Pronouns: Indirect Objects — Romanian Grammar

An indirect object pronoun shows to whom or for whom something is done - "to me", "to you", "to him". Romanian, like English "to me / to her", has a dedicated short set, placed before the verb.

The Forms

- to me
- to you (one person)
- to him / to her
- to us
- to you (plural / polite)
- to them

Îmi dai cartea?
Will you give me the book?
Îți spun un secret.
I'll tell you a secret.
Le scriu o scrisoare.
I'm writing them a letter.

and do double duty: as direct objects they mean "them", and here they mean "to him / to her" and "to them". The verb decides which reading you get - is "I see them", is "I give him the book".

The 'îmi place' Pattern

A very important use: Romanian says you "like" something by saying it "is pleasing to you". The thing liked is the subject, and you appear as the indirect object:

Îmi place cafeaua.
I like coffee. (literally: to me pleases the coffee)
Îți place filmul?
Do you like the film?

The same frame gives (I'm hungry, "to me is hunger") and (he/she is cold).

Stressed Forms for Emphasis

For emphasis or after a preposition, Romanian adds longer stressed pronouns - (to me), (to you), (to him), (to her), (to us), (to you pl.), (to them) - usually alongside the short form:

Mie îmi place.
I (for my part) like it.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Romanian course

53 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 34. A few of them, with the words “Pronouns: Indirect Objects” is about in bold:

Îmi place vremea rece. Îmi place zăpada și gheața.
I love cold weather. I love snow and ice.
Lesson 295

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