Feminine Genitive/Dative

Level 2

Many feminine genitive/dative singular forms share the plural stem: fată, fete, fetei. They still refer to one person or thing. Learn lexical exceptions with the noun.

How It Works

The Romanian case system combines the Genitive (possession) and Dative (indirect object) into a single form. Many feminine nouns follow the patterns below; learn exceptional case forms with each noun:

1. The Indefinite Form (a/an)
Instead of using 'o', we use the article unei. The noun takes its genitive/dative singular form, usually identical to its nominative plural.

  • o fată (a girl) → unei fete (of/to a girl)
  • o floare (a flower) → unei flori (of/to a flower)

2. The Definite Form (the)
For many nouns, the definite genitive/dative singular can be learned as the nominative plural form plus -i:

  • fata (the girl) → plural fete → fetei (of/to the girl)
  • cartea (the book) → plural cărți → cărții (of/to the book)

Special Case: Nouns in -ie
For nouns ending in a consonant + -ie (like familie or lecție), the ending becomes -iei instead of just adding -i to the plural.

  • familia → familiei (not familiii)
  • lecția → lecției

3. Phonological Shifts
For nouns following this common pattern, keep the stem alternations shared by the plural and the genitive/dative singular. For example, poartă (gate) becomes porți in the plural, so the Genitive is porții.

Note on Possessive Articles
You must use a possessive article (al, a, ai, ale) before the Genitive form if the possessed noun is indefinite (e.g., o carte a fetei) or if the possessor is separated from the object (e.g., Cartea este a fetei).

Examples (4)

  1. Cartea fetei este pe masă.

    The girl's book is on the table.

    Word by Word: Book-the girl-of-the is on table.

    Here, 'fetei' is the Genitive form of 'fata'. It shows possession.

  2. I-am dat unei colege un stilou.

    I gave a pen to a colleague.

    Word by Word: To-her I-have given to-a colleague a pen.

    'Unei colege' is the Dative form of 'o colegă', indicating the recipient of the pen.

  3. Culoarea florii este roșie.

    The color of the flower is red.

    Word by Word: Color-the flower-of-the is red.

    'Florii' comes from the plural 'flori' + the definite suffix '-i'.

  4. Aceasta este ușa casei.

    This is the door of the house.

    Word by Word: This is door-the house-of-the.

    'Casei' is the Genitive of 'casa' (house). The plural is 'case', so we add '-i'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the singular nominative stem instead of the plural stem.

    coperta cartei
    coperta cărții

    You must use the plural form 'cărți' as the base. Adding '-i' to the singular 'carte' is incorrect.

  • Confusing the Genitive singular with the Genitive plural.

    numele fetelor (referring to one girl)
    numele fetei

    '-lor' is the ending for plural nouns ('of the girls'). For one girl, use the '-i' ending ('fetei').

  • Forgetting the possessive article when the possessed noun is indefinite or separated from the possessor.

    o carte fetei
    o carte a fetei

    You must use a possessive article (al, a, ai, ale) if the possessed object is indefinite (like 'o carte') or if the noun is separated from the possessor (like after the verb 'a fi').

How It Connects

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

Feminine Genitive/DativeLevel 2

Learn This First

Compare unarticulated feminine genitive/dative singular forms with nominative/accusative plurals, which often match. Then add the appropriate article and learn lexical exceptions: unei fete versus fetei.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.