Unstressed direct object pronouns

An unstressed direct object pronoun, also called a clitic, is a short form that attaches closely to a verb and replaces the thing or person receiving the action: Am găsit cartea. O citesc acum. (I found the book. I am reading it now.)

What are the Romanian direct object clitics?

Choose the clitic by the person, gender, and number of the object, then place it next to the verb. The third-person forms distinguish masculine from feminine and singular from plural; the neuter uses masculine agreement in the singular and feminine agreement in the plural.

Where does the clitic go?

In the present and future, put the clitic before the finite verb or its auxiliary. In the compound perfect, it normally comes before a avea, except that feminine singular o follows the participle. In an affirmative imperative, attach the clitic after the verb with a hyphen.

• In an ordinary present-tense clause, write forms such as îl, îi, mă, and te as separate words before the verb: Îl aștept. (I am waiting for him/it.)
• Before a vowel-initial auxiliary, the initial vowel of some clitics is represented in the attached form: L-am văzut. (I saw him/it.)
• After nu, put the clitic before the verb: Nu-l văd. (I do not see him/it.) With feminine singular o, both the standard contraction N-o văd and the full form Nu o văd are correct.

How do gender and number affect the third person?

Use îl for a masculine singular object, o for a feminine singular object, îi for a masculine or mixed plural object, and le for a feminine or neuter plural object. A neuter noun changes its agreement pattern with number: un pachet takes îl, but pachetele takes le.

• For a person, the same forms can replace the full direct object pronouns: Mă așteaptă. (He/she is waiting for me.) and Îi așteptăm. (We are waiting for them, masculine or mixed.)
• For a non-human object, the third-person form follows the noun's grammatical gender and number: Citesc romanul. Îl citesc în tren. (I am reading the novel. I am reading it on the train.)
• The full forms pe mine, pe tine, pe el, pe ea, pe noi, pe voi, pe ei, and pe ele are used for emphasis or in other prepositional contexts. See stressed object pronouns for that contrast.

What should you remember in everyday Romanian?

The clitic is the ordinary short object form, not an optional English-style object word. In a basic sentence, keep it close to the verb and do not translate its position word for word.

• Do not use el or ea as the ordinary short object: use îl or o: Îl văd pe Mihai. (I see Mihai.) / O văd pe Ana. (I see Ana.)
• Do not choose îi just because the English object is plural. Use îi for masculine or mixed plural and le for feminine or neuter plural: Citesc cărțile. Le citesc. (I am reading the books. I am reading them.)
• Do not leave the clitic after a normal present-tense verb: Îl văd, not Văd-l. The post-verbal position is used in constructions such as the affirmative imperative: Citește-l! (Read it!)