĭ crede, ‘I should believe.’ |
| eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ vede„ | eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ crede„ |
| eŭ aṣĭel ar vede„ | eŭ aṣĭel ar crede„ |
| eŭ aṣĭnoĭ am vede„ | eŭ aṣĭnoĭ am crede„ |
| eŭ aṣĭvoĭ aṭĭ vede„ | eŭ aṣĭvoĭ aṭĭ crede„ |
| eŭ aṣĭeĭ ar vede„ | eŭ aṣĭeĭ ar crede„ |
II. Conditional.
| eŭ aṣĭ fi vĕḍut, ‘I should have seen.’ | eŭ aṣĭ fi creḍut, ‘I should have believed.’ |
| eŭ aṣĭ fitu aĭ vĕḍut„ | eŭ aṣĭ fitu aĭ creḍut„ |
| eŭ aṣĭ fiel ar vĕḍut„ | eŭ aṣĭ fiel ar creḍut„ |
| eŭ aṣĭ finoĭ am vĕḍut„ | eŭ aṣĭ finoĭ am creḍut„ |
| eŭ aṣĭ fivoĭ aṭĭ vĕḍut„ | eŭ aṣĭ fivoĭ aṭĭ creḍut„ |
| eŭ aṣĭ fieĭ ar vĕḍut„ | eŭ aṣĭ fieĭ ar creḍut„ |
Infinitive.
| Present. | Past. |
| a vede or vedere, ‘to see.’ | a fi vĕḍut, ‘to have seen.’ |
| a crede, credere, ‘to believe.’ | a fi creḍut, ‘to have believed.’ |
It is well to note the accented syllable of the second form of the infinitive present. As we said before, this second form is used as a noun. Its intonation depends on the former infinitive, from which it is derived.
Participles.
| Present. | Past. |
| vĕḍĕnd, ‘seeing.’ | vĕḍut, ‘seen.’ |
| creḍĕnd, ‘believing.’ | creḍut, ‘believed.’ |
| a merge, | ‘to go;’ | past participle, | mers, |
| a duce, | ‘to bring;’ | past participle„ | dus, |
| a pune, | ‘to put;’ | past participle„ | pus. |
| etc. ||||
THIRD CLASS.
| a dormi, ‘to sleep;’ | a omorî, ‘to murder.’ |
Indicative Present.
| eŭ dorm, ‘I sleep.’ | eŭ omor, ‘I murder.’ |
| tu dormĭ, | tu omorĭ, |
| el dórme, | el omóră, |
| noĭ dormin, | noĭ omorîm, |
| voĭ dormiṭĭ, | voĭ omorîṭĭ, |
| eĭ dorm, or eĭ dórme, (in verse,) | eĭ omor or omóră. |
| a iubi, ‘to love;’ | a pîrî, ‘to speak ill.’ |
| eŭ iubesc, ‘I love.’ | eŭ pîrĕsc, ‘I speak ill.’ |
| tu iubeṣtĭ, | tu pîrĕṣtĭ, |
| el iubeṣte, | el pîreṣte, |
| noĭ iubim, | noĭ pîrîm, |
| voĭ iubiṭĭ, | voĭ pîrîṭĭ, |
| eĭ iubesc, | eĭ pîrĕsc. |
The same occurs in the present conjunctive and imperative.
Imperfect.
| eŭ dormiam, ‘I slept.’ | eŭ omoriam, ‘I murdered.’ |
| tu dormiaĭ, | tu omoriaĭ, |
| el dormia, | el omoria, |
| noĭ dormiam, | noĭ omoriam, |
| voĭ dormiaṭĭ, | voĭ omoriaṭĭ, |
| eĭ dormiaŭ, | eĭ omoriaŭ. |
Simple Perfect.
| eŭ dormiĭ, ‘I slept.’ | eŭ omorîĭ, ‘I murdered.’ |
| tu dormiṣĭ, | tu omorîṣĭ, |
| el dormi, | el omorî, |
| noĭ dormirăm, | noĭ omorîrăm, |
| voĭ dormirăṭĭ, | voĭ omorîrăṭĭ, |
| eĭ dormiră, | eĭ omorîră. |
Simple Pluperfect.
| eŭ dormissem, ‘I had slept.’ | eŭ omorîssem, ‘I had murdered.’ |
| tu dormisseṣĭ, | tu omorîsseṣĭ, |
| el dormisse, | el omorîsse, |
| noĭ dormissem, | noĭ omorîssem, |
| voĭ dormisseṭĭ, | voi omorîsseṭĭ, |
| eĭ dormisse, | eĭ omorîsse. |
Perfect.
| eŭ am dormit, ‘I have slept.’ | eŭ am omorît, ‘I have murdered.’ |
| tu aĭ dormit, | tu aĭ omorît, |
| el a dormit, | el a omorît, |
| noĭ am dormit, | noĭ am omorît, |
| voĭ aṭĭ dormit, | voi aṭĭ omorît, |
| eĭ aŭ dormit, | eĭ aŭ omorît. |
Pluperfect.
| eŭ am fost dormit, ‘I had slept.’ | eŭ am fost omorît, ‘I had murdered.’ |
| tu aĭ fost dormit, | tu aĭ fost omorît, |
| el a fost dormit, | el a fost omorît, ​ |
| noĭ am fost dormit, | noĭ am fost omorît, |
| voĭ aṭĭ fost dormit, | voĭ aṭĭ fost omorît, |
| eĭ aŭ fost dormit, | eĭ aŭ fost omorît. |
We repeat once more, in order to impress upon the student’s mind that we very rarely make use of this pluperfect, that we generally employ the perfect—eŭ am arat, eŭ am vĕḍut, eŭ am creḍut, etc.—to express the past time (as in English the imperfect), and that the perfect and pluperfect simple are used more in narration.
I. Future.
| eŭ voiŭ dormi, ‘I shall sleep.’ | eŭ voiŭ omorî, ‘I shall murder.’ |
| eŭ voiŭtu veĭ dormi„ | eŭ voiŭtu veĭ omorî„ |
| eŭ voiŭel va dormi„ | eŭ voiŭel va omorî„ |
| eŭ voiŭnoĭ vom dormi„ | eŭ voiŭnoĭ vom omorî„ |
| eŭ voiŭvoĭ veṭĭ dormi„ | eŭ voiŭvoĭ veṭĭ omorî„ |
| eŭ voiŭeĭ vor dormi„ | eŭ voiŭeĭ vor omorî„ |
II. Future.
| eŭ voiŭ fi dormit, ‘I shall have slept.’ | eŭ voiŭ fi omorît, ‘I shall have murdered.’ |
| eŭ voiŭtu veĭ fi dormit„ | eŭ voiŭtu veĭ fi omorît„ |
| eŭ voiŭel va fi dormit„ | eŭ voiŭel va fi omorît„ |
| eŭ voiŭnoĭ vom fi dormit„ | eŭ voiŭnoĭ vom fi omorît„ |
| eŭ voiŭvoĭ veṭĭ fi dormit„ | eŭ voiŭvoĭ veṭĭ fi omorît„ |
| eŭ voiŭeĭ vor fi dormit„ | eŭ voiŭeĭ vor fi omorît„ |
Imperative.
| dormĭ (tu), ‘sleep.’ | omóră (tu), ‘murder.’ |
| dórmă (el), | omóre (el), |
| dormiṭĭ (voĭ), | omorîṭĭ (voĭ), |
| dórmă (eĭ), | omóre (eĭ). |
Subjunctive Present.
| eŭ să dorm, ‘I may sleep.’ | eŭ să omor, ‘I may murder.’ |
| tu să dormĭ, | tu să omorĭ |
| el să dórmă, | el să omóre, |
| noĭ să dormim, | noĭ să omorîm, |
| voĭ să dormiṭĭ, | voĭ să omorĭṭĭ, |
| eĭ să dórmă, | eĭ să omóre. |
II. Subjunctive.
| eŭ să fi dormit, ‘I may have slept.’ | eŭ să fi omorît, ‘I may have murdered.’ |
| eŭtu să„ fi dormit„ | eŭtu să„ fi omorît„ |
| eŭel să„ fi dormit„ | eŭel să„ fi omorît„ |
| eŭnoĭ să„ fi dormit„ | eŭnoĭ să„ fi omorît„ |
| eŭvoĭ să„ fi dormit„ | eŭvoĭ să„ fi omorît„ |
| eŭeĭ să„ fi dormit„ | eŭeĭ să„ fi omorît„ |
I. Conditional.
| eŭ aṣĭ dormi, ‘I should sleep.’ | eŭ aṣĭ omorî, ‘I should murder.’ |
| eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ dormi„ | eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ omorî„ |
| eŭ aṣĭel ar dormi„ | eŭ aṣĭel ar omorî„ |
| eŭ aṣĭnoĭ am dormi„ | eŭ aṣĭnoĭ am omorî„ |
| eŭ aṣĭvoĭ aṭĭ dormi„ | eŭ aṣĭvoĭ aṭĭ omorî„ |
| eŭ aṣĭeĭ ar dormi„ | eŭ aṣĭeĭ ar omorî„ |
II. Conditional.
| eŭ aṣĭ fi dormit, ‘I should have slept.’ | eŭ aṣĭ fi omorît, ‘I should have murdered.’ |
| eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ fi„ dormit„ | eŭ aṣĭtu aĭ fi„ omorît„ |
| eŭ aṣĭel ar fi„ dormit„ | eŭ aṣĭel ar fi„ omorît„ |
| eŭ aṣĭnoĭ am fi„ dormit„ | eŭ aṣĭnoĭ am fi„ omorît„ |
| eŭ aṣĭvoĭ aṭĭ fi„ dormit„ | eŭ aṣĭvoĭ aṭĭ fi„ omorît„ |
| eŭ aṣĭeĭ ar fi„ dormit„ | eŭ aṣĭeĭ ar fi„ omorît„ |
Infinitive.
| Present. | Past. |
| a dormi or dormire, ‘to sleep.’ | a fi dormit, ‘to have slept.’ |
| a omorî or omorîre, ‘to murder.’ | a fi omorît, ‘to have murdered.’ |
Participle.
| Present. | Past. |
| dormind, ‘sleeping.’ | dormit, ‘slept.’ |
| omorînd, ‘murdering.’ | omorît, ‘murdered.’ |
The Accent of Verbs.
It was observed, with regard to the nouns and adjectives, that the accented syllable remains still accented whatever be the number of syllables added to them; thus, om, omuluĭ, ómenilor, etc. The only exception to it is when we affix diminutive or augmentative suffixes to a noun, in which case the accent falls upon those suffixes.
​With regard to the verbs, the intonation rests upon the suffix:—
eŭ ar,eŭ aram,eŭ araĭ, etc.
If the suffix consists of more than one syllable, the accent is upon the first syllable of the suffix:
ararăm,arassem, etc.
Exceptions are:
    (1) The verbs ending in e short, in the first and second persons plural of the indicative present and subjunctive present, and in the plural of the imperative:—
credem, credeṭĭ; să credem, să credeṭĭ; credeṭĭ (voĭ), crédă (eĭ).
    (2) The third persons singular and plural of the indicative present, subjunctive present, and imperative of all verbs:—
el ară, el vede, el dórme, etc.
The Passive Voice.
For the passive voice we use the auxiliary verb a fi, ‘to be,’ by adding to each tense of this auxiliary the past participle of the verb we require. In this case the participle, being considered more as an adjective than as a verb, will agree with its subject in gender as well as in number.
A fi iubit, ‘To be loved.’
| Indicative present, | Sunt | iubit, | iubită, | suntem, | iubitĭ, | iubite, |
| Imperfect | Eram | iubit„ | iubită„ | eramŭ | iubitĭ„ | iubite„ |
| Perfect | Am fost | iubit„ | iubită„ | eramŭ„ | iubitĭ„ | iubite„ |
| etc. |||||||
The Reflexive Form.
| With Accusative. | With Dative. |
| se mira, ‘to be astonished.’ | a ṣĭ propune, ‘to propose to oneself.’ |
Indicative Present.
| eŭ mĕ mir, ‘I am astonished.’ | eŭ ĭmĭ propun, ‘I propose to myself.’ |
| tu te mirĭ, | tu ĭtĭ propuĭ, |
| el se miră, | el îṣĭ propune, |
| noĭ ne miră, | noĭ ne propunem, |
| voĭ vĕ miraṭĭ, | voĭ vĕ propuneṭĭ, |
| eĭ se miră, | eĭ îṣĭ propun. |
Imperfect.
| eŭ mĕ miram, ‘I was astonished.’ | eŭ îmĭ propuném, ‘I proposed to myself.’ |
Simple Perfect.
| eŭ mĕ miraĭ, ‘I was astonished.’ | eŭ îmĭ propusseĭ. ‘I proposed to myself.’ |
Simple Perfect.
| eŭ mĕ mirassem, ‘I had been astonished.’ | eŭ îmĭ propussessem. ‘I had proposed to myself.’ |
Perfect.
| eŭ m’am mirat, ‘I have been astonished.’ | eŭ mi-am propus, ‘I have proposed to myself.’ |
| eŭ m’amtu te-aĭ mirat„ | eŭ mi-amtu ṭi-aĭ propus„ |
| eŭ m’amel s’a mirat„ | eŭ mi-amel ṣi-a propus„ |
| eŭ m’amnoĭ ne-am mirat„ | eŭ mi-amnoĭ ne-am propus„ |
| eŭ m’amvoĭ v’aṭĭ mirat„ | eŭ mi-amvoĭ v’aṭĭ propus„ |
| eŭ m’ameĭ s’aŭ mirat„ | eŭ mi-ameĭ ṣi-aŭ propus„ |
Pluperfect.
| eŭ m’am fost mirat. ‘I had been astonished.’ | eŭ mi-am fost propus. ‘I had proposed to myself.’ |
I. Future.
| eŭ mĕ voiŭ mira, ‘I shall be astonished.’ | eŭ îmĭ voiŭ propune. ‘I shall propose to myself.’ |
II. Future.
| eŭ mĕ voiŭ fi mirat, ‘I shall have been astonished.’ | eŭ îmĭ voiŭ fi propus. ‘I shall have proposed to myself.’ |
Imperative.
| miră-te, ‘be astonished.’ | propune-ṭĭ, ‘propose to thyself.’ |
| mire-se, | propunĕ-ṣĭ, |
| miraṭi-vĕ, | propuneṭĭ-vĕ, |
| mire-se, | propunĕ-ṣĭ. |
I. Subjunctive.
| eŭ să mĕ mir. ‘I may be astonished.’ | eŭ să-mĭ propun, ‘I may propose to myself.’ |
II. Subjunctive.
| eŭ să mĕ fi mirat, ‘I may have been astonished.’ | eŭ să-mĭ fi propus, ‘I may have proposed to myself.’ |
I. Conditional.
| eŭ m’aṣĭ mira, ‘I should be astonished.’ | eŭ mi-aṣĭ propune, ‘I should propose to myself.’ |
| eŭ m’aṣĭtu te-aĭ mira„ | eŭ mi-aṣĭtu ṭi-aĭ propune„ |
| eŭ m’aṣĭel s’ar mira„ | eŭ mi-aṣĭel ṣi-ar propune„ |
| eŭ m’aṣĭnoĭ ne-am mira„ | eŭ mi-aṣĭnoĭ ne-am propune„ |
| eŭ m’aṣĭvoĭ v’aṭĭ mira„ | eŭ mi-aṣĭvoĭ v’aṭĭ propune„ |
| eŭ m’aṣĭeĭ s’ar mira„ | eŭ mi-aṣĭeĭ ṣi-ar propune„ |
II. Conditional.
| eŭ m’aṣĭ fi mirat, ‘I should have been astonished.’ | eŭ mi-aṣĭ fi propus, ‘I should have proposed to myself.’ |
Infinitive.
| Present. | Perfect. |
| a se mira, ‘to be astonished.’ | a se fi mirat, ‘to have been astonished.’ |
| a-ṣĭ propune, ‘to propose to oneself.’ | a-ṣĭ fi propus. ‘to have proposed to oneself.’ |
Participle.
| mirănd-u-se, ‘being astonished.’ | propunĕnd-u-ṣĭ. ‘proposing to oneself.’ |
IRREGULAR VERBS.
The study of the verbs in Roumanian is the easier for the fact that there is not a long list of what are called anomalous verbs, as in German or in French. Besides the verbs a ave, a fi, the conjugation of which we have already seen, the following verbs must be noticed:
    (1) A ṣti, ‘to know,’ which though belonging to the third class (according to its final i) is inflected as one of the second class:
| eŭ ṣtiŭ, ‘I know,’ | eŭ ṣtiuĭ, ‘I knew,’ | eŭ ṣtiussem. ‘I had known.’ |
    (2) A voi, ‘to will,’ which though regularly inflected may take the following alternative form in all its tenses:
Indicative Present.
| eŭ voesc, ‘I will.’ | eŭ vreŭ, |
| tu voeṣtĭ, | tu vreĭ, |
| el voeṣte, | el vre, or vrea, |
| noĭ voim, | noĭ vrem, |
| voĭ voiṭĭ, | voĭ vreṭĭ, |
| eĭ voescŭ, | eĭ vreŭ, or vréŭ. |
Imperfect. :
| eŭ voiam, ‘I was willing.’ | eŭ vrém, |
| Simple Perfect. ||
| eŭ voiĭ, ‘I was wiling.’ | eŭ vrusseĭ. |
| Simple Pluperfect. ||
| eŭ voissem, ‘I had been willing.’ | eŭ vrussem. ​ |
| Perfect. ||
| eŭ am voit, ‘I have been willing.’ | eŭ am vrut. |
| Pluperfect. ||
| eŭ am fost voit, ‘I had been willing.’ | eŭ am fost vrut. |
| I. Future. ||
| eŭ voiŭ voi, ‘I shall be willing.’ | eŭ voiŭ vre. |
| II. Future. ||
| eŭ voiŭ fi voit, ‘I shall have been willing.’ | eŭ voiŭ fi vrut. |
| Imperative. ||
| voeṣte (tu), ‘be willing.’ vrea (tu), voéscă (el), vree (el), voiṭĭ (voĭ), vretĭ (voĭ), voéscă (eĭ), vree (eĭ). ||
| I. Subjunctive. ||
| eŭ să voesc, ‘I may be willing.’ | eŭ să vreŭ. |
| II. Subjunctive. ||
| eŭ să fi voit, ‘I may have been willing.’ | eŭ să fi vrut, |
| I. Conditional. ||
| eŭ aṣĭ voi, ‘I should be willing.’ | eŭ aṣĭ vre, |
| I. Conditional. ||
| eŭ aṣĭ fi voit, ‘I should have been willing.’ | eŭ aṣĭ fi vrut. |
Infinitive.
| Present. | Perfect. |
| a voi, ‘to be willing,’ a vre. | a fi voit, ‘to have been willing,’ a fi vrut. |
Both forms are correct, but the first is more acceptable. ​
       (3) A lua, ‘to take,’ has a regular conjugation, but in the singular, and the third person plural of the indicative present, subjunctive present, and imperative, it changes the root lu to i.
Indicative Present.
| eŭ iaŭ, ‘I take.’ | noĭ luăm, |
| tu iaĭ, | voĭ luaṭĭ. |
| el ia, | eĭ iaŭ. |
Imperative.
| ia (tu), ‘take.’ | luaṭĭ (voĭ), |
| ia (el), | ia (eĭ). |
Subjunctive Present.
| eŭ să iaŭ, ‘I may take.’ | noĭ să luăm, |
| tu să iaĭ, | voĭ să luaṭĭ, |
| el să ia, | eĭ să ia. |
    (4) Many verbs derived from those Latin verbs which reduplicate their root for the perfect do the same in Roumanian:
| a da, ‘to give;’ | eŭ dăduĭ; | participle | dat. |
| a sta, ‘to stay;’ | eŭ stătuĭ; | participle„ | stat. |
In the same way, a la, ‘to wash (the head),’ has its perfect:
eŭ lăuĭ, past participle lăut or lat.
    (5) The verbs, a zice, ‘to say;’ a face, ‘to do,’ have the second person singular of the imperative: zi, fă. ​
IMPERSONAL VERBS.
The impersonal verbs, a ploua, ‘to rain;’ a ninge, ‘to snow;’ a dure, ‘to feel pain,’ are conjugated regularly.
Adverbs (Adverbe).
(1.) Some adjectives in the masculine gender serve as adverbs:
cănta frumos, ‘he (or she) sings beautifully.’
In some of the adverbs we can trace the principle of their formation. For instance, adjectives ending in esc, change this termination to eṣte to form adverbs:
| domnesc, | ‘princely;’ | domneṣte, | ‘princely.’ |
| bărbătesc, | ‘manly;’ | bărbăteṣte, | ‘manly.’ |
| ăngeresc, | ‘angelical;’ | ăngereṣte, | ‘angelically.’ |
These adverbs, like the adjectives from which they are derived, express for the most part manner or qualification. But there are other adverbs indicating quantity, time, place, affirmation, negation, doubt, of which we give a list, as their number is limited, and they are very frequently used.
(2.) Adverbs of Quantity.
maĭ, more. încă, (encore), further, still, more. numaĭ, solely, only.
(3.) Adverbs of Place.
| unde, where. | dincolo, the other side. |
| aci, here. | dincóce, this side. |
| acolo, there. | afară, without, except, out. ​ |
| ĭnuntru, in. | nicăirĭ, nowhere. |
| d’assupra, above. | undeva, somewhere. |
| de desubt, below. | óre unde, somewhere. |
| dindărăt, behind. | aiure, elsewhere. |
| dinainte, before. | aprópre, near. |
| d’alăturĭ, near, by. | departe, far. |
| faṭă, present. | d’a drépta, on the right. |
| pretutindenĭ, everywhere. | d’a stînga, on the left. |
| orĭ unde, everywhere. |
(4.) Adverbs of Time.
| cînd, when. | une orĭ, sometimes. |
| acum, now. | orĭ cînd, whenever. |
| acuṣĭ, presently. | óre cînd, once. |
| îndată, instantly. | timpuriŭ, early. |
| azĭ, to-day. | tărziŭ, late. |
| mînĭ, to-morrow. | adesse, often. |
| erĭ (e read as ye in ‘yes’), | nicĭ o dată, never. |
| yesterday. | pe urmă, then, next to. |
| dĕunăzĭ, the other day. | curînd, shortly. |
| demult, long ago. | atuncĭ, then. |
| cîte o dată, sometimes. | după ce, after. |
(5.) Adverbs of Affirmation.
| da, yes. | sigur, certainly. |
| aṣa, so. | zeŭ, by God (abbreviated from |
| adevărat, verily, truly. | Dumnezeŭ, ‘God’). |
| fără indoială, doubtless. | iată, lo! behold. |
| negreṣit, of course. |
(6.) Negative Adverbs.
| nu, no. | nicĭ eum, not at all. | nicĭ eum, not at all. | nicĭ eum, not at all. |
| nu aṣa, not so. | ba | | no. |
| nimic, nothing. | ba nu, | | no. |
(7) Adverbs expressing a doubt.
| dór, | perhaps. | cam (à peu près), namely, |
| póte, | perhaps. | about. |
| óre, | perhaps. |
Prepositions.
These are particles the origin of which is very difficult to find out, and it will be sufficient to give a list of them:
| a, at, (à). | a, at, (à). | a, at, (à). | fără, without. |
| de a, | | from. | în, in. |
| de la, | | from. | pentru, for. |
| la, at. | la, at. | la, at. | spre, towards. |
| pe, upon. | pe, upon. | pe, upon. | pănă, till. |
| de, by. | de, by. | de, by. | după, after, according to. |
| din, from. | din, from. | din, from. | contra, against. |
These are independent particles, but there are some which are prefixed to words, modifying their meaning, or giving them more force:
des,es,e,con,pre,strĕ.
Examples:—taină, ‘mystery;’ destăinuesc, ‘divulge;’ moṣ, ‘uncle;’ strămoṣ, ‘ancestor,’ etc. ​
Conjunctions.
These particles are of different kinds. The most usual are as follows:
| ṣi, and. | ṣi, and. | ṣi, and. | căcĭ, | | because. | because. |
| iar, | | but. | pentru că, | | because. | because. |
| însă, | | but. | adecă, to wit. |
| dacă, | | if. | precum, as | precum, as | precum, as | precum, as |
| de, | | if. | ci, but. | ci, but. | ci, but. | ci, but. |
| decĭ, then, (donc). | decĭ, then, (donc). | decĭ, then, (donc). | totuṣĭ, still. | totuṣĭ, still. | totuṣĭ, still. | totuṣĭ, still. |
| că, that. | că, that. | că, that. | numaĭ, but. | numaĭ, but. | numaĭ, but. | numaĭ, but. |
| dar, but. | dar, but. | dar, but. | de vreme ce, | de vreme ce, | | since. |
| prin urmare, consequently. | prin urmare, consequently. | prin urmare, consequently. | de óre ce, | de óre ce, | | since. |
Interjections.
These are the most usual interjections:
| a! ah. | heĭ, ho. |
| vaĭ! woe! | bre, (admiration). |
| aleŭ, alas! |
SYNTAX.
We propose to show here very briefly how to combine the different parts and particles of speech, in order to make a correct Roumanian sentence.
THE NOUNS.
Nominative.
The subject of the verb is put in the nominative case, and its place is at the beginning of the sentence:
    Trandafirul este o flóre frumóssă, ‘The rose is a pretty flower;’
    Dumnezeŭ a zidit lumea, ‘God has created the world.’
Genitive.
The dependence of one noun upon another is indicated by the genitive case:
    Flórea cîmpuluĭ, ‘The flower of the field;’
    Cartea copiluluĭ, ‘The book of the child.’
We see here that when the genitive follows the subject, the particle a is omitted. But when the genitive precedes the subject, as it often does in verse, the particle a cannot be omitted. In such case the subject is without the article:
a cîmpuluĭ flóre, ‘the field’s flower;’ a copiluluĭ carte, ‘the child’s book.’
Dative.
The case, governed indirectly by the verb, follows the case governed directly:
    Am dat cartea copiluluĭ, ‘I gave the book to the child.’
We have however already seen that the genitive, when it follows a noun, loses its particle a. When in such a sentence as the above it would not at first sight be obvious whether by the expression cartea copiluluĭ was meant ‘the book of the child’ or ‘the book to the child,’ the confusion which might then arise is avoided by placing the dative next to the verb:
am dat copiluluĭ cartea.
Accusative.
When the direct object of a transitive verb is a person, it takes the accusative case preceded by the preposition pe; in all other cases the accusative without that preposition is used:
    Copilul bun stiméză pe părinṭĭ, ‘The good child honours the parents.’
    Am vĕḍut palatul Regal, ‘I have seen the Royal palace.’
When a noun in the accusative case is followed by an adjective or a possessive pronoun, it takes the article:
    Copilul bun stiméză pe părinṭiĭ sĕĭ, ‘The good child honours his parents.’
Vocative.
We have already seen that the vocative singular of masculine nouns ends in e, and that of feminine nouns in o, the plural of both being in lor.
​For the masculine singular the nouns generally preserve their article in the vocative:
Omule! ‘O man!’Dumnezeule! ‘O God!’
The article, however, is very often suppressed:
| O dómne, | ‘O Lord,’ | instead of | O domnule. |
| O împărate, | ‘O Emperor,’ | instead„ of„ | O împăratule. |
| O amice, | ‘O friend,’ | instead„ of„ | O amicule. |
etc.
But when the noun in the vocative case is connected with other words, we use, instead of the vocative, the nominative with the article—sometimes, but not always, preceded by O:
| O amicul meŭ, | ‘my friend.’ |
| O sora mea, | ‘my sister.’ |
etc.
Ablative.
The ablative case is preceded by one of the particles, în, de, la, etc.
The dependence of one noun upon another, usually expressed by a genitive, can also be indicated by an ablative with de:
| Flórea cîmpuluĭ, | ‘The flower of the field.’ |
| Flóre de cîmp, | ‘The flower of the field.’ |
This is necessary when the attribute expresses the substance or the purpose of the noun to which it refers:
| Minte de copil, | ‘Childish mind.’ |
| Palat de crystal, | ‘Crystal palace.’ |
| Picior de lemn, | ‘Wooden leg.’ |
| Carte de cetit, | ‘Book to be read.’ |
​In the case of verbs governing two objects, the ablative case with de may be used, instead of the accusative, to indicate one of those objects:
Statul l’a ales president, or Statul l’a ales de president, ‘The State elected him as President.’
ADJECTIVES.
We have already seen in studying the etymology that these can either precede or follow the nouns to which they refer, while always agreeing with them in gender and number.
PRONOUNS.
The order of the words in a sentence is generally as follows—subject, verb, object:
Am vĕḍut pe Neculaĭ, ‘I saw Nicholas.’
But when the object is a personal pronoun it precedes the verb:
| L’am vĕḍut, | ‘I have seen him.’ |
| O întreb, | ‘I ask her.’ |
| Mi-a spus, | ‘He (or she) spoke to me.’ |
If it is wished to emphasize the assertion, the pronoun in its unabbreviated form must be repeated after the verb:
| L’am vĕḍut pe el, | ‘I have seen him.’ |
| Am vĕḍut’o pe ea, | ‘I have seen her.’ |
Note.—In such a case as am veḍut ’o, the pronoun follows the verb, for the sake of euphony. ​
The Relative Pronoun—care, ce.
The relative pronoun care, ce, occurs more frequently in Roumanian than in English, where it is avoided by a simpler construction: thus—
Omul de care ṭi-am vorbit a venit iar, ‘The man I told you of has come again.’
We cannot translate ‘The man I saw,’ ‘The time I came,’ etc., without the insertion of the relative pronoun between the subject and the verb.
VERBS.
We have seen that verbs may be used without the subject being expressed by a personal pronoun, though the use of the latter is not incorrect:
| ar or eŭ ar, | ‘I plough.’ |
| cred, or eŭ cred, | ‘I believe,’ etc. |
In compound tenses the auxiliary usually precedes the verb; sometimes, however, when it is a single and not a compound auxiliary, it follows the verb:
| am arat, | arat-am. |
| aĭ arat, | arat-aĭ, etc. |
When the auxiliary aṣĭ, aĭ, ar, etc., follows the verb, we use the second form of the infinitive:
| aṣĭ ave, | avere-aṣĭ. |
| aĭ ave, | avere-aĭ. |
| ar ave, | avere-ar, etc. |
But when the auxiliary is a compound one, it must always precede the verb:
| Voiŭ | fi arat, | or | fi-voiŭ arat. |
| Veĭ | fi arat | or„ | fi-voiŭfi-veĭ arat.„ |
| Va | fi arat, | or„ | fi-voiŭfi-va arat.„ etc. |
​The auxiliary is inseparable from the verb, except when the verb is reflective and the auxiliary follows it. In this case the pronoun, governed by the reflective verb, stands between the verb and the auxiliary:
| eŭ m’am luptat, | eŭ m’am luptat, | or | luptat-u-m’am. |
| tu te-aĭ | luptat„ | or„ | te-aĭ. |
| el s’a | luptat„ | or„ | s’a |
| noĭ ne-am | luptat„ | or„ | ne-am. |
| voĭ v’aṭĭ | luptat„ | or„ | v’aṭĭ. |
| etc. ||||
Sometimes the pronoun comes between the verb and its termination; but this only rarely occurs:
duceṭi-vĕ, or duce-vĕ-ṭĭ, ‘be gone.’
The negative nu always precedes the verb:
Nu voiŭ ara,‘I shall not plough,’ etc.
The second person singular of the imperative, in the negative form, is expressed by the negative particle followed by the verb in the infinitive:
| nu ara, | ‘plough not.’ |
| nu crede, | ‘believe not.’ |
| nu tăce, | ‘be not silent.’ |
| nu dormi, | ‘sleep not.’ |
| etc. ||
When the interrogative form is used the subject comes after the verb:
Are el ce mănca?‘Has he anything to eat?’
​Only practice can teach the different cases governed by different verbs; some govern two cases:
| Mĕ vinueṣtĭ, | ‘you accuse me.’ |
| Imĭ vinueṣtĭ. | ‘you accuse me.’ |
When one verb follows another we can use either the conjunctive or the infinitive form:
| Pot să afirm că… | ‘I can affirm that…’ |
| Pot afirma că… | ‘I can affirm that…’ |
The use of Tenses.
In narrative we frequently substitute the present for the past, and the imperfect is very often used instead of the conditional.
The simple perfect and the simple pluperfect are used only in narrative.
In conversation we use the compound perfect when speaking of the past:
| E.g. | M’am preumblat, | ‘I took a walk.’ |
| | Am spus adevĕrul, | ‘I told the truth.’ |
| etc. |||
The past participle remains unchanged in all compound tenses of the active voice. In the passive voice only does it conform to the number and gender of its subject, being then of course only an adjective. ​
ADVERBS.
The place of an adverb in a sentence is immediately following the verb which it qualifies:
| Alexandru se află bine, | ‘Alexander is well.’ |
| Passerea căntă frumos, | ‘The bird sings beautifully.’ |
But when we speak with enthusiasm the adverb precedes the verb:
Frumos maĭ căntă passerea!‘How beautifully the bird sings!’
When the sentence contains negatives, as nimenĭ, ‘nobody,’ nicăirĭ, ‘nowhere,’ etc., the verb must always be preceded by the negative nu:
Nimenĭ nu e a cassă,‘Nobody is at home.’
PREPOSITIONS.
The preposition a precedes the infinitive when the latter stands alone, or as subject of a sentence:
a ara, a crede, etc. a minṭi e ruṣinos, ‘It is shameful to lie.’
It is also used before the genitive singular, and in many expressions which can only be learned by practice:
| Sunt a cassă, | ‘I am at home.’ |
| Se pregăteṣte a plóe, | ‘It is going to rain.’ |
| Presimt a nenorocire, | ‘I have a presentiment of coming sorrow.’ |
| Miróssă a trandafir, | ‘It smells like a rose.’ |
| etc. ||
​The preposition la, ‘to,’ indicates direction or place whither:
| Plec la Paris, | ‘I set out for Paris.’ |
| Merg la scólă, | ‘I go to school.’ |
It also may indicate the place where, without however necessarily implying place in:
| Sunt la bisserică, | ‘I am at church.’ |
| Sunt la grădină, | ‘I am at the park.’ |
| Poftim la massă, | ‘Please come to dinner.’ |
| etc. ||
It is also used in phrases only to be learned by practice:
| Arată bine la faṭă, | ‘He looks well in (the) face.’ |
| Cîṣtiga la parale, | ‘He gains money.’ |
| etc. ||
In has the same meaning as in English in or into:
| Vino în grădină, | ‘Come into the garden.’ |
| Sunt în grădină, | ‘I am in the garden.’ |
Pe, ‘upon,’ often precedes the object governed by it, when that object is a person:
| Slăveste pe Dumneseŭ, | ‘Praise God.’ |
| Invaṭă pe copiĭ, | ‘He teaches the children.’ |
It always precedes the object which indicates place where:
| Ṣed pe scaun, | ‘I sit upon the chair.’ |
| etc. ||
It is also used in many other expressions in which it is equivalent to different English prepositions:
| Pe romăneṣte, | ‘In Roumanian.’ |
| Pe engleseṣte, | ‘In English,’ etc. |
| Passerea pe limba eĭ pere, | ‘The bird dies (i.e. meets her death) in (through) her song.’ |
| M’am preumblat pe lună, | ‘I walked in the moonlight.’ |
| Am călătorit pe sóre, | ‘I travelled in the sunshine.’ |
​De, ‘of,’ indicates the dependence of one noun on another, more especially when we wish to indicate the substance of a thing, or its purpose or reason:
| Cias de aur, | ‘a gold watch.’ |
| Pénă de scris, | ‘pen for writing.’ |
| Móre de sete, | ‘he dies of thirst.’ |
We also use de before adverbs of number:
| De doă orĭ, | ‘twice.’ |
| De o mie de orĭ, | ‘thousand times.’ |
| etc. ||
De la, ‘from,’ differs from din, ‘from,’ in the same way as la differs from în.
CONJUNCTIONS.
Să is used in the conjunctive mood and in the imperative.
Că, ‘that,’ is used in giving explanation:
Zi-ĭ că nu-s a cassă,‘tell him I am not at home.’
This sentence could not be rendered in Roumanian without că.
Că and ca must be carefully distinguished, the latter suggests likeness or approximation:
| Ca mînĭ vom muri, | ‘We may die by to-morrow.’ |
| Aŭ fost ca la cincĭ sute de ómenĭ, | ‘There were about five hundred men.’ |
INTERJECTIONS.
The Interjections aleŭ! valeŭ! ‘alas!’ are used alone, and have no connection with the words which follow them.
Vaĭ, ‘woe,’ amar (conveying a feeling of bitterness), ferice (implying joy or happiness), sĕrac (implying pity), require the noun which follows them to be in the ablative with de:
| Vaĭ de mine, | ‘Woe to me.’ |
| Sĕrac de mine, | ‘Poor me,’ etc. |
But vaĭ and amar can also be used with a dative: vaĭ mie, amar ṭie.
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