H5rH 
 
 ir-i i 
 
 l-v*ir| 
 
 *:*f- 
 
 ^...^., 
 
 
 .^■'■. * 
 
 
 
RSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 ^^^ 
 
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 ^^O-^^^l 
 
 OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CUIFORNU 
 
 1 
 
 W 
 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 C3 
 
 CD 
 
 CO 
 
 ^gO-^^^RI 
 
TRUBNER'S COLLECTION 
 
 OF 
 
 SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS 
 
 OF THE PRINCIPAL 
 
 ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 REINHOLD ROST, LL.D., Ph.D. 
 
 VI. 
 ROUMANIAN. 
 
 BY R. TORGEANU. 
 
^ "SE 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY GILBERT AND EIVINGTON, LIMITKD, 
 
 ST. John's square. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Alphabet and Pronunciation ''' .'^ . ' . . . 1 
 
 Phonetic Remarks ....... 2 
 
 NoTJNS : 
 
 Masculine Terminations ...... 7 
 
 The Plural of Masculine Nouns . . , . . 7 
 
 Feminine Terminations . . . . . . 8 
 
 The Plural of Feminine Nouns . . . . . 9- 
 
 Neuter Nouns . . . . ... . .10 
 
 The Accent, or Intonation . . . . . . 10 
 
 The Aeticle . 
 
 The Masculine Article 
 The Feminine Article 
 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 
 Cases of Nouns ........ 14 
 
 Adjectives : 
 
 Formation of the Feminine from the Masculine . . 16 
 
 Relation of Substantive and Adjective . . . . 17 
 
 Comparison ........ 18 
 
 Numerals . . . ' . . . . . . 18 
 
 Ordinal Numbers 20 
 
 Proportional Numbers 21 
 
 167151 
 
PAGE 
 
 vi contents. 
 
 Peonotjns : 
 
 Personal Pronouns . » . . . . .21 
 
 Singular ......... 21 
 
 Plural , .22 
 
 The Abbreviated Forms of the Genitive and Dative . 22 
 
 Singular . , , . . ^ . . 22 
 
 Plural . . . . . . ... 23 
 
 The Eeflexive Pronouns 23 
 
 Masculine . . . . . . . . . 23 
 
 Feminine ........ 24 
 
 Possessive Pronouns . . -. . . , . 24 
 
 Demonstrative Pronouns ...... 25 
 
 Interrogative and Eelative Pronouns . . . . 25 
 
 Indeterminate Pronouns . ... . . .26 
 
 Veebs : 
 
 Auxiliary Verbs . . . . . ... 26 
 
 Terminations of Verbs ...... 33 
 
 The Accent of Verbs .... ... 49 
 
 The Passive Voice .50 
 
 The Reflexive Forms . , . . . . : 51 
 
 Irregular Verbs ........ 54 
 
 Impersonal Verbs . . . . . . . 57 
 
 Advebbs ......... 57 
 
 Peepositions 59 
 
 Conjunctions and Inteejecqions . . . . 60 
 
 Syntax 61 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There is hardly a language, or even a dialect, to be found 
 unworthy of the philologist's attention. The Jloumanian 
 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 
 lloumania itself into Bulgaria, Servia, Transylvania, Hungary, 
 the Austrian province of the Bukovina, and the llussian 
 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 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 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 elucida- 
 tory details which may be considered not absolutely indis- 
 pensable 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 J 1883. 
 
ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. Vql, ,"" 
 
 I r '■ 
 
 Alphabet and Pronunciation. 
 
 Thb Roumanian Alphabet consists of the following letters : — 
 
 A, a, as a in father. 
 
 B, b, as in English. 
 
 C, c, before e and i as ch in cheese, softer than in 
 English : otherwise as k. 
 
 D, d, as in English. 
 — 'D, d, like z, 
 
 E, e, as e' in French, sometimes as ye in yet 
 
 F, f, as in English. 
 
 G, g, hard, as in gum, but before e and i like j in jok4, 
 H, h, guttural, as ch in loch, 
 I, i, as in police. 
 J, j, as in French yowr. 
 K, k, as in English. 
 L, 1, 
 M, m, 
 N, n, 
 O, o, 
 
 P. P, 
 
 R, r, a rolling r. 
 
 S, s, as in English. 
 
 """'^S, 3. as sh in s^/w. 
 
 T, t, softer than in English. 
 
 ^, t as tSj or like the German z in zett, 
 
 Vy u, as 00 in ^ooZ. 
 
 V, V, as V in English, 
 
 .>^., Am as u7 ,, a, 
 
 Y, y, as I in the English word king. 
 
 Z, z, as in English. 
 
 }> 91 
 
2 ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 a, e and o are pronounced like the Russian w, or nearly like 
 the English u in murder. The vowels in this case make no 
 difference in the pronunciation, but represent only the deriva- 
 tion of the word. Thus, in bland, which is from the Latin 
 blanduSf a is used in preference to any of the other vowels. 
 Similar reasons govern the orthography of words from Slavonic 
 and other sources. 
 
 M, when it occurs at the end of a word, is pronounced like 
 a silent w, which is called u short. 
 
 6 and e are pronounced as if followed by a : mortey pro- 
 nounced jno&rte ; petrd, pronounced pe&trd. But at the end of 
 words these diphthongs are to be written ea, oa. 
 
 I, at the end of a word, is pronounced generally as a silent 
 t, which is called i short. 
 
 t : this is generally confounded in writing with e, but has 
 a very different sound, approaching the French nasal vowel un. 
 
 e is pronounced like the French e in ferme ; 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 ersi, *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 moclifications of sound to which 
 certain letters (both vowels and consonants) are subject. It 
 
PHONETIC BEMAEKS. 
 
 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. 
 
 1. a, in an accented syllable, becomes a, so soon as that 
 syllable becomes through inflection unaccented : 
 
 eu ta.Cf ' I am silent ;' eii tacvLiy * I was silent/ 
 
 i &CVi ^^ ^^^^> ' H® is silent ;' tacere, * silence ' (noun), 
 
 h&rbay ' beard ;' bdrb&t, * man.' 
 
 etc. 
 
 2. a becomes a in the plural of many words, even though 
 the accentuation is unchanged : 
 
 csLrtSf * book ;* carfiy * books.* 
 
 psLrte, * part ;' pdrtz, 
 
 ogra.ddy * yard ;* ogradiy 
 
 s&bie, * sword ;' saftu, 
 
 etc. 
 
 e. 
 
 e is often modified into e in the singular of nouns and in 
 the conjugation of verbs : 
 
 per, * hair ;* peri, 
 
 reu, * bad ;' ret. 
 
 mer, * apple ;* mere, 
 
 a vede, * to see ;' eu ved, * I see. * 
 
 eu veduiy ' I saw;* ved^nl^ * seeing.* 
 
 etc. 
 
4 ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 Note. — There is one case in which e changes into t, viz. in 
 the verb a ^eni, * to come,' where e becomes t whenever the 
 accent is upon it : 
 
 eu v'ln, * I come ;' el vine, * he comes ;' vinaf ' come.* 
 
 1. 
 
 I becomes t long in the singulars of some nouns, and in the 
 root syllable of certain persons of the verbs : 
 
 moimimty ' gi"ave ;' mormmte, ' graves.* 
 
 sfinty * saint ;' sf'mtt, * saints.* 
 
 ciivmt, ' word ;' cuvinte, * words.* 
 
 tiner, * youth ;' tinertj * youths.* 
 
 CM vind, * I sell :* tu v'mdi, el vinde, etc. 
 
 0. 
 
 Sometimes o is changed into u when the syllable in which 
 it stands becomes unaccented : 
 
 joe J 'play;* jucar\e, 'toy.* 
 
 eu port, ' I wear ;* eu purta,m, * I wore.' 
 
 eii rog, * I pray ;' eu 7^ugB.m, * I prayed.* 
 
 rugaciune, ' prayer.* 
 
 ew sboTy * I fly.* ew sburam, * I flew.* 
 
 etc. 
 
 More important than any of the foregoing modifications of 
 sounds are those of e and o into the diphthongs e (ea), d (oa), 
 in which the stress falls on the a. 
 
 e. 
 
 e changes into e (ea) generally when it is accented in a 
 
PHONETIC REMAEKS. 5 
 
 word, and when an affix containing the vowel a or a has to be 
 
 added : 
 
 acestf ' this ;' acesta (fem.), acesta. 
 
 dreptj * upright ;' drepta „ dreptUf etc. 
 
 With some of the words which have had the e modified into 
 e the sound of e has subsequently disappeared ; thus — 
 
 fetd, plur. fete (girls), is pronounced and written Jkta. 
 messd, . „ messe (tables), „ „ * ma.ssd, 
 
 vetrd, „ vetre (hearths), „ „ vatrd, 
 
 vera, „ vere (cousins), „ „ vara. 
 
 etc. 
 
 It is only by the plural that we discover that the a of the 
 singular is a modification of e. 
 
 0. 
 
 changes into o (oa) when we affix to the word, in which it 
 
 occurs accented, a syllable containing one of the vowels a, 
 a or e : 
 
 eu port, ' I wear / el porta, * he wears.' 
 
 porte {el), * let him wear ' (imperat). 
 
 frumos, ' handsome,* frumossd, frumossa. 
 ,^\/^ etc. 
 
 Note. — This modification is not made in imported words, 
 or in neologisms : 
 
 onest, ' honest ;' onestd. 
 
 chineSf chinesa, 
 
 engles, ' englesd, 
 
 eu onor, * I honour f el onord, ' he honours.' 
 
 It is impossible, however, to attempt to alter those cases in 
 
6 ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 which the passage from e to e and from o to 6 are time 
 honoured. - 
 
 d, t, s. 
 
 D, s, and t, at the end of words to which an t has been 
 affixed, change respectively into c?, s, t : 
 
 eu cred, * I believe ;' tu credi, 
 
 brad, * fir-tree ;* hra.dt. 
 
 ew cos, * I sew ;* tu cost 
 
 eu socot, * I think ;* tu socoti, etc. 
 
 If the word ends in st, the s alone undergoes modification : 
 
 acQst, * this ;* acesti, * these.* 
 • onest, ' honest ;* onest'i {plural). 
 
 With verbs this change occurs sometimes before u, e, i : 
 
 eii ved, * I see ;* eii vedm, * I saw.* 
 vedend, * seeing ;* etc. 
 
 Euphony occasionally requires that certain letters should be 
 (1) omitted from, (2) interpolated in, or (3) affixed to a word : 
 
 (1) c&le, * road ;* csli {plural for caZe). 
 vHqI, * calf ;* vitQi (jplur. f, viteli). 
 
 eii vin, * I come ;' tu v\i, * thou comest ;' for tu v'lnu 
 tu saz, ' thou leapest ;' for tu s&rt, etc. 
 
 (2) om-u-lut, * to the man ;* for omluu 
 veni-u-ar^ * should he come ;' for veni'ar. 
 
 etc 
 
 (3) imi vine reu, * I feel ill ;* for mi vine rew. 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 Kouns (Nume). 
 
 MiLSCULiNE Teeminations. 
 
 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 : 
 
 Ronidin^ 
 
 * Roumanian.* 
 
 EnglQSj 
 
 'Englishman.' 
 
 Grec, 
 
 * Greek.' 
 
 nepof, 
 
 ' nephew.' 
 
 profissoTj 
 
 * teacher.* 
 
 tmpdrsLfy 
 
 * emperor.' 
 
 turij 
 
 * 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 ;' peste, * fish ;' frsife, * brother.' 
 w or M : socru, * father-in-law ;' DumnezeUf * God.' 
 i short : usturoi, ' onion ;' ciocoi, * parvenu.* 
 a short : tsitd, * father ;' popdf ' priest.' 
 
 The Plural of Masculine JVouns. 
 
 The plurals of all masculine nouns without exception end in 
 I short. This z is added to the singular when the singular 
 ends in a consonant. When it ends in a vowel, that vowel is 
 
8 
 
 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 changed into t. When the singular ends in t, no change is 
 made : 
 
 pom, 
 
 ' fruit tree ;* 
 
 pomif 
 
 * fruit trees.' 
 
 talhsLr, < 
 
 • * thief;' 
 
 talhsirij 
 
 * thieves.' 
 
 i7npara.tf 
 
 * emperor ;' 
 
 tmparsifi, 
 
 * emperors.' 
 
 reye, 
 
 *king;' 
 
 rep, 
 
 * kings.' 
 
 peste. 
 
 ' fish ;' 
 
 pestif 
 
 'fishes.' 
 
 fr2ktey 
 
 * brother ;* 
 
 frsiti. 
 
 * brothers.* 
 
 socru, 
 
 * father-in-law ;* 
 
 socri, 
 
 ' fathers-in-law.' 
 
 Dumnezeu, 
 
 ' God ;' 
 
 Dumnezeif 
 
 ' Gods.' 
 
 tdLtUf 
 
 'father:' 
 
 tsitiy 
 
 * fathers.' 
 
 popa, 
 
 'priest;' 
 
 popl 
 
 * priests.* 
 
 ciocoi, 
 
 ' parvenu ;' 
 
 ciocot, 
 
 * parvenus.' 
 
 ^ote I. — If cslI, 'horse,' has for plural csa, this is done for th« 
 sake of euphony. 
 
 N^ofe II. — Om, * man,' has its plural omen) (homines) ; nume, 
 'noun,' nnment ; but nume also is more generally used for 
 the plural. 
 
 Feminine Teeminations. 
 
 As masculine nouns generally end with a consonant, so 
 feminine nouns generally end with the vowel a : 
 
 JRommay 
 
 * Roumanian' (/. 
 
 Enghsa, 
 
 'Englishwoman.' 
 
 Greedy 
 
 ' Greek woman.' 
 
 nepota, 
 
 * niece.' 
 
 professora. 
 
 'teacher' (/). 
 
 impdratesscif 
 
 ' empress.* 
 
 csLSsdy 
 
 ' house.* 
 
 miressd. 
 
 ' bride.' 
 
FEMII^TNE TEEMINATIONS. 9 
 
 There are feminine nouns also which end with the vowels : 
 
 e short : car^<3, * book ;' psbUe, * bread ;* cur^e, ' cowrt.' 
 a long : hasma, * handkerchief ;* para, * farthing.* 
 e long : ste, * star ;' hehy * grievance.* 
 
 The I^lural of Feminine I^ouns. 
 
 1^ There are several ways in which the feminine plural is formed. 
 Nouns ending in a make their plural by changing a into e : 
 
 wama, ' mother ;* mamCf * mothers.' 
 
 domna, * lady ;* domne, * ladies.' 
 
 copila, *girl;' copile, * girls.' 
 
 reg'ina, * queen ;' regmCy * queens.' 
 
 Those ending in e short, take t in the plural t 
 
 csLTte, 'book;' car/e, * books.' 
 
 pa,ney * bread;' pmtj 'breads.* 
 
 cnrfey 'court;' curtt, 'courts.' 
 
 Those ending in a long, add the particle le to the singular : 
 
 lasmsLf 'handkerchief;' hasmsLUf 'handkerchiefs.' 
 parsij 'farthing;' parale, ' money or farthings.' 
 
 Those ending in e long (pronounced ea, e in the singular), and 
 zi (the only word ending in i long), add also le for the plural : 
 
 sfe, ' star ;' stele, ' stars.' 
 
 cate, 'bitch;' catele, 'bitches.' 
 
 nue, 'rod;' nuele, 'rods.' 
 
 2?i, *day;' zile, 'days.' 
 
 I^ote. — If ^aca, 'cow,' has for plural vsicz ; sora, 'sister,* 
 *on; caZe, 'way,' caz, this is done for the sake of euphony. 
 
10 eotjmanian geammae. 
 
 Neftee 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 uri : 
 
 pal2d;y * palace;' palsite, 'palaces.' 
 
 ^od, ' bridge ;' jpoduri^ ' bridges.' 
 
 JbloSf * advantage ;' folosse, * advantages.' 
 
 Many nouns belong to this class, and thej 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, m, ?, and a. All masculine nouns end in i in 
 the plural. 
 
 Feminine nouns end for the most part in a, which in the 
 plural is changed to e, A few end in e short, which in the 
 plural becomes i. Those nouns which end in a long, e long, and 
 t 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 uru 
 
 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 
 
THE AETICLE. 11 
 
 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. 
 
 I^ote. — The only exception is when we affix diminutives or 
 augmentatives to the nouns, in which case the accent lalls upon 
 those particles : ^ 
 
 Itoma.nf * Roumanian.' 
 
 Mom^nului, * to the Roumanian.' 
 
 JRomknilor, * to the Roumanians.' 
 
 rationament, * reasoning.' 
 
 ration amentelor. * of the reasonings.' 
 
 C'dpdt, 'extremity.' 
 
 capetelor, * of the extremity.' 
 
 capdtuluij *to the extremities.' 
 
 The Article. 
 
 The word answering to the English article ' the ' varies 
 according as it is used for the singular or the plural, for 
 masculine or feminine nouns, and even for masculine nouns of 
 different terminations ; one form being used for a noun ending 
 with a consonant, another for that whose final letter is a vowel, 
 the differences between vowel and vowel even necessitating a 
 different form of the article. 
 
/ 
 
 12 EOrMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 The Masculine Aeticle. 
 
 The masculine nouns ending with a consonant take the 
 article I preceded by u ; thus : , 
 
 om. 
 
 * man ;' 
 
 om-u-l, 
 
 * the man.' 
 
 calf 
 
 * horse ;' 
 
 CSilU'lf 
 
 *the horse.' 
 
 tUTlf 
 
 * cannon ;' 
 
 tun-u4, 
 
 'the cannon.' 
 
 talhsLr, 
 
 'thief;' 
 
 talh&r-u-l, 
 
 * the thief.' 
 
 por, 
 
 * hair ;' 
 
 jper-u-l. 
 
 * the hair.' 
 
 It is easy to see that in these words the vowel u is inter- 
 polated for the sake of euphony ; for it is disagreeable to the 
 ear of a lloumanian to pronounce owZ, ^uwZ, foci, perl^ tdlhsLrl, 
 as in the English words ' people,' * little,' 'nimble.' 
 
 When a mascuhne noun ends with u there is no occasion 
 to insert another u, and so the definite noun will be — 
 
 socrUf * father-in-law ; socru-l, ' the father-in-law.' 
 
 leUy * lion ;' Zew-Z, * the lion.' 
 
 The masculine nouns ending with e take the article le : 
 
 re^e, * king ;' rege-le, * the king.' 
 
 fr&tey * brother ;' frdite-le, * the brother.' 
 
 muntCf 'mountain;' munte-le, ' the mountain.' 
 
 Those ending in i follow the rule of those ending with a 
 consonant : 
 
 usturotf * onion ;' usturoi-u-lf 'the onion.' 
 
 ciocoij * parvenu ;' ciocoi-u-l, * the parvenu.' 
 
 Those ending in a change the a in a, following the analogy of 
 feminine nouns ; 
 
 t2ita, ' father ;' tdda, * the father.* 
 
 popa, 'priest;' popa, 'the priest.' 
 
THE FEMININE AETICLE. 
 
 13 
 
 We have seen that in the plural all masculine nouns end 
 in t. The plural bearing the article will be shown by adding a 
 second ?, whereby the former i becomes long i : 
 
 JRoma^mf * Roumanians ;' Moma,nii, 
 
 pomtf * fruit-trees ;' 
 
 regt, * kings ;' 
 
 socj'ty * father-in-law ;' 
 
 dumnezez, ' gods ;' 
 
 po^ij * priests ;' 
 
 ciocoi, * parvenus ;' 
 
 cat, * horses ;' 
 
 pomiif 
 
 II, 
 
 reg 
 
 socriij 
 
 dumnezeity 
 
 ciocorij 
 csiii. 
 
 * the Roumanians.* 
 ' the fruit trees.' 
 
 * the kings.* 
 'fathers-in-law.* 
 Hhe gods.* 
 
 * the priests.' 
 
 * the parvenus.' 
 
 * the horses.' 
 
 lil'ote. — Coj)\l, * boy,* has the plural copu, by the omission of I ; 
 the articled noun will be of course copiii ; thus, fm^ ' son,' 
 yii, * sons,' f\iiy * the sons.* 
 
 The Feminine Aeticlb. 
 
 The article is expressed in the feminine by an aflSxed a, but 
 how this is done depends upon the final letter of the noun 
 itself. 
 
 A noun ending in a will change a into a : 
 
 Momdindj ' Roumanian ;' Romknay * the Rouman.* 
 
 nepCtUy * niece ;' nepota, * the niece.' 
 
 projessord, * teacher;' professora, * the teacher.* 
 
 cassa. 
 
 * house ;* 
 
 mires sd, * bride ;* 
 
 csLSsa, 
 miressa. 
 
 * the house.* 
 
 * the bride.* 
 
 Those ending in e do not change this €, but add the letter a 
 to it ; thus — 
 
 csLvtey ' book ;' ca,rtea, * the book.* 
 
 p^nCf * bread ;* ^awea, * the bread.* 
 
 cnrte, ' court j* ciirtea, * the court.' 
 
14 KOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 Those whicli end with a, e or i long, add the particle a to 
 the final vowel, inserting u for the sake of euphony: 
 
 hasm^ij * handkerchief ;* hasmsL-u-a, ' the handkerchief.' 
 
 ste, * star ;' steua, * the star.' 
 
 helQf ' grievance ;' heleua, * the grievance.' 
 
 zi, * day ;' z\ua, * the day.' 
 
 Feminine nouns, as we have seen, form their plurals in 
 several ways — nouns which end in a changing the a into e in 
 the plural, those ending in e changing the e into z, 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 
 oi le: 
 
 cassCy * houses ;' cassele, * the houses.' 
 
 car/?, * books ;' cs^rtile, * the books.' 
 
 basmsile, * handkerchiefs ;' hasniddele, * the handkerchiefs.* 
 stQle, * stars j' stelele, ' the stars.' 
 
 Cases op Nouns. 
 Roumanian grammarians usually arrange the cases as follows: 
 
 Dative. 
 
 Nominative. 
 
 Vocative. 
 
 Genitive. 
 
 Accusative. 
 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 j to the feminine o for the singular, and 
 lor for the plural : 
 
 om, * man ;' omule, 6meniIor. 
 copUa, * girl ;' copilo, cop'ilelor. 
 
CASES OP NOIJNS. 15 
 
 The genitives of masculine nouns are formed by the addition 
 of the particle liii in the singular and lor in the plural, placing 
 a before the nouns : — 
 
 a omuhii, * of the man ;' a omenilor, * of the men.* 
 a leulut, * of the lion ;' a leilor, ' of the lions.* 
 
 For feminine nouns we change the final vowel into et in the 
 singular, and add lor to the plural : 
 
 a copUeiy * of the girl ;* a copilelor, * of the girls.* 
 a Reg'mei, ' of the Queen ;' a Reg'melor, * of the Queens.* 
 
 The dative, singular and plural, are formed in the same way, 
 but without the addition of a : 
 
 ormdui, * to the man ;* omenilor , * to the men.* 
 
 leuhii, * to the lion ;* leilor , * to the lions.* 
 
 copilety * to the girl ;* copilelor, ' to the girls.* 
 
 Eeg'mety ' to the Queen ;* Heg'melor, ' 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 6meni or pe omenit, 
 
 pe regind or pe reg'ma, jpe reg'ine or pe regmele. 
 
 The ablative is expressed by the nominative, preceded by one 
 of the following prepositions : in, la, din, de la, etc. 
 
 Note. — The masculine nouns ending with a 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 Zu2 Gheorghe, ' of George.* 
 l\xi Gheorghe, * to George.' 
 
16 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 Feminine proper nouns follow the same rule as feminine 
 common nouns. 
 
 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 a ; as — 
 
 JuTi, * good ;' h\xna. 
 
 nsiltf * high ; ' nddta. 
 
 frumoSj * beautiful ;' frumossa, 
 etc. 
 
 Those ending with w or w change that vowel into a : 
 
 negrUy ' black ;' negrd. 
 
 ' SiSjpru, * rough ;' Sisprd. 
 
 now, * new ;' nod. 
 
 ehreUf ' Hebrew ;' ebred. 
 
 A. few of those ending in u preceded by e, change that u into 
 a long in the feminine : 
 
 greUy ' heavy ;* grea,. 
 rew, * bad ;' rea. 
 
ADJECTIVES. 17 
 
 Those ending with u preceded by i change that u into e : 
 
 viii, * living ;' vie. 
 
 visinm, * cherry-coloured ;* visiniey etc. 
 
 Those ending in e remain unchanged in the feminine. 
 
 Relation of Substantive and Adjective. 
 
 In general use the adjectives follow the nouns : 
 
 ziua buna, *(the) good day.' 
 sera bund, * (the) good evening.' 
 nopte bund, * 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 ;* omem bum, * good men.' 
 
 a omulut bun, * of the good a omenilor bunt, * of the good 
 
 man ;' - men.' 
 
 omulut bun, ' to the good omenilor bum, * to the good 
 
 man.' men.' 
 
 etc. 
 
 The only exception is in the case of feminine adjectives, whose 
 
 [form in the genitive and dative singular depart a little from 
 
 Ithat of the nominative : ^ 
 
 cassd bund, * good house ;' csisse bune. 
 
 a C2issei bune, a c&sselor bune. 
 
 esisset bune, csisselor bune. 
 
 When the noun takes the article, the adjective can be 
 preceded by the demonstrative eel (feminine cea), Hhis,' *that.' 
 This takes all the modifications of gender, number and case, 
 but should be omitted in translation into English : 
 
 omul eel bun, c&ssa cea bund. 
 
 a omului celui bun, a csissei celet bune, etc. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 E0UMA2?^IAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 But the adjective may stand also before the noun. When it 
 does so the rules are inverted ; it is then the adjective that 
 takes all the modifications, whereas the noun remains un- 
 changed, save in the feminine genitive and dative singular, and 
 in the plural : 
 
 hunul orrij 
 ^ hxmulwt om, 
 hnnului om, 
 
 hnna csissa, 
 
 a hvLTiet csLSSCy 
 
 hnnet csLSse^ 
 
 etc. 
 
 hnnn omeni. 
 a hunilor omenu 
 hunilor omenu 
 
 hunele cetsse. 
 a hxmelor ca^se, 
 bunelor csutse. 
 
 etc. 
 
 Note. — The use of the determinative eel 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 maX (magis) for the comparative, and eel maX for 
 the superlative : 
 
 omul dun, 
 
 ma.1 hun, 
 
 eel mdX bun. 
 
 NUMEEALS. 
 
 The following is a list of the names of numerals : — 
 
 1. un (masc), una or o (fern.) 5. e'mct. 
 
 2. dot „ dod (fem.) 6. sesse. 
 
 3. tret. 7. septe. 
 
 4. patru. 8, opt 
 

 
 NUMERALS. ly 
 
 9. 
 
 noua. 
 
 
 37. tret zict si septe. 
 
 10. 
 
 zece. 
 
 
 38. „ „ opt. 
 
 11. 
 
 un-spre-zece (one after 
 
 39. „ „ none. 
 
 
 teu). 
 
 
 40. p2Ltru zect 
 
 12. 
 
 doi-spre-zece. 
 
 50. cinct „ 
 
 13. 
 
 tret „ 
 
 
 60. sesse „ 
 
 14. 
 
 psLtru „ 
 
 
 70. septe „ 
 
 15. 
 
 c'mci „ 
 
 
 80. 0/?^ „ 
 
 16. 
 
 sesse „ 
 
 
 90. noue „ 
 
 17. 
 
 septe „ 
 
 
 100. sutd (sometimes uwa. 
 
 18. 
 
 opt „ 
 
 
 5u^a). 
 
 19. 
 
 noua „ 
 
 
 101. sntd un. 
 
 20. 
 
 dod ZQci. 
 
 
 102. „ dot 
 
 21. 
 
 dod zeci 
 
 si un (twenty 
 
 103. „ ^re*. 
 
 
 and one). 
 
 104. „ psitru. 
 
 22. 
 
 dod zeci si dot. 
 
 105. „ cinct 
 
 23. 
 
 }) a 
 
 tret 
 
 110. „ xrece. 
 
 24. 
 
 »> >j 
 
 psitru. 
 
 115. „ cinct-spre-zece. 
 
 25. 
 
 a » 
 
 cinct. 
 
 200. dodsnte. 
 
 26. 
 
 »» » 
 
 sesse, 
 
 • 
 
 300. tret „ 
 
 27. 
 
 » » 
 
 septe. 
 
 400. p?Ltru„ 
 
 28. 
 
 » » 
 
 opt. 
 
 500. ciwcz „ 
 
 29. 
 
 J> » 
 
 notie. 
 
 600. 5ess<? „ 
 
 30. 
 
 ^rez ireci. 
 
 
 700. septe „ 
 
 31. 
 
 trei zect si un. 
 
 800. oj3^ „ 
 
 32. 
 
 }> j> 
 
 dot. 
 
 900. noua „ 
 
 33. 
 
 >» >j 
 
 tret. 
 
 1000. mic (sometimes uwa 
 
 34. 
 
 » j> 
 
 psLtru. 
 
 mic). 
 
 35 
 
 » » 
 
 cinct 
 
 2000. dod mil. 
 
 36. 
 
 » >i 
 
 sesse. 
 
 • 
 
 1,000,000. un milion, etc. 
 
 (1.) The numerals 1 and 2 have the masculine and 
 
20 
 
 EOUMANIAN GBAMMAB. 
 
 the feminine form ; so also has 8 (tret), but rarely trele. 
 U?i, \xnay is declinable, and serves as the indefinite article : 
 
 Te-% cdut&t un domn, * A gentleman called on jou.* 
 
 Vnn omem, * Some people (men).' 
 
 (2.) The following numerals have a second, abbreviated, form. 
 
 11 unsprece 
 
 12 doisprece. 
 
 13 ineisprece, 
 
 14 psiisprece. 
 
 15 cinsprece, 
 
 16 seisprece. 
 
 17 soptsprece, 
 
 18 optsprece. 
 
 19 nouasprece. 
 50 c'mzeci, 
 
 60 soizeci. 
 
 (3.) Fractions are expressed by the affix \me : 
 
 tre'ime^ * third ;' patAme, * quarter ;' etc. 
 
 Ordinal Numbers. 
 
 The Ordinal Number for uw is intsii. 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 intsu or al \inule, 
 
 2 al doilCf 
 
 3 al treile, 
 
 4 al psLtrule, 
 
 5 al c'mcilej 
 
 12 «? dotsprezecile, 
 
 20 «Z doazecile, 
 
 21 oZ doazeci si unule, 
 
 a nna. 
 
 a doa. 
 
 a treia, 
 
 a pair a. 
 
 a c'mcea. 
 
 a doasprezecea. 
 
 a dodzecea. 
 
 a doazeci si una. 
 
 etc. 
 
 \ 
 
PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 
 
 21 
 
 Proportional Numhers. 
 
 For these numbers two forms are used, one of Latin origin : 
 1. simplUf 2. duplUf 3. triplu, etc. 
 
 Tlie other is formed by affixing it to the cardinal number and 
 prefixing to it the particle in : 
 
 1 s'lmplu, 
 
 2 indo'itf tndoitd. 
 
 3 intreit, intre\ta. 
 
 4j tmpdtrit, tmpdti-lta. 
 100 tnsut'itf msutltd, 
 1000 inmiit, imniitd. 
 
 etc. 
 
 Prononiis (Pronume). 
 
 Personal Pronouns. 
 
 The personal pronouns are : 
 Ew, * I j' tu, * thou ;' el (masc), ea, (fern.), ' he,' * she.' 
 
 Note. — Em, eZ, ea, are pronounced as if written yew, yel, yea 
 
 They are declined as follows : — 
 
 Singular. 
 Norn. Em, 'I;' tu, *thou;' el, ea, 'he,' * she* 
 Dat. wie, Home;' ?ie, * to thee;' lut, ei, 'to him,' 'to her.' 
 Ace. jpe mine, * me ;' pe tine, * thee ;' pe el, pe ea, * him,' ' her.' 
 
22 
 
 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 Flural. 
 
 Nom. ^o*, 'we;* t'o^, *you;' ei, ele^ *they.' 
 
 Dat. «owa, 'tous;' tJowa, * to you ;* Zor, * them.* ' 
 Ace. pe noif pe t>oi, pe ei, pe ele. 
 
 The genitive is replaced by the possessive pronouns. 
 
 For the Vocative and Ablative cases we use different inter- 
 jections or prepositions, followed by the Dative or Accusative. 
 (See Syntax.) 
 
 For the third person, instead of eZ, ca, the pronouns, dinsul, 
 dmsa, are often used. 
 
 The Alhreviated Forms oftlie Genitive and Dative. 
 
 We have an abbreviated form of the personal pronouns the 
 right use of which is very diflBcult for foreigners to acquire. 
 
 Singular, 
 
 
 
 DATIYE. 
 
 Instead of 
 
 m\e : 
 
 instead of tie : 
 
 mij 
 
 
 fi. 
 
 -miy 
 
 
 -P, 
 
 mt-y 
 
 
 ?»-. 
 
 \mt 
 
 
 m. 
 
 • 
 
 ACCrSATIVE. 
 
 Instead of mine : 
 
 instead of tine 
 
 me. 
 
 
 te. 
 
 instead of Zu* or et 
 
 -K, 
 
 AW 
 
 U. 
 
 instead of el, ca 
 
 '1,0, 
 l\0, 
 
 il, 0. 
 
EEFLEXIVE PBONOTJNS. 
 
 23 
 
 Instead of noue : 
 ne or nL 
 
 Instead oipe noi : 
 ne. 
 
 Plural, 
 
 DATIVE. 
 
 instead of voue ; 
 ve or vi. 
 
 instead of lor 
 le or Zi. 
 
 ACCTJSATITE. 
 
 instead of ^e vot: instead o^ pe et or ele : 
 
 ve. 
 
 t-i or Ze, 
 
 \i. 
 
 Both forms of the personal pronouns are often used in one 
 and the same sentence : 
 
 Imi trobue mie, 
 
 ' I want.' 
 
 Mie-rrii trobue, 
 
 » 
 
 Imi spnne, 
 
 * He tells me.' 
 
 Imi spune m\e, 
 
 » 
 
 Mie-mi spwne, 
 
 <> 
 
 Te rog d2i-mi-l miCf 
 
 * I beseech th( 
 
 Te rog dsL-mi-l, 
 
 99 
 
 Da, mi-o, 
 
 * Give it me\h 
 
 Dsi-mi-o mie, 
 
 >> 
 
 99 
 
 The Keflexiye Pronouns. 
 
 These are formed by adding to the personal pronouns the 
 word insu, insa, * self,' followed by the abbreviated dative of 
 the corresponding person : 
 
 Masculine. 
 
 Ei^ insu-mt, ' I myself.' 
 
 not msi-ne 
 
 • 
 
 tu insu-ti, 
 
 voz insi-ve 
 
 el insu-stf 
 
 ei insi-st. 
 
24 
 
 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAB. 
 
 Femi 
 
 nine. 
 
 
 "EiU msa-nUf 
 
 
 noi insi-ne, 
 
 • 7 
 
 tu msa-tt, 
 
 
 vdi msi've, 
 
 esi insa-si, 
 
 
 ele insi-le. 
 
 • 
 
 Note. — For the third person, instead of the abbreviated form 
 of l\ii or et, we use another personal pronoun in the form 
 st for s'le. This personal pronoun is made use of in genitive, 
 dative, and accusative only : 
 
 Gen. al seuj * his ;' dat. s'le^ * to him ;* ace. pe siney * him.* 
 
 Possessive Peonotjns. 
 
 The possessive pronouns are as follows : — 
 
 meu, * mine.' 
 
 nostru, 
 
 * our.' 
 
 teu, ' thine.' 
 
 vostru, 
 
 * your.' 
 
 sen or Zu*, e*, *his.' 
 
 lor or set, 
 
 ' their.' 
 
 They are treated as adjectives, agreeing in gender and number 
 with the object of which they indicate the possession : 
 
 calul meu, * my horse ;' caw met, ' my horses.' 
 C2issa mea, * my house ;' csissele mele, * my houses.' 
 
 When they precede the noun (which they can do only in 
 nominative and accusative), the article aZ for masculine, and a 
 for feminine, and a?, aZe for plural, are placed before them : 
 
 al meu ca,ne, * my dog ;' ai mei cmt. 
 
 a mea, cslssu, * my house ;' a or ale mele csisse. 
 
PRONOUNS. 25 
 
 Dumneatsi, Dumneavostra. 
 
 In conversation it is usual, instead of using the direct personal 
 pronoun ^u, * thou,* voi, ' you,' to use the compound words 
 dumneata, dumneavostrd, derived from domn\a ta, * thy lordship,* 
 domnia vostra, ' your lordship.' 
 
 These words have thus become a sort of personal pronoun. 
 Dumneavostrd is also used for the singular as well as for the 
 plural : 
 
 Ce f'Aceti Dumneavostra dovmule, * How are you, sir ? ' 
 
 Demonsteatiye Peonouns. 
 
 There are two demonstrative pronouns : 
 
 acest, acesta, * this ' (for objects which are near). 
 acely aceRy '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 demon- 
 stratives : 
 
 dl, aia 
 
 Sisty 2ista ") 
 
 . . ^ ^ lor acest, 
 
 tsf, tastttj ^ 
 
 . for acel. 
 eel, ceea 
 
 Inteeeogative and IIelative Peonouns. 
 
 We put them under the same head because they are identical 
 in form : 
 
 care, ' which ;' ce, * what ;' cine, ' who.' 
 
 Care alone is declinable. Cine has only genitive and dative, 
 a cm, cm. 
 
26 EOXTMAIflAN GEAMMAB. 
 
 IlO)ETEBMn7ATE PeONOUKS. 
 
 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 orj, ven, f\e : 
 
 or% cine, ori CB^re, ori ce, \ 
 
 vert cine, vert care, veri ce, L whoever, whatever. 
 fie cine, fie care, fie ce, j 
 
 Or, by affixing the particle va to them : 
 
 cineva, careva, * some one ;' ceva, * something/ 
 
 To these we add : 
 
 unf vre nn, * some one ;* nict xxn, * no one ;' 
 nimeni or nime, * nobody ;' 
 niste, * 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 inflec- 
 tions let us look at the three verbs — a ave, ' to have ;* afi, * 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 {JPresentul Indioativului) , 
 eu am, * I have.* 
 
 iu ai, 
 el are, 
 
 noi avem, 
 vot avett, 
 ei ail. 
 
VERBS. 
 
 27 
 
 When used as an auxiliary, an abbreviated form is given to 
 the third person singular, and to the first and second persons 
 plural. Thus — 
 
 eu am aro-t, ' I have ploughed.' 
 
 tu ai arat, 
 
 el or ea a ara,t (not a.re arsit). 
 
 not am ars^t (not avem ar^i). 
 vol at I arat (not avett arsLi). 
 et 2LU arsit. 
 
 Imperfect {Trnperfoct), 
 
 eu avem, * I had ' (^f avals), 
 tu avet, 
 el avea. 
 
 not avem, 
 vot avetij 
 
 ei aveu. 
 
 Simple Perfect (Perjectul S'lmplu). 
 
 eu avnif ' I had * (feus), 
 tu avusZy 
 el avu, 
 
 not avnram, 
 vol avurdti. 
 
 et avura. 
 
 Simple Pluperfect (Plusquam Perfectul Simplu), 
 
 eu avussem, '1 had had.' 
 tu avussest, 
 el avusse. 
 
 not avussem, 
 vol avussett, 
 et avusse. 
 
 Perfect (Perfect). 
 
 eu am avnt, ' I have had.' 
 tu at avutf 
 el a avuty 
 
 not am avnt, 
 voi ati avut, 
 et au avnt. 
 
 Pluperfect (Plusquam Perfect), 
 
 eu amfost avuty * I had had.' 
 tu aifost avuty 
 el afost avuty 
 
 noi amfost avut, 
 vot attfost avuty 
 ei au fast avut. 
 
28 
 
 ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 I. Future {Yiitorul inta.i). 
 
 eii voiu ave, ' I shall have.' 
 tu vei ave^ 
 el va ave, 
 
 not vom avCy 
 vol veil ave, 
 ei vor ave. 
 
 II. Future ( Viitorul al doilea/. 
 
 ew vom^i a viU, ' I shall have had. ' 
 tu vet Ji avnt, 
 el va ji avut, 
 
 not vom ji avut^ 
 vol veil ji avutf 
 ei vor Ji avut, -■ 
 
 Imperative (Imperativ). 
 
 Sitbi (tu)f ' Have.' 
 aibe (el) J 
 
 aveti (vol), 
 &ibe (ei). 
 
 Subjunctive Present (Conjunctivul Present). 
 
 eu sa am, * I may have.' 
 tu sa 2ii, 
 el sa aibd, 
 
 not sa avem. 
 
 vol sa avettf 
 et sa mbd. 
 
 Subjunctive Past (Conjunctivul Trecxxt), 
 
 eu saji avutj 'I may have had.' 
 tu saji avut, 
 el saji avut, 
 
 not saji avut, 
 vot saji avut, 
 et saji avut. 
 
 A subjunctive form of the future is frequently used instead 
 of the indicative future : 
 
 sa am, * I shall have.' 
 sa at, 
 sa B.ibd, 
 
 sa avem, 
 sd aveti, 
 sd Siibd. 
 
VERBS. 
 
 20 
 
 Conditional Present (^Conditional JPresent). 
 
 eu &si ave, ' I should have.' 
 tu 2U avBf 
 el ar avQ, 
 
 noi am ave, 
 vol ati ave, 
 et ar ave. 
 
 Conditional Fast (^Conditiondkl 7'recu.t). 
 
 eu asi fi av\xtj *I should have 
 tu 2^.1 fi avMty [had.* 
 
 el ar fi avut. 
 
 not amfi avuty 
 vol atifi avnty 
 ei arfi avut. 
 
 Infinitive (^Infinitiv^. 
 
 Present. 
 a ave, * to have/ 
 
 Past ( Trecut). 
 afi avvLty * to have had.' 
 
 Participle (Particip). 
 
 Present, 
 avend, * having.' 
 
 Past (Trecut), 
 avut, *had.' 
 
 Afi, 'to be.' 
 Indicative Present, 
 
 eu sunt, * I am.' 
 tu esti, 
 el este or e. 
 
 Imperfect, 
 
 eu era,m, * I was ' (f^tais), 
 tu eraty 
 el era, 
 
 not suntem, 
 vo* sunteti, 
 et sunt. 
 
 noi eram, 
 vol erati, 
 ei erau. 
 
30 
 
 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAB. 
 
 Simple Perfect, 
 
 eufnif ' I was ' (j'efus), 
 tu f\isif 
 
 noi fnram, 
 
 voifwrdti, 
 
 Qijxxra. 
 
 Simple Pluperfect, 
 
 eufassem or fussessentj *I had 
 tufvLSsesi or ftissessestf [been.' 
 elfusse or fussesse J 
 
 not fussessem, 
 vol fussQsseti, 
 62 fussesse. 
 
 Ferject 
 
 ou amfosty * I have been.* 
 
 tu 2dfOSty 
 
 el afostj 
 
 not amfosty 
 vol atifost, 
 ei Siufost. 
 
 Pluperfect, 
 
 eu amfostfostf ' I had been.' 
 
 tu Sit 
 
 el a 
 
 it 
 n 
 
 not amfostfost, 
 vot atX 
 ei au 
 
 
 I. Future, 
 
 eH voiufly ' I shall be.' 
 tu veifl, 
 el vafi, 
 
 not vomfi, 
 vo\ veil ft, 
 et vor a. 
 
 IL Future, 
 
 eil voiii ft fostj * I shall have 
 tu vet „ [been.' 
 
 el va 
 
 ti 
 
 not vomftfost^ 
 vol veil 
 Gi vor 
 
 ft 
 
 }) 
 
VERBS. 
 
 31 
 
 Iniperative, 
 
 fit {tu), ' Be.' 
 fie {el), 
 
 f\t% {VQl\ 
 
 fie (e*). 
 
 Subjunctive Present, 
 
 eil sdfiU, (If) * I were.* 
 tu sdfity 
 el sdfie, 
 
 noi safim, 
 1)01 sajitt, 
 et saj le. 
 
 Subjunctive Past, 
 
 Gu sd Jifostj *I may have been.* 
 
 noi sdjifost, 
 
 ^ „ „ 
 
 vol „ „ 
 
 ^^ » »> 
 
 ®* >i » 
 
 Subjunctive Future, 
 
 eu sdfiuf * Should I be.* 
 tu sdfii, 
 el sdfie, 
 
 not sdfim, 
 vo* sdfitt, 
 e* sdfie. 
 
 Conditional Present. 
 
 Qu Sistji, * I should be.* 
 tu 2^fi, 
 el arfi, 
 
 noi amflf 
 
 VOt 2ittfly 
 
 Qt ar fi. 
 
 Conditional Past, 
 
 eil Sist fi fost, 
 
 * I should have 
 
 not am ft fost, 
 
 tu at ,, 
 
 [been.* 
 
 VOt 3L{t „ 
 
 el ar „ 
 
 
 ei ar „ 
 
32 
 
 ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 Present, 
 a fi, 'To be/ 
 
 Present, 
 fimd^ * Being.' 
 
 Past. 
 
 a fi fost, * To have been.' 
 
 Participle. 
 
 Past. 
 
 fost, * Been.' 
 
 The same forms of the auxiliary verbs are used in the forma- 
 tion of the compound tenses, both of transitive and intransitive 
 verbs. These forms are : — 
 
 1. Abbreviations of the indicative present of the verb * to 
 have,' for the perfect indicative : 
 
 eu am ardd, * I have ploughed.' 
 tu 2ii ar&tf 
 el a aratf 
 
 not am ar&ty 
 vot ati ara<, 
 et Siu ar&t. 
 
 2. The same abbreviations with the past participle of the 
 verb *to be,' for the pluperfect indicative : 
 
 eu am fost araf, * I had 
 
 ploughed.' 
 tu a* fost arsktf 
 el a 
 
 if 
 
 not am fost amt, 
 vot ait 
 ei a 
 
 91 
 
 it 
 
 3. The present indicative of the verb a voi, * to will,' for the 
 first future : 
 eu voiu am, *I shall plough.' 
 tu vei ara, 
 el va ar&f 
 
 not vom ara, 
 vot veti ara, 
 et vor ara,. 
 
VERBS. 
 
 33 
 
 4. The same present indicative, with the infinitive present of 
 the verb * to be,' for the second future : 
 
 eu voiujl arat, * I shall have 
 
 noi vom fi arsitf 
 
 ploughed.' 
 
 
 tu vei „ 
 
 voi vet I „ 
 
 el va „ 
 
 ei vor „ 
 
 5. As the subjunctive is formed by placing before the verb 
 the particle sd and the auxiliaries asz, at, ar, am, af«, ar before 
 the conditional, the perfects of those moods will be formed if 
 we put after sd or asi the infinitive of * to be :' 
 
 Conditional Perfect, 
 
 eu asifi arat, * 
 
 I should have 
 ploughed.' 
 
 not amfi arat, 
 
 tu ai „ 
 
 
 vot att ,, 
 
 el ar „ 
 
 
 et ar „ 
 
 
 Subjunctii 
 
 ;e Perfect. 
 
 eu sa fi arat, 
 
 *1 may have 
 ploughed.' 
 
 not sd fi arat, 
 
 tu „ 
 
 
 vot „ 
 
 el „ 
 
 
 et „ 
 
 A nd only in the passive form is the verb * to be * used exclu- 
 [sively 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 ter- 
 minations for the infinitive present, which can be reduced to 
 three. 
 
34 
 
 ROUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 Verbs ending in a long : 
 
 a ara,, 
 
 to till/ 
 
 a mancsij * to eat.' 
 
 a tZa, * to give.* 
 
 a Zwa, * to take ;' etc. 
 
 Verbs ending in e long, sometimes pronounced as the diph- 
 thong ea : 
 
 a ave. 
 
 to have.* 
 
 a sede, * to sit' 
 
 Verbs ending in e short 
 
 a credSf * to believe.* 
 a merge J * to go.* 
 
 a vede, * to see.* 
 
 a tdce, * to be silent ;* etc 
 
 a perde, * to lose.' 
 
 a alegCj * to choose, elect ;* etc. 
 
 The verbs ending in e long and in e short, as nearly similar 
 in their inflections, may be classed together. 
 
 Verbs ending in i long : 
 
 a vol. 
 
 to wilh* 
 
 a cinst'i, * to honour.* 
 
 a lubif * to love.* 
 
 a opr'i, * to stop, to hinder ;' etc. 
 
 Verbs ending in i long (accentuated) : 
 
 a omoA, * to murder.' 
 a coborif * to descend.' 
 
 a ocarif * to defame.* 
 etc. 
 
 These two kinds may be classed together. 
 
 If we show the inflection of each of these three classes, and 
 accompany them by such remarks as may be profitable, the 
 student will form a complete idea of the Koumanian Verb. 
 
^^' 
 
 OF THr. 
 
 IVERSITY 
 
 o,- 
 
 i/FORH 
 
 VERBS. 
 
 35 
 
 FIRST CLASS. 
 
 A ara, * to plough.' 
 
 Indicative Present, 
 
 eu ar, 
 tu 2bri, 
 el SLvdf 
 
 * I plough.' 
 
 not aram, 
 vot arati, 
 ei ara. 
 
 It is to be remarked that the third person singular of this 
 class of verbs always ends in a : — el da, ' he gives ;' el manca, 
 * he eats ;' el spsila, * he washes ;' etc. The third person plural 
 can end with a or without it ; thus — ei ara or ei ar, ' they 
 till ;' et sfdla or ez sp^ly * they wash ;' and when without a, we 
 prefer to add an u (mute) to distinguish this plural from the 
 first person singular, when they occur unaccompanied by pro- 
 nouns : 
 
 ar^ * I plough ;' arw, * they plough.' 
 
 s/?aZ, * I wash ;' spddu, * 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 onorsL, * to honour.' 
 
 not onorhn, 
 
 eu onorez, 
 tu onorQzi, 
 el onorQzdf 
 
 vol onoratt, 
 01 onoreza. 
 
 So, too, a respects, a stima, etc. These may take both forms, 
 
 rbut there are others which can take only the form in eZy as 
 
 a visssi^ ' to dream,' a lucr^y ' to work,' etc. This occurs also 
 
 {in the present subjunctive and imperative. It can be learnt 
 
 only by practice. 
 
36 
 
 EOTJMANIAN QEAMMAE. 
 
 Imperfect. 
 
 eu ararrif * I ploughed ' {je 
 
 lahourais). 
 tu avM, 
 
 el ara, 
 
 not arsim. 
 
 vcn ar&ti, 
 
 ei ai^ii or ara (in poetry). 
 
 Simple Perfect, 
 
 eu arai, * I ploughed ' (je not ar&ram 
 
 labourai), 
 tu arast, 
 
 el ara, 
 
 vo* ara/rdti, 
 oi ara.ra* 
 
 Simple Pluperfect. 
 
 eu arasbem, * I had ploughed.' 
 tu arassesi, 
 el wasse, 
 
 not arassem, 
 vot arassett, 
 et ai^a^se. 
 
 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. 
 
 eu am arat, * I have ploughed/ 
 tu a^ arat, 
 el a arat, 
 
 noi am arat, 
 vot a.ti arat, 
 ei au arat. 
 
 This perfect is used as frequently as the English imperfect, 
 for expressing the time past. 
 
 Pluperfect, 
 
 eu am fost 
 
 arat, * I had 
 
 
 ploughed.' 
 
 tu at ,. 
 
 >» 
 
 el a „ 
 
 » 
 
 not am fost ardkt. 
 
 vol att 
 el au 
 
 
VERBS. 
 
 87 
 
 Very little use is made of tlie pluperfect, or of the imper- 
 fect, unless in narration, 
 
 I. Future. 
 
 not vom ara, 
 vot veil arsL, 
 et vor ara. 
 
 ew voiu ara^ * I shall plough.' 
 tu vei ara, 
 el va ara. 
 
 It may be remarked that voiu^ the auxiliary for the future, 
 
 is written with u to distinguish it from the personal pronoun 
 
 vol, * you.' 
 
 II. Future, 
 
 eu voiufi aratj ' I shall have 
 
 
 noi vomfi arat, 
 
 ploughed,' 
 
 
 
 tu vei „ 
 
 
 voi veil „ 
 
 el va „ 
 
 
 Qi vor „ 
 
 Imperative, 
 
 
 am (tu), * plough.' 
 are (el), 
 
 arati {voi), 
 
 are (oi). 
 
 Subjunctive Present. 
 
 eii sa ar, * I may plough.' 
 
 
 noi sd aram, 
 
 tu sd art, 
 
 
 voz sd arafi, 
 
 el sd are. 
 
 
 01 sd 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 
 
 \n e. 
 
 Subjunctive Past. 
 
 oil sdfi arat, * I may have 
 
 not sdfi arat. 
 
 ploughed.' 
 
 
 tu 
 
 vo* „ . 
 
 el 
 
 01 
 
38 
 
 EOTTMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 Some use this subjunctive as follows : 
 
 eii sdfm ar&tj 
 
 
 not sdfim crra^, 
 
 tu safiz ara>t, 
 
 
 vot sd fUi ara,t, 
 
 el sdfie arat, 
 
 , 
 
 et sd f'le arsit. 
 
 it the former is more correct. 
 
 
 I. Conditional. 
 
 
 eii Sbsi ara, * I should 
 
 
 nm am ara. 
 
 plough.* 
 
 
 
 tu sii ara, 
 
 
 vcn a,tt ara,, ■ 
 
 el ar ara., 
 
 
 ei ar ara. 
 
 II. Conditional, 
 
 . \ 
 
 eu Sisi fi ai^t, * I should 
 
 
 noi amfi ar&t, 
 
 have ploughed.' 
 
 
 
 tu nt „ 
 
 
 vot &tt „ 
 
 el ar „ 
 
 
 e* ar „ 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 
 Present. 
 
 
 Past. 
 
 a ar& or arsire, * to plough.* 
 
 afi arsit, *to have ploughed.' 
 
 Participle, 
 
 
 Present. 
 
 
 Past. 
 
 ardindf * ploughing.' 
 
 arsLi 
 
 t, * 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. 
 
VERBS. 39 
 
 SECOND CLASS. 
 a vede, *to see.' a crede, *to believe.* 
 
 Indicative Present. 
 
 €u ved, 'I see.' eu cred, * I believe.' 
 
 tu vedt, tu crQdX, 
 
 el vede, el crede. 
 
 7101 vedentf ^ not credent, 
 
 vot vedett, voi credett, 
 
 e^ ved or vede. et cred or crede. 
 
 We see here that the third person singular of the verbs of 
 the second class ends in e, whereas in the case of the first class 
 it ends in a. The third person plural is vede, crede, ending thus 
 with e ; but this plural is often without it, in which case, to 
 distinguish this third person plural from the first singular, we 
 add an u: 
 
 ved, * I see ;' redu, * they see.' 
 
 credj ' I believe ;' credit, * they believe.* 
 
 etc. 
 
 With regard to the accent, we remark that in this tense and 
 also in the subjunctive present, the verbs ending in e long have 
 the accent on their final em, eft, of the first and second persons 
 plural, whereas those ending in e short have the accent on the 
 previous syllable : 
 
 vedevcx, * we see ;* vedett, ' you see ;' 
 
 credem, * we believe ;* credeti, * you believe ;' 
 
 this being the only difference in their conjugation. 
 
40 
 
 ROUMANIAN GBAMMAB. 
 
 Imperfect. 
 
 eu vedem, * I saw.' 
 
 tu vedeiy 
 
 el vedea.f 
 
 noi ved&n, 
 
 vol vedetiy 
 
 ei vedeit. 
 
 eil credem, ^ I believed.* 
 
 tu credetf 
 
 el crede&f 
 
 noi credem, 
 
 vot credettj 
 
 et credeu. 
 
 We know that e with the accent is equivalent to the diph- 
 thong ea, but as e for ea. cannot be written at the end of a 
 word, we have — 
 
 el credea (not credo). el vedesi (not vede). 
 
 Simple Perfect, 
 
 eu vedm, ^je vis.^ 
 tu vedwsi. 
 el veda, 
 not vedardm, 
 voi vedurdtt, 
 61 vedurd. 
 
 eil credm, 
 tu credusi^ 
 el creda, 
 noi credardm, 
 voi credxxrdti, 
 ei credard. 
 
 There are many verbs ending in e short which instead of ui take 
 et for the simple perfect, and change the last consonant to s ; so 
 a merge, * to go,' has not its simple perfect eit mergui, but — 
 
 eil merseif * I went.' 
 
 Thus 
 
 tu mersesi, 
 el merse, 
 
 a scrie, 
 a duce, 
 
 * to write ;' 
 
 * to bring ;* 
 
 noi merseram, 
 voi merserdti, 
 6? merserd. 
 
 perfect, eil scrtsset. 
 
 » 
 
 eU dussei. 
 
VEEBS. 41 
 
 a purcede, * to start ;' perfect, eu purcessez. 
 
 a alege, * to choose ;* „ qu alesset. 
 
 a culege, * to gather ;' „ eit culessei, 
 
 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. 
 
 eu vedussem^ * I had seen.* eu credxussem, ' I had believed.' 
 
 tu vedvissest, tu credussesi, 
 
 el vednsse. el credusse, 
 
 noi vednssem, not credussem, 
 
 • • 
 
 01 vedussetz, voi credxxsseti. 
 
 ei vednsse, ei credusse, 
 
 a scrie will have, of course, eit scrissessem, 
 a dxxce „ „ eu dussessem. 
 
 etc. 
 
 Perfect, 
 
 eu am vedwt, * I have seen.' eu am credxxt^ * I have believed.' 
 
 tu at vedut, tu a* crednt, 
 
 el a vedwt. el a credut. 
 
 wo* am vednty • not am credut, 
 
 vot all vedut. voi ait credut, 
 
 ei au vedut, ei au credut. 
 
42 
 
 EOTJMANIAN GRAMMAR, 
 
 Pluperfect, 
 
 eu am/ost vedut, ' I had seen.' eu amfost credxit, *I had believed.' 
 
 tu 2d, ,f „ tu ae 
 
 el a, „ ,, el a 
 
 noi am „ „ not am 
 
 vol B,tl 
 e? 2i,u 
 
 »» >> 
 >» »> 
 »» j» 
 
 » >» 
 
 v6t att 
 
 As we remarked before, this tense is very rarely made use of. 
 
 
 I. Future. 
 
 
 * I shall see/ 
 
 * I shall believe.' 
 
 eu voiu vedey 
 
 eu voiu 
 
 crede, 
 
 tu vet „ 
 
 tu vei 
 
 ii 
 
 el va „ 
 
 el va 
 
 a 
 
 not vom „ 
 
 noi vom 
 
 >» 
 
 «o* veti „ 
 
 vot veft 
 
 >j 
 
 et vor „ 
 
 ez vor 
 
 » 
 
 II. Future, 
 
 * I shall have seen.' * I shall have believed.* 
 eu voiuji vednt, eu voiuji cred\xt, 
 
 tu vet „ 
 
 tu vet 
 
 
 el va „ 
 
 el va 
 
 
 not vom „ 
 
 not vom 
 
 
 voi veil „ 
 
 vol vett 
 
 
 ei vor „ 
 
 et vor 
 
 
 Imperative, 
 vedt (fu)j * see.' crede (tu)^ * believe.' 
 
 vedd (el), creda (el), 
 
 vedett (voi)y , credeti (voit), 
 
 vedd {et). credd {et). 
 
TEEBS. 43 
 
 I, Subjunctive, 
 
 eu sd ved, ' I may see.' eu sa cred, *I may believe.' 
 
 tu sd vedzj tu sd credtj 
 
 el sd veddf el sd credd, 
 
 noi sd vedem, not sd credem, 
 
 vot sd vedetif voi sd credeti, 
 
 e* sd vedd. ei sd crede. 
 
 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 a for the conjunctive ; whereas for those of the first 
 class, and for those ending in i long, the rule is inverted. 
 
 II. Subjunctive. 
 
 eu sd fi vednt, * I may have eu sdji credwt, * I may have 
 
 
 seen.' 
 
 believed.' 
 
 tu sd „ 
 
 tu sd 
 
 )) 
 
 el sd „ 
 
 el sd 
 
 » 
 
 not sd „ 
 
 not sd 
 
 » 
 
 voi sd „ 
 
 vol sd 
 
 >j 
 
 ei sd „ 
 
 u _ v/ _ 
 
 ei sa 
 I. Conditional. 
 
 » 
 
 eu 2iSi vede, 
 
 ' I should see.' eu asz crede, * I should believe/ 
 
 tu at „ 
 
 tu 2il 
 
 i> 
 
 el ar „ 
 
 el ar 
 
 »> 
 
 not am „ 
 
 not am 
 
 ft 
 
 t?o* att „ 
 
 vot att 
 
 11 
 
 e* ar „ 
 
 et ar 
 
 fi 
 
44 
 
 EOTJMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 II. Conditional, 
 eit 2^1 fi ved\it, * I should have eio asijl cred\ity ' I should have 
 
 seen. 
 
 believed.' 
 
 tU SLl 
 
 
 » 
 
 el ar 
 
 
 »> 
 
 not am 
 
 fi 
 
 vedMtf 
 
 vot ati 
 
 
 j> 
 
 ez ar 
 
 
 >» 
 
 tU 2il I, 
 
 el ar ,, 
 
 not am fi credxxty 
 voi a,ti „ 
 
 ez ar 
 
 » 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 Present, 
 a vede or vedere, *■ to see.' 
 a crede, credere, * to believe.' 
 
 Past. 
 
 a fi vednty ' to have seen.' 
 a fi crednt * 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, 
 vedendf * seeing.' 
 credendy * believing.' 
 
 Past, 
 
 vednt, * seen.' 
 crednty * believed.' 
 
 As we remarked before, the past participle of some verbs be- 
 longing to this class will not end in ut, but will consist of the 
 root with the final consonant changed to s : 
 
 a mergey * to go ;' past participle, merSy 
 a diicCy * to bring;' „ duSy 
 
 a pxmCy * to put ;' „ jpus. 
 
 etc. 
 
 The simple perfect is made by adding ei to the past 
 participle. 
 
TEBBS. 45 
 
 THIKD CLASS. 
 a dorm\, * to sleep ;' a omori, * to murder.* 
 
 Indicative Present, 
 
 eit dorm, * I sleep.' etc omor, * I murder.' 
 
 tu dormtj tu omort, 
 
 el dorme, ' el omora, 
 
 noi dorm\m, not omorim, 
 
 vol dormittf vot omoriti, 
 
 Qi dorme^ (in verse,) j 
 
 Many verbs have a prolonged form in esc for the three per- 
 sons singular and the third plural : 
 
 a iuhiy * to love •/ a piri, ' to speak ill.* 
 
 e* dormj or . „ 
 
 et omor or omora. 
 
 / \j 
 
 eil iubesc, * I love."* 
 
 euptre^c, 'I speak ill.' 
 
 tu iuhesttf 
 
 tu ptresttf 
 
 el iubestCy 
 
 el plreste, 
 
 not iubm, 
 
 not pirim, 
 
 vol iuhitt, 
 
 z;o* piritif 
 
 ei iubesc y 
 
 etptresc. 
 
 The same occurs in the present conjunctive and imperative. 
 
 Imperfect, 
 
 eu dormisim, ' I slept.' eU omoriam, * I murdered.' 
 
 tu dormisit, tu omorisiZf 
 
 el dormisLy el omorisbf 
 
 not dormisim, noi omorisLnif 
 
 vol dormiditi, vo* omoriati. 
 
 ei dormia,u ei omoriSLU, 
 
46 
 
 EOrMANIAN GEAMMAR. 
 
 » Simple JPerfect. 
 
 f eu dormn, ' I slept.' eil omorit, * I murdered.' 
 
 tu dorrmsi, 
 el dormiy 
 noi dormvrdm, 
 voi dormirdtif 
 ei dormirdj 
 
 tu omoAsiy 
 el omor% 
 not omorirdm, 
 vol omorirdtt, 
 
 ei omorird. 
 
 Simple Pluperfect, 
 eu dormissem, * I had slept.' eu omorissemf * I had mur- 
 
 dered.' 
 
 tu dormissesiy 
 el dormisse, 
 not dormissem, 
 vot dorm'issettf 
 et dormisse, 
 
 tu omorissest, 
 el omorisse, 
 not omorissem, 
 voi omorissett, 
 ei omorisse. 
 
 Perfect. 
 
 eu am dorm\t, * I have slept.' eu am omorit, *I have mur- 
 dered.' 
 
 tu a* dormit, 
 el a dormit, 
 not am dormit, 
 vot att dormit, 
 et 2kU dormit f 
 
 tu 2it omorit, 
 el a omorit, 
 not am omorit, 
 voi ati omorit, 
 et 2iU omorit. 
 
 Pluperfect. 
 
 eu amfost dormit, * I had slept.' eu am fost omont, * I had 
 
 murdered,' 
 tu at fost dormit, tu 2a fost omorit, 
 
 el a fost dormit, el a fost omorit. 
 
YERBS. 
 
 47 
 
 not amfost dormit^ not amfost omorit, 
 
 voi atijbst dormit, vot att fost omorit, 
 
 Qt 2iufost dormit, Qi 2Mfost omorXt. 
 
 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 — qu am ar2it, eit am vednt, eu am 
 credut, etc. — to express the past time (as in English the im- 
 perfect), and that the perfect and pluperfect simple are used 
 
 more in narration. 
 
 I. Future, 
 
 eu voiu 
 
 dormiy 
 
 'I 
 
 shall 
 
 eu voiu omori, 
 
 * I shall mur- 
 
 tu vet 
 
 i> 
 
 sleep.' 
 
 tu vet 
 
 ?> 
 
 der.' 
 
 el va 
 
 » 
 
 
 
 el va 
 
 ?> 
 
 
 not vom 
 
 j> 
 
 
 
 not vom 
 
 j> 
 
 
 vot veft 
 
 >> 
 
 
 
 vot vett 
 
 If 
 
 
 et vor 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 et vor 
 
 >5 
 
 
 II. Future, 
 eu voiu fi dormit, * I shall eu voiu fi omorit, ' I shall 
 
 have 
 
 slept.' 
 
 
 have murdered. 
 
 tu vet „ 
 
 
 tu vet 
 
 » 
 
 el va „ 
 
 
 el va 
 
 w 
 
 not vom „ 
 
 
 not vom 
 
 )> 
 
 vot vett „ 
 
 
 vot vett 
 
 • 
 
 >> 
 
 et vor „ 
 
 
 et vor 
 
 >> 
 
 
 Imperative. 
 
 
 dormt (tu), * sleep.' 
 
 
 omord {tu), 
 
 * murder.' 
 
 dormd (el), 
 
 
 omdre (el), 
 
 
 dorm'iti {vot). 
 
 
 omoritt {vot). 
 
 dormd {et), 
 
 
 omore {ei). 
 
 
48 
 
 EOTJMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 Here, as well as in the indicative present and subjunctive 
 present, the verbs ending in ^ differ a little from those ending 
 in i in the second person singular, and in the third persons 
 singular and plural. 
 
 Subjunctive Present, 
 
 eu sa dorm, * I may sleep.* 
 
 tu sa dormi, 
 
 el sa dormd, 
 
 not sd dormim, 
 
 vot sd dormitif 
 
 et sd dormd J 
 
 eu sd omor, * I may murder.' 
 
 tu sd omorty 
 
 el sd omore, 
 
 not sd omorim, 
 
 t?ot sd omoritt, 
 
 et sd omore. 
 
 II. Subjunctive. 
 
 eU sdfi dormit, * I may have eU sdji omorit, * Imay have 
 
 slept.' murdered.' 
 
 t/Uf ff 
 
 » 
 
 el „ 
 
 }) 
 
 not „ 
 
 n 
 
 vot „ 
 
 » 
 
 er „ 
 
 99 
 
 tu 
 el 
 
 not 
 
 vol 
 
 et 
 
 »» 
 
 if 
 
 >) 
 
 » 
 
 It 
 
 
 tu sa 
 
 
 el ar 
 
 
 not am 
 
 
 vot 24t 
 
 
 ei ar 
 
 
 I. Conditional. 
 
 
 
 i sleep.' 
 
 eu 2ist 
 
 omorif 
 
 *I should 
 murder.* 
 
 
 tu ai 
 
 )i 
 
 
 
 el ar 
 
 j» 
 
 
 
 not am 
 
 j> 
 
 
 
 vot Sift 
 
 » 
 
 
 
 et ar 
 
 )} 
 
 
VERBS. 
 
 49 
 
 II. Conditional, 
 
 eu asi fi dormit, * I should have eu 2iSi fi omorit^ ' I should have 
 
 slept.' murdered.' 
 
 tu 2a fi dor^mt, 
 el ar „ „ 
 noi am „ „ 
 
 vol 2itl „ ,, 
 
 oi ar 
 
 » 
 
 5J 
 
 tu 2li fi omorit, 
 el ar „ „ 
 not am „ „ 
 
 t/'O* 2itl ,, „ 
 e« ar 
 
 )> 
 
 )} 
 
 Present. 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 Fast. 
 
 a dormi or dormire, ' to sleep.' 
 a omori or omorire, ' to murder.' 
 
 afidormitf 'to have slept.' 
 
 a fi omorit, 'to have murdered.' 
 
 JParticiple. 
 
 Present. 
 
 dormmd, * sleeping.' 
 omorind, 'murdering.' 
 
 Past. 
 
 dormit, ' slept.' 
 omorit, * murdered.' 
 
 The Accent of Veebs. 
 
 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, omulm, 
 omenilor, 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. 
 
 E 
 
50 EOUMANIAN GBAMMAB. 
 
 With regard to the verbs, the intonation rests upon the 
 
 suffix:- — 
 
 eu Sir, eu ara.m, eu arsii, etc. 
 
 If the suffix consists of more than one syllable, the accent is 
 upon the first syllable of the suffix : 
 
 arsirdm, arsLSsem, 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, credeti ; sa credem, sd credett ; cmdeti (voz), credd (ei). 
 
 (2) The third persons singular and plural of the indicative 
 present, subjunctive present, and imperative of all verbs : — 
 
 el ardj el vede, el dorme, etc. 
 
 The Passive Voice. 
 
 For the passive voice we use the auxiliary verb a Ji, * to be,' 
 by adding to each tense of this auxiliary the past participle of 
 the verb we require. In this case the particij)le, being consi- 
 dered more as an adjective than as a verb, will agree with its 
 subject in gender as well as in number. 
 
 AJl iuhit, * To be loved.' 
 
 Indicative present. Sunt iubit, iubitd, suntem iubitt, iuhite, 
 Imperfect . . . JEram ,, „ eramil „ „ . 
 
 Perfect. . . . Am fost ., „ /v ^ ^^ ^^ 
 
 etc. I ^/ 
 
YERBS. 51 
 
 The Meflexive Form, 
 
 This form belongs to verbs the subject and object of which 
 are identical. The pronoun indicating the object is placed 
 before the verb in the dative or accusative case, as the verb 
 maj require, and in its abbreviated form : — 
 
 With Accusative. With Dative, 
 
 se mirsL, * to be astonished.' | a si propune, * to propose to 
 
 oneself.' 
 
 Indicative Present. 
 
 eu me mir, 'I am astonished.' qu imi propnn^ ' I propose to 
 
 tu te miri, tu \ti propm, [myself 
 
 el se mirdj el \st propune, 
 
 noi ne mirsim, noi ne propnnem, 
 
 vol ve mirati, vot ve propunetij 
 
 et se mir a, ei isi propun. 
 
 Imperfect. 
 
 eu me miram, eU imi propuneW', 
 
 * I was astonished.' ' I proposed to myself.' 
 
 Simple Perfect. 
 
 eH me mirsiz, eu \mi propusset, 
 
 * I was astonished.' ' I proposed to myself.' 
 
 Simple Pluperfect. 
 
 w A...U 
 
 eu me mir-dssem, eu \mi propussessem. 
 
 ' I had been astonished.' * I had proposed to myself.' 
 
 B 2 
 
52 EOUMANIAN GRAMMAR. 
 
 Perfect. 
 eii m^am mirsit, * I have been eu mi-am propuSj * I have pro- 
 
 astonished.' 
 
 posed to myself.' 
 
 tu te-at mirsity 
 
 iu ti-ai propnSj 
 
 el s'a „ 
 
 el si-a. „ 
 
 noi ne-sim „ 
 
 not ne-a>m „ 
 
 vot v'Sitl „ 
 
 «J0* V^Sitt ,f 
 
 ei s'aii „ 
 
 e^ si-siu „ 
 
 Pluperfect. 
 
 eu TrCamfost mirsit Qu mi-am fost propus. 
 
 * I had been astonished.* * I had proposed to myself.' 
 
 I. Future. 
 
 w A... « 
 
 eu me voiu mira, eu imt voiu propnne. 
 
 ' I shall "be astonished.' * I shall propose to myself.* 
 
 II. Future. 
 
 eu me voiuji mirat, eu imt voiuji prop\xs. 
 
 ' I shall have been astonished.* * I shall have proposed to myself.' 
 
 Imperative. 
 
 mira-tCf ' be astonished.' propwne-ti, * propose to thyself.* 
 
 mire-sef prop\ine-si^ 
 
 mir&ti-ve, propu7ieti-ve, 
 
 mire-se, prop\ine-st. 
 
 I. Subjunctive. 
 
 w « U 
 
 eu 8a me mir, eu sa.-mi prcpxuij 
 
 * I may be astonished.' ' I may propose to myself 
 
VERBS. 53 
 
 II. Subjunctive. 
 
 eu sa mefi mirsit, eu sd-mtjl propuSj 
 
 ' I may have been astonished.' ' I may have proposed to myself.' 
 
 I. 
 
 Conditional. 
 
 eil m'sLSi w^^>a, ' I should be 
 
 m mi-asi propnne, ' I should 
 
 astonished.' 
 
 
 propose to myself.' 
 
 tu te-2ii mira. 
 
 
 tu ti-SLi propune 
 
 el s'ar „ 
 
 
 el si-Sir „ 
 
 noi ne-Sim „ 
 
 
 not ne-2im „ 
 
 voi v'atz „ 
 
 
 voi v^&ti „ 
 
 ez s'ar „ 
 
 
 ei si-Sir „ 
 
 II. Conditional, 
 eu m^sistji mirsit, eu mi-sisijl propus, 
 
 I should have been astonished.' * I should have proposed to 
 
 myself.' 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 Present. Perfect, 
 
 a sefi mirsit, 
 
 a se mtrsif 
 * to be astonished.' 
 
 Si-si propune, 
 ' to propose to oneself.* 
 
 i 
 
 to have been astonished. 
 
 o-siji propus. 
 *to have proposed to oneself.' 
 
 Participle, 
 
 mirdLnd-Urse^ propunend-u-si, 
 
 * being astonished.' * proposing to oneself.' 
 
 It will be observed that in the imperative and present parti- 
 ciple the pronouns follow the verb. 
 
54! EOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 lEREGULAE VERBS. 
 
 The study of the verbs in Eoumanian 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, af\, 
 the conjugation of which we have already seen, the following 
 verbs must be noticed ; 
 
 (1) A stij *to know,' which though belonging to the third 
 class (according to its final i) is inflected as one of the 
 second class: 
 
 eu stiuj eii stinij eit stiussem. 
 
 ' I know,' * I knew,' * I had known.* 
 
 (2) A voif * to will,' which though regularly inflected may 
 take the following alternative form in all its tenses : 
 
 Indicative Present. 
 
 Qu voese, * I will.' qu vreu, 
 tu voestij tu vretf 
 
 el voeste, el vre, or i^rea, 
 
 • not voiMy not vrem, 
 
 vol vo'itt, vol vrefif 
 
 ei voescu. ' ei vreu. or vj^eu. 
 
 Imperfect, 
 eu voianif * I was willing.' eil vrem^ 
 
 Simjple Perfect, 
 Qu von, * I was willing.' eil vrusset. 
 
 Simple Pluperfect, 
 eu voissemy * I had been willing.' eu vrussem. 
 
VERBS. 55 
 
 Perfect, 
 eil am voitf * I have been willing.* eil am vrut. 
 
 Pluperfect, 
 eu am fost voit, ' I had been willing.* eu am fost vrut. 
 
 I. Future. 
 
 eu voiu voif * I shall be willing.* eu voiu vre. 
 
 II. Future 
 
 au voiufi voitf * I shall have been willing.' eu voiu fi vrut. 
 
 Imperative. 
 
 voeste (tu), * be willing.' vresL (tu), 
 
 voescd {el), vree {el), 
 
 voiti (iJoz), vreti {vol), 
 
 voescd {ei), wee {ei). 
 
 I. Subjunctive, 
 eu sd voesc, * I may be willing.* eu sd vreu. 
 
 II. Subjunctive, 
 eu sdji voit, * I may have been willing.' eu sdji vrut, 
 
 I. Conditional, 
 eu 2iSi vo\, * I should be willing.' eu asi vre, 
 
 II. Conditional, 
 eu 2^1 fi voit, ' I should have been willing.' eil as* fi vrut. 
 
 Infinitive. 
 Present. Perfect. 
 
 a voi, * to be willing,' a vre. \ afi voit, * to have been willing,' 
 
 afi vrut. 
 
 Both forms are correct, but the first is more acceptable. 
 
56 EOrMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 (3) A lua,f * 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. 
 
 eu iau, * I take.* noi luam, 
 tu m, voi lusiti. 
 
 el ia, ei iau. 
 
 Imperative, 
 
 ia {tu)j ' take.' luatt (vot)^ 
 
 ia (el), ia (et). 
 
 Subjunctive Present. 
 
 eu sa iau, ' I may take.' noi sd luam, 
 tu sd iaif vot sd luatt, 
 
 el sd ia, ei sd 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 ;' eH ddduz; participle dat. 
 a sta, * to stay ;' qu statm-, „ stat. 
 
 In the same way, a la, * to wash (the head),' has its perfect: 
 
 QU la.m, past participle Idut or lat. 
 
 (5) The verbs, a zice, * to say ;' a face, * to do,' have the 
 second person singular of the imperative : zi, fa. 
 
ADVEEBS. 57 
 
 IMPEESONAL YEEBS. 
 
 The impersonal verbs, aplousLj * to rain ;' a nmge, ' to snow;' 
 a dure, ' to feel pain/ are conjugated regularly. 
 
 Adverbs TAdverbe). 
 
 (1.) Some adjectives in the masculine gender serve as adverbs : 
 cdLutd 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 este to form adverbs : 
 
 domnesc, 'princely;' domneste, * princely.' 
 hdrhdtesc, * manly ;' hdrhatQste, * manly.' 
 anger esc, * angelical ;' anger este, ' 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, 
 
 msLi, more. 
 
 incd, (encore), further, still, more. 
 
 numat, solely, only. 
 
 (3.) Adverbs of Place, 
 
 unde, where. 
 acif here. 
 acolOf there. 
 
 d'mcolo, the other side. 
 
 dincoce, this side. 
 
 afsLrd, without, except, out. 
 
58 
 
 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 mxmtru, in. 
 d^assuprttf above. 
 de desuhtf below. 
 dindarsbff behind. 
 dinainte, before. 
 d^aWiuri, near, by. 
 fdkta, present. 
 pretutindenif everywhere. 
 ori unde, everywhere. 
 
 nicairiy nowhere. 
 undeva,, somewhere. 
 ore wnde, somewhere. 
 aiure, elsewhere. 
 aprope, near. 
 dep&rtef far. 
 
 d'a drepta, on the right. 
 d^a stinga, on the left. 
 
 (4.) Adverbs of Time, 
 
 Cindy when. 
 
 ocum, now. 
 
 acusij presently. 
 
 indsitdf instantly. 
 
 azi, to-day, 
 
 mint, to-morrow. 
 
 eri (e read as ye in * yes '), 
 
 yesterday. 
 deanazi, the other day. 
 demultf long ago. 
 cite daJcif sometimes. 
 
 une orif sometimes. 
 ori Cindy whenever. 
 ore Cindy once. 
 timpuriUy early. 
 tdrziUy late. 
 adessCy often. 
 nici dsita, never. 
 pe urmdy then, next to. 
 curmd, shortly. 
 atxxnciy then. 
 dvipd cCy after. 
 
 (5.) Adverbs of Affirmation. 
 
 da, yes. 
 
 assL, so. 
 
 adevar&ty verily, truly. 
 
 fdivd indoisildy doubtless. 
 
 negresity of course. 
 
 sigury certainly. 
 
 ZQu, by God (abbreviated from 
 
 Dumnezeuy ' God'). 
 iatdy lo ! behold. 
 
PEEPOSITIONS. 
 
 59 
 
 (6.) Negative Adverbs. 
 
 wu, no. 
 
 nu asa, not so. 
 nhnic, nothing. 
 
 n\ei cum, not at all. 
 la, ^ 
 la nUf ) 
 
 no. 
 
 dor, 
 
 'pote, 
 
 6re, 
 
 (7) Adverbs expressing a doubt. 
 
 perhaps. 
 
 cam ( a pen pres), nearly, 
 about. 
 
 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 : 
 
 «, at, (a). 
 de a, 
 de la, 
 la, at. 
 pe, upon. 
 de, by. 
 din, from. 
 
 from. 
 
 fd^ra, without. 
 m, in. 
 pentru, for. 
 spre, towards. 
 psLud, till. 
 
 dupd, after, according to. 
 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, stre. 
 
 Examples : — tsLind, * mystery ; ' destdinuesc, * divulge ; * mos, 
 * uncle ;' strdmos, ' ancestor,' etc. 
 
60 
 
 EOrMANIAK GEA.MMAB. 
 
 Conjunctions. 
 
 These particles are of different kinds. The most usual are 
 as follows : 
 
 but. 
 
 si, and. 
 iar, 
 
 de, 
 
 decif then, (done). 
 csLf that. 
 dar, but. 
 jprin urmsiref consequently. 
 
 "''' ] if. ■ 
 
 ca.ci. 
 
 peniru cd 
 Sidecd, to wit. 
 precrnn, as. 
 ciy but. 
 fotusif still. 
 nwmdi, but. 
 de vreme ce, 
 de ore ce, 
 
 because. 
 
 since. 
 
 Interjections, 
 
 These are the most usual interjections : 
 
 a! ah. 
 vdX ! woe ! 
 2deu, alas ! 
 
 Ae*, ho. 
 
 hre, (admiration). 
 
( 61 ) 
 
 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 fiore frumossa, ' The rose is a pretty 
 
 flower ;' 
 Dumnezeil a zidit lu.mea, * God has created the world.' 
 
 Genitive. 
 
 The dependence of one noun upon another is indicated by 
 the genitive case : 
 
 Florea cimpului^ * The flower of the field ;' 
 (hrtea copilulm, * 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 cimpului Jlore^ * the field's flower;' 
 a cojpUului carte, * the child's book.' 
 
62 eoumanian geammae. 
 
 Dative. 
 
 The case, governed indirectly by the verb, follows the case 
 governed directly ; 
 
 Am dot C2irtea copilulut, * 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 copilulut 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 copilulut csirtea. 
 
 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 hun stimeza pe parinti, * The good child honours 
 
 the parents/ 
 A771 vedut pal&tul Regdd, * 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 hun stimeza pe pdrmtii s^tj *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 0, the plural of 
 both beingr in lor. 
 
SYNTAX. G3 
 
 For the masculine singular the nouns generally preserve 
 their article in the vocative : 
 
 Omule ! ' man !' DumnezQule ! * God !' 
 
 The article, however, is very often suppressed : 
 
 O domne^ * Lord,' instead of O domnule, 
 O imparditef ' O Emperor,' „ „ O tmparsitule. 
 O amice, ' friend,' „ „ 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 meuy ' my friend.' 
 
 O sora mesi, ' my sister.' 
 
 etc. 
 
 Ablative. 
 
 The ablative case is preceded by one of the particles, tn, 
 de, la, etc. 
 
 The dependence of one noun upon another, usually expressed 
 by a genitive, can also be indicated by an ablative with de : 
 
 Florea cwwului, ") 
 
 -CT,. . . \ ' The flower of the field.' 
 
 Jflore de cimp, ^ 
 
 This is necessary when the attribute expresses the substance or 
 the purpose of the noun to which it refers : 
 
 M'mte de copU, ' Childish mind.' 
 
 Fal2it de cryst'd, * Crystal palace.' 
 
 JPicior de lemn, * Wooden leg.' 
 
 CdiVte de cetiL. * Book to be read.' 
 
64 EOUMANIAN GEAMMAE. 
 
 In the case of verbs governing two objects, the ablative case 
 with de may be nsed, instead of the accusative, to indicate one 
 of those objects : 
 
 Stsitul Va ales president^ or Statul Va 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. 
 
 PEONOUNS. 
 
 The order of the words in a sentence is generally as follows — 
 subject, verb, object : 
 
 A7n vedxit pe Neculsii, * I saw Nicholas.' 
 
 But when the object is a personal pronoun it precedes the 
 
 verb : 
 
 L^am vedut, *I have seen him.* 
 
 O tntrehf * 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 vedxxt pe el, * I have seen him.* 
 Am vedafo pe ca, * I have seen her.* 
 
 Note. — In such a case as am vedxxt *o, the pronoun follows 
 the verb, for the sake of euphony. 
 
SYNTAX. 65 
 
 Tlie 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 .^i-am vorhit 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 eu ar, ' I plough.* 
 
 cred or ew 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. 
 
 a^ arat, arat-aiy etc. 
 
 When the auxiliary asi,' a?, ar, etc., follows the verb, we use 
 the second form of the infinitive : 
 
 asi ave, avere-ast. 
 
 at ave, avere-ai, 
 
 ar ave, avere-ar, etc. 
 
 But when the auxiliary is a compound one, it must always 
 
 precede the verb : 
 
 Voiu fi arat, or fi-voiu arat. 
 
 Vet fi arat, ,, fi-vei . „ 
 
 Va fi arat, „ fi-va ,, etc. 
 
i^u/ c/c/~a» 
 
 » 
 
 a 
 
 ii 
 
 el s'a 
 
 it 
 
 a 
 
 >» 
 
 not ne-am 
 
 i) 
 
 a 
 
 » 
 
 VOl V^&tl 
 
 » 
 
 If 
 
 »» 
 
 66 EOUMANIAN GRAMMAE. 
 
 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 : 
 
 Qu rrCam luptsitj or luptat-u-ni' am. 
 
 te-Sii. 
 s'a. 
 ne-Sim. 
 
 etc. 
 
 Sometimes the pronoun comes between the verb and its 
 termination ; but this only rarely occurs : 
 
 duceti-ve, or dMce-ve-fi, *be gone.' 
 
 The negative nu always precedes the verb : 
 
 Nu voiu 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 credcj * believe not.* 
 
 nu tacey *be not silent.* 
 
 nu dorm\y * sleep not.* 
 
 etc. 
 
 When the interrogative form is used the subject comes after 
 the verb : 
 
 Are el ce mancsi ? * Has he anything to eat ? ' 
 
SYNTAX. 67 
 
 Only practice can teach the different cases governed by 
 different verbs ; some govern two cases : 
 
 Me vinuesfi, ") 
 
 TV,. -v f * you accuse me.* 
 imi vinuestt. ) •' 
 
 When one verb follows another we can use either the con- 
 junctive or the infinitive form : 
 
 Fot sd ajirm cd , , .") 
 
 ' I can aflBrm that . . . 
 
 cd , , .") 
 
 ( ' 
 
 a . . . ) 
 
 Pot qfirma cd 
 
 The use of Tenses. 
 
 In narrative we frequently substitute the present for the 
 past, and the imperfect is very often used instead of the con- 
 ditional. 
 
 The simple perfect and the simple pluperfect are used only 
 in narrative. 
 
 In conversation we use the compound perfect when speaking 
 of the past : 
 
 ^.y. M^am preumhldit, * I took a walk.* 
 Am spus adeveruly * 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. 
 
68 BOUMANIAN GRAMMAB. 
 
 ADVERBS. 
 
 The place of an adverb in a sentence is immediately follow- 
 ing the verb which it qualifies : 
 
 A lexdjndru se sfla hme^ * Alexander is well.' 
 I*2iSserea cvintafrumoSy * The bird sings beautifully.* 
 
 But when we speak with enthusiasm the adverb precedes 
 the verb : 
 
 Frumos msii csinta psissej^ea ! * How beautifully the bird sings !' 
 
 When the sentence contains negatives, as nimeni, * nobody,' 
 nicairi, * nowhere,' etc., the verb must always be preceded by 
 the negative nu : 
 
 ATwieni nu e a cassa, * Nobody is at home.' 
 
 PEEPOSITIONS. 
 
 The preposition a precedes the infinitive when the latter 
 stands alone, or as subject of a sentence : 
 
 a ara^ a crede, etc. 
 
 a mintx e rusinos, ' 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 ca^suj * I am at home,' 
 
 Se pregateste a ploe^ * It is going to rain.' 
 
 Pres'imt a nenorocire, * I have a presentiment of 
 
 coming sorrow.' 
 Mirossa a trandaf'ir, * It smells like a rose.' 
 
 etc. 
 
SYNTAX. 69 
 
 The preposition la, * to,' indicates direction or place whither : 
 Plec la Paris, ' I set out for Paris.' 
 
 Merg la sc6ldj * I go to school.* 
 
 It also may indicate the place wJiere^ without however 
 
 necessarily implying place in : 
 
 Sunt la lissericdy *I am at church.' 
 
 Sunt la gradina, * I am at the park.' 
 
 I^oftim la msissd, * Please come to dinner.* 
 
 etc. 
 
 It is also used in phrases only to be learned by practice : 
 
 Arsitd hine la fsitdf * He looks well in (the) face.' 
 
 Cistigd la par ale, ' He gains money.* 
 
 etc. 
 
 In has the same meaning as in English in or into : 
 
 Vino in grdd'md, * Come into the garden.' 
 
 Sunt ingrddindy * I am in the garden.' 
 
 Pe, * upon,' often precedes the object governed by it, when 
 that object is a person : 
 
 Sldveste^e DumnezeU, * Praise God.* 
 
 Inv2itdpe cop'iiy *He teaches the children.' 
 
 It always precedes the object which indicates place where : 
 
 §ed pe scdiun, ' I sit upon the chair.' 
 
 etc. 
 
 It is also used in many other expressions in which it is equi- 
 valent to different English prepositions : 
 
 Fe romanQste, * In Roumanian.' 
 
 Pe englesQstey *In English,' etc. 
 
 Fsisserea pe llmha qi pere, * The bird dies ( i.e. meets her death) 
 
 in (through) her song.' 
 M^am preumbht pe Zu/ja, * I walked in the moonlight.' 
 Am cdldtorit pe sore, *I travelled in the sunshine.' 
 
70 BOUMAIJIAN GRAMMAB. 
 
 DCf * 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 : 
 
 Cid^s de a«^, * a gold watch.' 
 
 JPend de scrisj * pen for writing.* 
 
 More de sete, * he dies of thirst.' 
 
 We also use de before adverbs of number : 
 
 De doa orz, * twice.* 
 
 De m\e de ori, ' thousand times.* 
 
 etc. 
 
 De la, ' from,' differs from din, * from,' in the same way as 
 la differs from in. 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 Sd is used in the conjunctive mood and in the imperative. 
 Cd, * that,' is used in giving explanation : 
 
 Zi-i cd nu-s a csissd, * tell him I am not at home.' 
 
 This sentence could not be rendered in Eoumanian with- 
 out ed. 
 
 Cd and ca must be carefully distinguished, the latter sug- 
 gests likeness or approximation : 
 
 Ca mini vom mur'i, * We may die by to-morrow.' 
 
 Aufost ca la cmct swte de omeni, * There were about five 
 
 hundred men.' 
 
SYNTAX. 71 
 
 INTEEJECTIONS. 
 
 The Interjections Sileu ! vsLleit !' alas V are used alone, and 
 have no connection with the words which follow them. 
 
 Vai, * woe,' am&r (conveying a feeling of bitterness), ferice 
 (implying joy or happiness), serac (implying pity), require the 
 noun which follows them to be in the ablative with de : 
 
 Vai de mine, * Woe to me.' 
 
 Serac de mine, * Poor me,' ete. 
 
 But vai and amar can also be used with a dative : vai mie, 
 amar tie. 
 
-t/O^ 
 

 OF GUIF'LaJLii. 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 OF CALIFO 
 
 .••••••••••., 
 
 v«.. 
 
 ■*> 
 
 '-^.M.W»*' 
 
 ^S^ 
 
 OQ 
 
 "^ 
 
 
 ■JiCHt 
 
 '=^^*7/ 
 
 '-^// 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 V 
 
 1 D n i n V — ax — m^ — .^.^ ■^—-7 ' ' ■ v 
 
 
 ^^N 
 
 1 — 
 
 / 
 
 -x* 
 
 Li- 
 
 
 ^1: 
 
 es 
 
 
 : 
 
 
 
 7/ 
 
 >- 
 
 
 r-'/ <^y/ 
 
 cc 
 
 
 V47 
 
 err 
 
 
 xy 
 
 CO 
 
 
 H 
 
 cr 
 
 2 ^^ 
 
 O rt 
 
 12! 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 M 
 
 :^ 
 
 desk 
 Eon 
 
 §^ 
 
 
 a 
 
 E 
 
 p 
 
 ft 
 
 
 cr 
 
 r 
 
 P 
 
 HJ 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 ■s 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 * ~ 
 
 V)^ "^^^^Sg^S:^^ 
 

 03 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFC 
 
 ex: 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 ac 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFI 
 
 y/T) . ■ 
 
 ex: 
 
 CO 
 
 oo 
 
 
 C3 
 
 OCT 
 
 SO 
 
.<;> 
 
 tUf 
 
 f >k> 
 
 ■t' f 
 
 U I 
 
 ■■;*,,: yf *«■