cât despre

As for

Level 5

Use cât despre at the start of a sentence to introduce a new topic or contrast one thing with another. It translates to 'as for' or 'as far as [X] is concerned.'

How It Works

The construction cât despre is a versatile tool for organizing information in Romanian. It is used in both neutral speech and formal writing.

1. Syntactic Structure:
The pattern follows this template: Cât despre + [Noun/Pronoun], [Main Clause]. Note that a comma is almost always required after the topic to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

2. Case Requirements:
Since despre is an accusative preposition, pronouns must take their accusative forms (e.g., mine, tine, el, ea).

3. Resumptive Clitics vs. Subjects:
In this topic-comment construction, if the topic introduced is the direct or indirect object of the verb that follows, you must use a resumptive clitic pronoun to 're-state' the object. However, no object clitic is needed to resume that topic if it is the subject of the main clause. Other clitics can still appear for other functions. In such cases, you simply continue the sentence or use a standard subject pronoun for emphasis.

4. Register:
While learners are often taught în ceea ce privește for formal contexts, cât despre is the standard, natural choice for everyday transitions and contrastive statements.

Examples (5)

  1. Cât despre mine, nu am nicio obiecție.

    As for me, I have no objection.

    Word by Word: As about me, not I-have no objection.

    Here, 'mine' is the accusative form of 'eu'. The speaker is contrasting their opinion with others.

  2. Cât despre rezultatele examenului, le vom afla mâine.

    As for the exam results, we will find them out tomorrow.

    Word by Word: As about results-the exam-of, them we-will find tomorrow.

    Note the use of the clitic 'le' (them) to refer back to 'rezultatele'. This is required because the results are the direct object.

  3. Cât despre Maria, ea a plecat deja la serviciu.

    As for Maria, she has already left for work.

    Word by Word: As about Maria, she has left already to service.

    Maria is the subject topic, so no object clitic resumes her as an object. The subject pronoun ea identifies the subject; unrelated object or reflexive clitics could occur in a different following clause.

  4. Îmi place orașul, dar cât despre munte, prefer să merg iarna.

    I like the city, but as for the mountains, I prefer to go in winter.

    Word by Word: To-me likes city-the, but as about mountain, I-prefer to I-go winter-the.

    This demonstrates a contrastive use, shifting the focus from the city to the mountains.

  5. Cât despre propunerea ta, trebuie să mă mai gândesc.

    As for your proposal, I need to think about it more.

    Word by Word: As about proposal-the your, must to myself more I-think.

    The topic is 'propunerea ta', followed by a comment using the trebuie să construction.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a nominative pronoun after despre.

    Cât despre eu, sunt gata.
    Cât despre mine, sunt gata.

    Despre takes an accusative form: mine, not eu.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

cât despreLevel 5As for

Learn This First

Recognize a discourse topic before introducing a new one with cât despre.

Words in This Pattern

cât despre