Left Dislocation

Level 4

Left Dislocation (CLLD) moves a specific object to the beginning of a sentence to establish it as the topic ('As for...'). In Romanian, this requires a matching clitic pronoun later in the sentence to 'resume' the object.

How It Works

Clitic left dislocation puts an object at the front and resumes it with a short pronoun:
Cartea am citit-o ieri. (The book, I read yesterday.)

Clitic: The pronoun matches the object and follows the verb construction's placement rules: o citesc, am citit-o, îl văd.

Specific referent: In Romanian this construction involves a specific object. An indefinite noun phrase can also be specific when the speaker has a particular referent in mind. An expression beginning with o/un is not automatically excluded.

Topic or focus: The fronted phrase can establish what the sentence is about, or highlight a contrast: CARTEA am citit-o, nu revista. Intonation and discourse distinguish the uses.

Human objects: Keep appropriate pe marking: Pe Andrei îl caut.

Different construction: A nonspecific kind or quantity can be fronted without a clitic, as in PÂINE am cumpărat. This is not a reason to omit the clitic from a specific dislocated object.

Examples (4)

  1. Cartea, am citit-o deja.

    The book, I have read it already.

    Word by Word: Book-the, I-have read-it already.

    The object 'cartea' is moved to the front. The clitic '-o' (it) is mandatory to refer back to the feminine singular noun.

  2. Pe Maria o cunosc de mult timp.

    Maria, I've known her for a long time.

    Word by Word: PE Maria her I-know for much time.

    Since Maria is a person, 'pe' is required. The clitic 'o' (her) resumes the topic.

  3. Lui Ion i-am dat banii ieri.

    To Ion, I gave him the money yesterday.

    Word by Word: To-Lui Ion him-I-have given money-the yesterday.

    This shows a Dative (indirect object) dislocation. 'Lui Ion' is the topic, resumed by the clitic 'i-' (to him).

  4. Merele le-am mâncat, dar perele le-am lăsat.

    The apples I ate, but the pears I left.

    Word by Word: Apples-the them-I-have eaten, but pears-the them-I-have left.

    Left dislocation is perfect for contrasting two different items in a sequence.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the resumptive clitic pronoun.

    Filmul am văzut ieri.
    Filmul l-am văzut ieri.

    For a fronted specific object, Romanian retains the matching clitic: Filmul l-am văzut ieri, roughly “The movie, I saw it yesterday.” Here l- resumes filmul.

  • Dropping the preposition 'pe' for human topics.

    Andrei îl caut de o oră.
    Pe Andrei îl caut de o oră.

    Even when moved to the front as a topic, a specific person still requires the preposition 'pe'.

How It Connects

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Left DislocationLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand left dislocation, you must first be comfortable with direct object clitics, as these are used to 'resume' the noun that has been moved to the front of the sentence. You also need to understand the general concept of clitic doubling and how Romanian uses word order to shift focus.

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