i + îl → i-l

Clitic Cluster I-L

Level 3

i-l = i (to him/her) + -l (him/it). Used to express giving or sending a masculine/neuter object to a single person.

How It Works

I-l combines îi (to him/her) and îl (him/it, masculine or neuter singular). The recipient comes first: I-l dau (I give it to him/her).

Writing: The hyphen marks the joined clitics. Do not confuse i-l with single îl.

Compound perfect: Write I l-am dat or I l-a dat. The dative i remains before accusative l, and l joins the following auxiliary. The auxiliary does not move between the two clitics.

Other constructions: I-l voi da (I will give it to him/her), Vreau să i-l dau (I want to give it to him/her), Dă-i-l! (Give it to him/her!).

Plural recipients: Use li-l for 'to them': Li-l dau lor. The number of recipients and the gender/number of the direct object are separate choices.

Examples (5)

  1. I-l trimit chiar acum.

    I am sending it to him/her right now.

    Word by Word: To-him/her-it I-send even now.

    Here, 'i-l' precedes the present tense verb 'trimit'. The 'it' refers to a masculine or neuter noun.

  2. Dacă ai documentul, dă-i-l lui Andrei.

    If you have the document, give it to Andrei.

    Word by Word: If you-have the-document, give-to-him-it to Andrei.

    In the affirmative imperative 'dă', the clitics are attached to the end of the verb.

  3. I l-a prezentat ieri la birou.

    He/she introduced him to him/her yesterday at the office.

    Word by Word: To-him/her him-has introduced yesterday at office.

    In the compound perfect, the cluster is mandatory split: 'i' (dative) stays first, but 'l-' attaches to the auxiliary 'a'.

  4. Nu vrea să i-l arate.

    He/she doesn't want to show it to him/her.

    Word by Word: Not wants to to-him/her-it show.

    The cluster 'i-l' is placed between the particle 'să' and the verb in the subjunctive.

  5. Dându-i-l, am observat că era greșit.

    Giving it to him/her, I noticed it was wrong.

    Word by Word: Giving-u-to-him-it, I-have noticed that it-was wrong.

    When attached to a gerund, the connecting vowel '-u-' is required before the clitic cluster.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the hyphen or writing 'il'.

    Il dau mâine.
    I-l dau mâine.

    In Romanian, 'il' is not a word. The hyphen is required to show the fusion of the two pronouns 'i' and 'l'.

  • Reversing the order of pronouns based on English 'it to him'.

    Îl-i dau.
    I-l dau.

    Romanian clitic clusters have a rigid Dative + Accusative order. You must say 'to-him it', never 'it to-him'.

  • Using 'i-l' for plural recipients (to them).

    I-l dau lor.
    Li-l dau lor.

    For plural recipients ('to them'), the dative clitic 'le' changes to 'li', resulting in the cluster 'li-l'.

How It Connects

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

i + îl → i-lLevel 3Clitic Cluster I-L

Learn This First

To understand the contraction 'i-l', you first need to be familiar with the individual components: the indirect object clitic 'i' (to him/her) and the direct object clitic 'îl' (him/it). Additionally, understanding the general logic of how Romanian clitics combine and contract using a hyphen is necessary to learn this specific cluster.

Words in This Pattern

i-l