Adjectives: Declension — Romanian Grammar

A Romanian adjective agrees with its noun - that is, it changes its ending to match the noun's gender (masculine / feminine) and number (singular / plural). The adjective normally comes after the noun.

The Four-Form Pattern

Most adjectives have four endings. Take (good):

masculine singular: - (a good boy)
feminine singular: - (a good girl)
masculine plural: - (good boys)
feminine plural: - (good girls)

Because the neuter behaves as masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural, neuter nouns simply take the matching form: , .

Adjectives With Fewer Forms

Some adjectives do not change for gender in the singular. (big) is the same for both, and only marks the plural:

un oraș mare
a big city
o casă mare
a big house
orașe mari
big cities

Position and Emphasis

The neutral position is after the noun. Placing the adjective before the noun is possible for emphasis or in set phrases, and it often sounds more literary:

o zi frumoasă
a beautiful day
o frumoasă zi
a beautiful day (more emphatic / literary)

Agreement With the Definite Noun

When the noun carries the suffixed "the", the adjective still follows and agrees:

băiatul bun
the good boy
casa mare
the big house

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Romanian course

185 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 4. A few of them, with the words “Adjectives: Declension” is about in bold:

Mă simt foarte bine! Nu sunt bolnav. Sunt sănătos.
I feel great! I am not sick. I am healthy.
Lesson 64
Apa aceasta este rece. Apa aceea este caldă.
This water is cold. That water is hot.
Lesson 68
Bună ziua, doamnă doctor. Am o problemă.
Hello, Doctor. I have a problem.
Lesson 91

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