Demonstrative Pronouns in Romanian

Overview

Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives — words like "this," "that," "these," and "those" — are essential for pointing to specific things and distinguishing between items. In Romanian, demonstratives are more complex than in English because they agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. At the A2 level, you will focus on the nominative/accusative forms, which cover the vast majority of everyday situations.

Romanian has two main sets of demonstratives: the proximal series (acest/această — this) for things near the speaker, and the distal series (acel/aceea — that) for things farther away. Each set has masculine, feminine, singular, and plural forms. There are also shorter, more colloquial forms that you will hear constantly in spoken Romanian.

Understanding demonstratives helps you be more precise in conversation. Instead of just saying "the book," you can say "this book" or "that book over there," which makes your communication much clearer.

How It Works

Proximal Demonstratives (This / These)

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	acest (this)	această (this)
Plural	acești (these)	aceste (these)

Distal Demonstratives (That / Those)

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	acel (that)	acea (that)
Plural	acei (those)	acele (those)

Position and Usage

Demonstratives can be placed before the noun (more formal/literary) or after the noun (more common in speech):

Position	Example	Translation
Before noun	acest om	this man
After noun	omul acesta	this man

Important: When the demonstrative follows the noun, the noun takes the definite article AND the demonstrative takes the longer form with -a:

Short (before)	Long (after noun with article)
acest	acesta
această	aceasta
acești	aceștia
aceste	acestea
acel	acela
acea	aceea
acei	aceia
acele	acelea

Colloquial Short Forms

In everyday spoken Romanian, shorter forms are very common:

Standard	Colloquial	Example
acesta	ăsta	Ăsta e bun. (This one is good.)
aceasta	asta	Asta e a mea. (This one is mine.)
aceștia	ăștia	Ăștia sunt noi. (These are new.)
acestea	astea	Astea sunt scumpe. (These are expensive.)
acela	ăla	Ăla e mare. (That one is big.)
aceea	aia	Aia e frumoasă. (That one is beautiful.)
aceia	ăia	Ăia sunt prietenii mei. (Those are my friends.)
acelea	alea	Alea sunt vechi. (Those are old.)

As Standalone Pronouns

Demonstratives can stand alone (without a noun) as pronouns:

• Ce este aceasta? — What is this?
• Vreau acela. — I want that one.
• Astea sunt ale tale? — Are these yours?

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Acest restaurant este bun.	This restaurant is good.	Before noun, formal
Cartea aceasta este interesantă.	This book is interesting.	After noun + article
Acea clădire este veche.	That building is old.	Before noun, formal
Fetele acelea sunt studente.	Those girls are students.	After noun + article
Ăsta e fratele meu.	This is my brother.	Colloquial standalone
Vreau aia, nu asta.	I want that one, not this one.	Colloquial, contrasting
Acești copii sunt foarte deștepți.	These children are very smart.	Before noun, masc. pl.
Mașina aia e a ta?	Is that car yours?	Colloquial after noun
Cine e ăla?	Who is that?	Colloquial standalone
Aceste flori sunt frumoase.	These flowers are beautiful.	Before noun, fem. pl.
Dă-mi cartea aceea.	Give me that book.	After noun + article
Astea nu-mi plac.	I don't like these.	Colloquial standalone

Common Mistakes

Forgetting gender agreement

• Wrong: acest casă (masculine with feminine noun)
• Right: această casă
• Why: Casă is feminine, so you need the feminine demonstrative această, not masculine acest.

Missing the definite article when demonstrative follows the noun

• Wrong: carte aceasta
• Right: cartea aceasta
• Why: When the demonstrative comes after the noun, the noun must carry the definite article: cartea (the book), not carte (book).

Mixing proximal and distal in the same context

• Wrong: Vreau acest tort, nu acest tort. (pointing to two different cakes)
• Right: Vreau acest tort, nu acel tort.
• Why: Use acest for the nearer one and acel for the farther one to create clear contrast.

Using standard forms in casual speech (and vice versa)

• Wrong: Dă-mi aceasta, te rog. (in a casual conversation with friends)
• Right: Dă-mi asta, te rog.
• Why: While not grammatically wrong, using the full forms in casual conversation sounds overly formal. Match your register to the situation.

Usage Notes

In everyday spoken Romanian, the colloquial forms (ăsta, asta, ăla, aia) dominate. The standard forms (acesta, aceasta, acela, aceea) are used in writing, formal speech, news broadcasts, and academic contexts. As an A2 learner, you should recognize both but feel comfortable using the colloquial forms in conversation.

The expression asta e! (that's it! / that's how it is!) is extremely common and functions as an idiomatic phrase expressing resignation or finality.

When pointing at objects in a shop, ăsta/asta and ăla/aia are your go-to words: Vreau asta (I want this one), Cât costă aia? (How much does that one cost?).

Practice Tips

• Point and name: Look around any room and practice pointing: Ăsta e un scaun. Aia e o masă. Astea sunt cărți. This builds the habit of matching gender.
• Contrast pairs: Practice distinguishing two similar objects: Cartea asta e nouă, cartea aia e veche. This drills both proximal and distal forms.
• Listen for colloquial forms: When watching Romanian media, notice how often ăsta/asta/ăla/aia appear — they are everywhere in natural speech.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Gender — demonstratives must agree in gender, so you need to know noun genders
• Next steps: Possessive Pronouns — another pronoun system that agrees with the noun in gender and number