căruia / căreia / cărora
Oblique Relative Forms
Use căruia/căreia/cărora for 'to whom'. Before a possessed noun, use al/a/ai/ale + cărui/cărei/căror for 'whose'.
How It Works
Use an oblique form of care for a relative clause with an indirect object or possessor.
Dative forms: căruia for masculine/neuter singular, căreia for feminine singular, and cărora for all plurals. They agree with the antecedent: omul căruia i-am scris, femeia căreia i-am scris, oamenii cărora le-am scris.
Possession before a noun: Use al/a/ai/ale + cărui/cărei/căror + possessed noun. The relative form agrees with the possessor; the possessive article agrees with the possessed noun: omul a cărui mașină..., femeia al cărei fiu..., orașele a căror istorie....
Two agreements: In orașele a căror istorie, căror refers to plural orașele, while feminine singular a agrees with istorie.
Dative clitics: A human relative recipient normally has îi (with the combining form i- before a vowel) or le alongside it in contemporary neutral usage.
Question contrast: Cui i-ai scris? is a question; with an expressed antecedent, use persoana căreia i-ai scris.
Examples (5)
- Omul căruia i-am dat scrisoarea este unchiul meu.
The man to whom I gave the letter is my uncle.
Word by Word: Man-the to-whom [to-him]-I-have given letter-the is uncle-the my.
Here, 'căruia' refers to 'omul' (masculine singular). Note the clitic 'i-' doubling the indirect object.
- Iată colega căreia i-am împrumutat cartea.
Here is the colleague (fem.) to whom I lent the book.
Word by Word: Here-is colleague-the to-whom [to-her]-I-have lent book-the.
'Căreia' is used because the antecedent 'colega' is feminine singular.
- Am vizitat orașele, a căror istorie este fascinantă.
I visited the cities, the history of which is fascinating.
Word by Word: I-have visited cities-the, whose history is fascinating.
Căror refers to plural orașele, while feminine singular possessive article a agrees with istorie.
- Omul a cărui fiică este medic locuiește aici.
The man whose daughter is a doctor lives here.
Word by Word: Man-the [possessive-article] whose daughter is doctor lives here.
In this pre-posed genitive, 'a' agrees with 'fiică' (fem. sing.), while 'cărui' agrees with 'omul' (masc. sing.).
- Proiectul căruia i-am dedicat mult timp a fost aprobat.
The project to which I dedicated a lot of time was approved.
Word by Word: Project-the to-which [to-it]-I-have dedicated much time has been approved.
This shows that these forms are used for inanimate objects (neuter 'proiectul') as well as people.
Common Mistakes
Omitting the resumptive dative clitic.
Femeia căreia am vorbit...Femeia căreia i-am vorbit...In the Dative case, Romanian requires a clitic pronoun (like 'i-') to double the relative pronoun.
Using 'cui' instead of 'căruia' with a specific antecedent.
Băiatul cui i-am dat banii...Băiatul căruia i-am dat banii...'Cui' is used for questions or 'headless' relatives (whoever). When there is a specific noun before it (băiatul), you must use 'căruia'.
Matching the gender with the following noun instead of the antecedent.
Omul căreia i-am dat mașina...Omul căruia i-am dat mașina...Even though 'mașina' is feminine, the pronoun must agree with 'omul' (masculine), which is the person receiving the car.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the oblique relative forms (căruia, căreia, cărora), you must first understand the basic relative pronoun 'care'. Since these forms specifically mark genitive (possession) or dative (indirect object) relations, you need a solid grasp of Romanian case endings—particularly the feminine singular and plural genitive-dative forms—and how the possessive article (al, a, ai, ale) functions to link the relative pronoun to the noun it modifies.
- Relative care
The forms căruia and căreia are the oblique (genitive/dative) cases of the basic relative pronoun care.
Level 2 - Agreement in Possessive Phrases
Understanding how possessive articles agree with the possessed object is essential for using these relative forms in genitive constructions.
Level 3 - Feminine Genitive/Dative
The stem change and case marking in căreia follow the logic of feminine genitive-dative noun and adjective endings.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- Dative Doubling
Essential for using these relative forms correctly in the Dative case.
Level 4 - Plural Genitive/Dative -lor
Plural nouns can mark genitive/dative with -lor. The relative pronoun has its own irregular plural form cărora; it does not contain -lor.
Level 3 - al / a / ai / alePossessive Article
Used with the short forms (cărui/cărei) when the pronoun precedes the possessed noun.
Level 2 - pe care
The Accusative version of the relative pronoun, used for direct objects.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice căruia / căreia / cărora in Bubblegum
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