A Lesson in Demonstrative Pronouns

In English, we use 4 demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, and those. We use them in phrases like: This boy/girl/pen, that boy/girl/pen, these boys/girls/pens, those boys/girls/pens.

In Romanian, it’s not so simple. Whereas in English we use the same word no matter where it falls in a sentence (“This boy ate the apple” and “I gave an apple to this boy,” the Romanian language uses different forms of the words. Romanian also changes things up a bit by adding different words for different genders “This boy” and “this girl” use the same word in English, but are different in Romanian. Oh, I almost forgot...these are just the forms for the masculine and feminine nouns. Romanian also uses neuter nouns which take on the masculine form in the singular and the feminine form in the plural.

To make matters worse (for learning Romanian, that is), Romanian grammar has definite and indefinite forms of demonstrative pronouns, a concept we don’t even have in English. In Romanian, there are different forms for “this the boy” and “this boy.” The definite form comes after the noun, while the indefinite form comes before the noun.

And, if that’s not complicated enough, they also throw in a more common form used for speaking in addition to the correct form for writing.

Let me illustrate my frustration with learning Romanian demonstrative pronouns by writing a phrase in English, and then showing all the ways to write it in Romanian (depending on gender, place in sentence, common or formal form, and definite or indefinite).

Remember, in English, we have just 4 ways (this, that, these, those) to say all of this:

This
This boy.

• Acest băiat
• Acestui băiat
• Băiatul acesta
• Băiatului acestuia
• Băiatul ăsta
• Băiatului ăstuia

This girl.

• Această fată
• Acestei fete
• Fata aceasta
• Fetei acesteia
• Fata asta
• Fetei ăsteia

This pen

• Acest pix
• Acestui pix
  
• Pixul acesta
• Pixului acestuia
• Pixul ăsta
• Pixului ăstuia

That
That boy

• Acel băiat
• Acelui băiat
• Băiatul acela
• Băiatului aceluia
• Băiatul ăla
• Băiatului ăluia

That girl

• Acea fată
• Acelei fete
• Fata aceea
• Fetei acelia
• Fata aia
• Fetei ăleia

That pen

• Acel pix
• Acelui pix
• Pixul acela
• Pixului aceluia
• Pixul ăla
• Pixului ăluia

These
These boys

• Acești băieți
• Acestor băieți
• Băieții aceștia
• Băieților acestora
• Băieții ăștia
• Băieților ăstora

These girls

• Aceste fete
• Acestor fete
• Fetele acestea
• Fetelor acestora
• Fetele astea
• Fetelor ăstora

These pens

• Aceste pixuri
• Acestor pixuri
• Pixurile acestea
• Pixurilor acestora
• Pixurile astea
• Pixurilor ăstora

Those
Those boys

• Acei băieți
• Acelor băieți
• Băieții aceia
• Băieților acelora
• Băieții ăia
• Băieților ălora

Those girls

• Acele fete
• Acelor fete
• Fetele acelea
• Fetelor acelora
• Fetele ălea
• Fetelor ălora

Those pens

• Acele pixuri
• Acelor pixuri
  
• Pixurile acelea
• Pixorilor acelora
• Pixorile ălea
• Pixorilor ălora

Let's just say I haven't memorized all 72 possibilities in Romanian yet!