Agreement makes grammatically connected words share features such as gender, number, case, or person. The match is not always visible in a unique ending. Both patterns appear in Cartea este interesantă. (The book is interesting.) Este matches cartea in person and number. Interesantă matches cartea in gender and number.
Which features have to match?
In neutral contemporary Standard Romanian, articles and adjectives match a noun mainly in gender and number. A finite verb is the verb form that carries tense. It matches its subject in person and number.
| Connection | What matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Article or adjective with a noun | Gender and number; some forms also show case | o carte interesantă (an interesting book) |
| Finite verb with its subject | Person and number | Eu citesc. / Noi citim. (I read. / We read.) |
| Adjective after a fi with its subject | Gender and number | Cartea este nouă. (The book is new.) |
The basic patterns in the table apply when one noun or subject controls agreement. Coordinated subjects, collective nouns, and semantic agreement have additional rules outside this A2 overview.
How does agreement work inside a noun phrase?
The noun's gender and number determine the article and adjective forms. An adjective may use a different ending even when its meaning stays the same.
| Noun type | Determiner + adjective | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | un + bun | un băiat bun (a good boy) |
| Feminine singular | o + bună | o fată bună (a good girl) |
| Masculine plural | doi + buni | doi băieți buni (two good boys) |
| Feminine plural | două + bune | două fete bune (two good girls) |
| Neuter singular | un + bun | un scaun bun (a good chair) |
| Neuter plural | două + bune | două scaune bune (two good chairs) |
Three details affect how the basic noun-phrase pattern appears:
- A neuter noun takes masculine agreement in the singular and feminine agreement in the plural. This follows the pattern explained in Romanian noun gender.
- Some adjectives share a form across genders. Mare is used for both genders in the singular: un pom mare (a large tree) and o casă mare (a large house). The plural mari also serves both genders: doi pomi mari (two large trees) and două case mari (two large houses).
- Some noun phrases also show case agreement. Compare o fată bună (a good girl) with dative unei fete bune (to a good girl). Learn those forms with the Romanian case system.
How does a verb agree with its subject?
A finite verb takes person and number from its subject. Ordinary active verb forms do not change for gender.
| Subject | Person and number | Form of a citi | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | First-person singular | citesc | Eu citesc seara. (I read in the evening.) |
| tu | Second-person singular | citești | Tu citești seara. (You read in the evening.) |
| el, ea, or copilul | Third-person singular | citește | Copilul citește seara. (The child reads in the evening.) |
| noi | First-person plural | citim | Noi citim seara. (We read in the evening.) |
| voi | Second-person plural | citiți | Voi citiți seara. (You all read in the evening.) |
| ei, ele, or copiii | Third-person plural | citesc | Copiii citesc seara. (The children read in the evening.) |
Romanian often leaves out a subject pronoun when the verb form makes the subject clear: Citim seara. (We read in the evening.) Both El citește. (He reads.) and Ea citește. (She reads.) use the same third-person singular verb.
Does an adjective still agree after a fi?
Yes. An adjective linked to the subject by a fi agrees with that subject in gender and number, while a fi agrees in person and number.
| Subject type | Form of a fi | Adjective | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | este | interesant | Băiatul este interesant. (The boy is interesting.) |
| Feminine singular | este | interesantă | Cartea este interesantă. (The book is interesting.) |
| Masculine plural | sunt | interesanți | Băieții sunt interesanți. (The boys are interesting.) |
| Feminine plural | sunt | interesante | Cărțile sunt interesante. (The books are interesting.) |
In these examples, este / sunt follows the subject's number, and interesant / interesantă / interesanți / interesante follows its gender and number. Review the present tense of a fi if those verb forms are new.
How does agreement work with polite dumneavoastră?
Polite or formal dumneavoastră takes a second-person plural verb, even for one addressee. An adjective after a fi can be singular and match that addressee's gender. For one man, use Dumneavoastră sunteți invitat. (You are invited.) For one woman, use Dumneavoastră sunteți invitată. (You are invited.)
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not leave an adjective in its dictionary form. Standard Romanian has o carte interesantă, not o carte interesant.
- Do not make an ordinary finite verb agree in gender. Both El citește. and Ea citește. use citește.
- Do not assume that identical-looking forms mean there is no agreement. Un pom mare and o casă mare are both correct because mare has one singular form for both genders.
Which phrase is feminine singular?
- un băiat bun
- o fată bună
- doi băieți buni
- două scaune bune
In o fată bună, the article o, the noun fată, and the adjective bună all form a feminine singular noun phrase.
Complete the neuter plural phrase: două scaune ___.
- bun
- bună
- buni
- bune
A neuter noun takes feminine agreement in the plural, so scaune requires feminine plural bune.
Complete the sentence: Noi ___ seara.
- citim
- citesc
- citești
- citește
The first-person plural subject noi takes citim: Noi citim seara.
Which sentence has correct agreement throughout?
- Cartea sunt interesantă.
- Cărțile este interesante.
- Cărțile sunt interesante.
- Cărțile sunt interesant.
Plural cărțile takes plural sunt, and the adjective takes feminine plural interesante.
One woman is addressed politely. Which sentence is correct?
- Dumneavoastră ești invitată la întâlnire.
- Dumneavoastră sunteți invitată la întâlnire.
- Dumneavoastră sunteți invitat la întâlnire.
- Dumneavoastră este invitată la întâlnire.
Polite dumneavoastră takes plural sunteți, while singular feminine invitată matches the one woman being addressed.