A2 · Élémentaire Chapitre 23

The Case System Intro

4 Règles totales
33 exemples
1 min
Règles dans ce chapitre Pratique rapide

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the fundamental roles of nouns in sentences to express who does what to whom.

  • Identify the subject using the Nominative case.
  • Recognize the direct object using the Accusative case.
  • Apply prepositions that require specific noun cases.
Unlock the logic behind every Romanian sentence.

Ce que tu vas apprendre

Understanding the Nominative and Accusative cases. How case affects nouns and pronouns.

  • Nominative Case
    The Nominative case is the subject's default form, featuring unique gender-based suffixes for definite articles.
  • Accusative Case
    Accusative is the receiver case, requiring 'pe' for people and mandatory pronoun doubling for specific objects.
  • Case and Prepositions
    In Romanian, prepositions act as grammatical triggers that force nouns into Accusative, Genitive, or Dative forms.
  • Noun Declension Intro
    Mastering noun endings allows you to express possession and giving clearly without relying solely on word order.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: correctly identify and use nouns in the Nominative and Accusative cases.

Exemples clés (8)

1

Studentul învață limba română.

The student learns the Romanian language.

Nominative Case
2

Ea este o profesoară bună.

She is a good teacher.

Nominative Case
3

Citesc o carte interesantă.

I am reading an interesting book.

Accusative Case
4

O văd pe bunica în parc.

I see grandma in the park.

Accusative Case
5

Merg la școală în fiecare zi.

I go to school every day.

Case and Prepositions
6

Beau ceai cu lămâie.

I drink tea with lemon.

Case and Prepositions
7

Băiatul mănâncă o măr.

The boy eats an apple.

Noun Declension Intro
8

Mașina bărbatului este roșie.

The man's car is red.

Noun Declension Intro

Conseils et astuces (4)

💡

The 'L' Rule

If a masculine noun ends in a consonant, just slap '-ul' on it to make it 'the'. It's like adding a tail to a kite!
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Nominative Case
💡

The Person Rule

If you can poke it and it says 'ouch', it probably needs 'pe' when it's the object of your sentence.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative Case
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The One-Syllable Rule

Most short, one-syllable prepositions like 'la', 'în', 'cu', and 'de' always take the Accusative. It's a quick way to stay safe!
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Case and Prepositions
💡

The Plural Shortcut

If you are stuck on the feminine Genitive singular, try to think of the plural form first. Adding an 'i' to the plural usually gives you the Genitive singular!
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension Intro

Vocabulaire clé (5)

subiect subject obiect direct direct object prepoziție preposition caz case declinație declension

Real-World Preview

coffee

Ordering at a Cafe

Review Summary

  • Subject + Verb
  • Verb + Object
  • Preposition + Accusative
  • Base + Ending

Erreurs courantes

You forgot to mark the object as Accusative. In Romanian, direct objects usually need the definite article.

Wrong: Eu mănânc măr (Nominative instead of Accusative)
Correct: Eu mănânc mărul

Actually, this is correct, but students often struggle with which prepositions take which cases. Always check your preposition list.

Wrong: Cartea este pe masă (Missing case check)
Correct: Cartea este pe masă (Correct)

For people as direct objects, we use 'pe'. Don't forget this crucial marker!

Wrong: El vede Ion (Missing preposition/marking)
Correct: El îl vede pe Ion

Next Steps

You have conquered the first half of the case system! Keep that momentum going into Genitive and Dative.

Practice identifying subjects vs objects in news headlines

Continue to: Genitive and Dative

Pratique rapide (10)

Complete the sentence with the plural definite form of 'fereastră' (window).

___ sunt deschise.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ferestrele
The plural of 'fereastră' is 'ferestre', and the definite plural is 'ferestrele'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Nominative Case

Select the correct noun form for the Genitive preposition.

Mașina este înaintea ___ (casa).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: casei
'Înaintea' (before/in front of) requires the Genitive case, which for 'casa' is 'casei'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Case and Prepositions

Identify the correct indefinite feminine form for 'carte' (book).

Vreau să citesc ___ interesantă.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: o carte
'Carte' is feminine, so it uses the indefinite article 'o'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Nominative Case

Which preposition expresses gratitude?

___ ajutorului tău, am terminat proiectul.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Datorită
'Datorită' means 'thanks to' and is used for positive outcomes.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Case and Prepositions

Complete the sentence with the correct Dative form: 'I give a gift to the boy.'

Îi dau un cadou ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: băiatului
Masculine singular nouns take the -ului ending in the Dative case.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension Intro

Select the plural Genitive form: 'The voices of the children.'

Vocile ___ sunt vesele.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: copiilor
The plural Genitive/Dative ending for almost all nouns is -lor.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension Intro

Choose the correct preposition for the sentence.

Vreau o cafea ___ zahăr, vă rog.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: cu
'Cu' (with) is the correct Accusative preposition for adding something to a drink.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Case and Prepositions

Complete the sentence with the correct preposition or clitic for a specific person.

Eu ___ iubesc ___ mama mea.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
'Mama' is feminine singular, so we use 'o' and the preposition 'pe'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative Case

Choose the correct form after the preposition 'pentru'.

Acest cadou este pentru ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
'Pentru' requires the Accusative stressed pronoun 'mine'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative Case

Choose the correct definite form for the masculine noun 'prieten' (friend).

___ meu locuiește în București.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Prietenul
Masculine nouns ending in a consonant add '-ul' to become definite subjects.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Nominative Case

Score: /10

Questions fréquentes (6)

It is the form of a noun when it acts as the subject of a sentence. For example, in Pisica doarme (The cat sleeps), pisica is in the Nominative case.
Yes, almost always. The singular indefinite form is what you will find when you look up a word in a dictionary.
It is the grammatical case used for the direct object of a verb. It answers the questions 'Who?' (Pe cine?) or 'What?' (Ce?).
In Romanian, nouns in the Accusative look exactly like they do in the Nominative. For example, cartea (the book) is the same as a subject or an object.
A case is a grammatical category that changes the form of a noun. It shows the noun's relationship to other words, especially prepositions like la or cu.
It is a rule inherited from Latin. The preposition acts as a signal to the listener about the role the following noun plays in the sentence.
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Object Pronouns
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Genitive and Dative
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