An unstressed indirect object pronoun, also called a dative clitic, is a short form that normally stays close to the verb. It marks the person or people who receive, benefit from, or are affected by an action: Îți dau o carte. (I am giving you a book.)
Which Romanian dative clitic matches the indirect object?
Choose among îmi, îți, îi, ne, vă, and le according to the indirect object's person and number. The indirect object often answers cui? (to whom?): Îmi spui adevărul? (Are you telling me the truth?)
| Person and number | Full dative form | Unstressed clitic | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| First person singular | mie (to me) | îmi | Îmi răspunde. (He/she answers me.) |
| Second person singular | ție (to you) | îți | Îți trimit mesajul. (I am sending you the message.) |
| Third person singular, masculine or feminine | lui (masculine, to him); ei (feminine, to her) | îi | Îi cumpăr o carte. (I am buying him/her a book.) |
| First person plural | nouă (to us) | ne | Ne explică problema. (He/she explains the problem to us.) |
| Second person plural | vouă (to you) | vă | Vă răspund imediat. (I will answer you immediately.) |
| Third person plural, masculine or feminine | lor (to them) | le | Le trimit documentele. (I am sending them the documents.) |
The clitic is the neutral choice in an ordinary clause. The full object-pronoun forms are stressed and add contrast or emphasis. When a full dative pronoun is the object of a verb, keep its matching clitic: Mie îmi răspunde, nu ție. (He/she answers me, not you.)
Where does the clitic go?
The clitic's position depends on the verb form: before a simple finite verb, before the auxiliary in compound forms, between să and the verb in the subjunctive, and after an affirmative imperative.
| Verb form | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present, imperfect, and other simple finite indicative forms | Before the verb | Îți scriu mâine. (I will write to you tomorrow.) |
| Compound perfect | Before the auxiliary | Mi-a spus adevărul. (He/she told me the truth.) |
| Future | Before the future auxiliary | Îți voi trimite documentul. (I will send you the document.) |
| Present subjunctive | Between să and the verb | Vreau să-mi răspunzi astăzi. (I want you to answer me today.) |
| Affirmative imperative | After the verb, with a hyphen | Spune-mi adevărul! (Tell me the truth!) |
| Negative imperative | After nu and before the verb | Nu-mi spune! (Do not tell me!) |
In the compound perfect, the clitic and the auxiliary form a hyphenated unit: mi-a, ți-am, i-a, ne-au, v-a, and le-au. With să, both să îmi răspunzi and să-mi răspunzi are accepted. The hyphenated form is the compact option.
Put nu before the clitic: Nu îi dau cartea. (I am not giving him/her the book.)
How do the forms shorten or combine?
In a plain affirmative clause before a consonant, use separate îmi, îți, and îi: Îmi răspunde. (He/she answers me.) Attached forms before a vowel or after a verb drop the initial î. The basic forms ne, vă, and le have no initial î.
| Context | Forms | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Before a vowel-initial auxiliary | mi-, ți-, and i-; vă and le give v-a and le-a | Mi-a răspuns. Ți-am scris. I-a dat cartea. (He/she answered me. I wrote to you. He/she gave him/her the book.) |
| After an affirmative verb | -mi, -ți, -i, -ne, -vă, and -le | Dă-mi cartea! Scrieți-ne! Răspunde-le! (Give me the book! Write to us! Answer them!) |
| After nu | Often nu-mi, nu-ți, and nu-i; full nu îmi, nu îți, and nu îi are also possible | Nu-mi spune! and Nu îmi spune! (Do not tell me!) The short spellings do not mark a different person or case. |
| Before an unstressed direct object pronoun | The dative comes first; some plural combinations use ni-, vi-, or li- | Mi-l trimite. Ni-l trimit. Vi le explic. Li-l dau. (He/she sends it to me. They send it to us. I explain them to you. I give it to them.) These are combinations, not new basic persons. |
Can a dative clitic show possession?
Yes. A dative clitic can identify the possessor of a definite noun, especially with body parts, clothing, and close personal belongings: Îmi spăl mâinile. (I wash my hands.) The clitic identifies the possessor. It does not agree with the possessed noun. The noun keeps its own gender, number, and definite ending.
- When the possessor is the third-person subject, use își: Maria își caută cheile. (Maria is looking for her own keys.) The possessive reading is reflexive, not an ordinary recipient reading.
- Keep the recipient reading separate from the possessive reading: Îi trimit un mesaj. (I am sending him/her a message.) versus Îmi caut cheile. (I am looking for my keys.) Context and the verb decide the role when a form such as îi, ne, or le could otherwise be read as a direct object or a dative.
- Noun-attached forms such as sufletu-mi are literary or poetic. They are valid examples of attachment, but they are not the neutral everyday model. See dative possessive constructions for the wider possessive pattern.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not confuse îi and le: îi is the basic dative clitic for one third-person person, while le is the basic dative clitic for several people, whether masculine, feminine, or mixed.
- Do not use the full form alone in a normal verbal clause: say Îți dau cartea (I give you the book), not Ție dau cartea. Use ție alone for a short contrastive reply, or pair it with îți in a full clause.
- Do not place the clitic in one fixed position with every verb form. Compare îți scriu, ți-am scris, să-ți scriu, and scrie-mi.
- Do not infer gender from the clitic. The third-person singular dative îi covers both lui and ei, and plural le covers both genders.
Which unstressed dative clitic means “to you” when speaking to one person?
- îmi
- îți
- îi
- le
The second-person singular dative clitic is îți. Îmi is first-person singular, îi is third-person singular, and le is third-person plural.
Choose the neutral sentence meaning “I sent you the document.”
- Îți am trimis documentul.
- Am îți trimis documentul.
- Ți-am trimis documentul.
- Ție trimis-am documentul.
In the compound perfect, îți becomes the attached form ți- before the auxiliary am: Ți-am trimis documentul.
Which clitic spelling completes the compact form Vreau să___răspunzi astăzi? (I want you to answer me today.)
- -mi
- îmi
- mă
- mie
The compact accepted spelling is să-mi răspunzi. The option îmi gives the accepted expanded form să îmi răspunzi, but the question asks for the compact form. Mă is a direct object form, and mie is stressed.
Which sentence uses the compact hyphenated spelling to tell one person not to tell me?
- Nu spune-mi!
- Nu-mi spune!
- Nu îmi spune!
- Nu mie spune!
The negative imperative puts nu before the clitic and the clitic before the verb. The question asks for the compact hyphenated form Nu-mi spune! The expanded Nu îmi spune! is also grammatical.
In Maria își caută cheile, what does își show?
- A recipient who receives the keys
- A plural indirect object
- Maria's own possession of the keys
- The feminine gender of cheile
Își is reflexive here: the third-person subject Maria is the possessor of cheile. The clitic does not agree with the feminine plural noun; it identifies the possessor.