cineva / ceva / undeva / cândva

Indefinite Pronouns

Level 4

Words such as cineva, ceva and undeva mean someone, something and somewhere. Their exact meaning depends on the sentence, including questions and conditions.

How It Works

The ending -va forms indefinite words: cineva (someone), ceva (something), undeva (somewhere), cândva (sometime), cumva (somehow).

Statements: Cineva a sunat la ușă says that someone rang the doorbell without identifying the person.

Questions and conditions: These words do not require certain existence: A venit cineva? (Did anyone come?), Dacă vine cineva, sună-mă (If someone comes, call me).

Case: Cineva becomes cuiva for genitive/dative. As an ordinary bare personal direct object, use pe cineva without doubling.

Quantities: Câțiva băieți, câteva fete, and câteva mere mean a few. Neuter plural mere uses the same agreement form as feminine plural nouns.

Negation: To mean 'I saw nobody', say Nu am văzut pe nimeni. A sentence with nu...cineva can instead deny seeing a particular person. Negative sentences do not impose an unconditional ban on positive indefinites.

Examples (5)

  1. Cineva a sunat la ușă acum un minut.

    Someone rang the doorbell a minute ago.

    Word by Word: Someone has rung at door now one minute.

    'Cineva' is used here because a specific (but unknown) person performed the action.

  2. Am lăsat cheile undeva în bucătărie.

    I left the keys somewhere in the kitchen.

    Word by Word: I-have left keys somewhere in kitchen.

    'Undeva' indicates a specific location that the speaker cannot precisely identify.

  3. Trebuie să existe cumva o soluție.

    There must somehow be a solution.

    Word by Word: Must SUBJ exist somehow a solution.

    'Cumva' expresses that a method exists, even if it is not yet known.

  4. I-am dat scrisoarea cuiva de la birou.

    I gave the letter to someone from the office.

    Word by Word: To-him I-have given letter someone-DAT from at office.

    This shows the Dative form 'cuiva' (to someone) instead of the nominative 'cineva'.

  5. Am cumpărat câteva mere roșii.

    I bought a few red apples.

    Word by Word: I-have bought a-few apples red.

    Câteva is the feminine/neuter plural form of câtva. Mere is neuter plural, so it takes câteva.

Common Mistakes

  • Using cineva instead of its dative form.

    I-am dat cheia cineva.
    I-am dat cheia cuiva.

    A recipient expressed without a preposition takes dative cuiva; cineva is the nominative/accusative form.

How It Connects

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cineva / ceva / undeva / cândvaLevel 4Indefinite Pronouns

Learn This First

To understand indefinite pronouns like 'cineva' (someone) or 'ceva' (something), you must first be familiar with the basic Romanian question words (cine, ce, unde, când) which serve as the base for these forms.

Words in This Pattern

-vacinevacevaundevacândva