In Romanian, many everyday prepositions are followed by a noun phrase in the accusative: Cartea este pe masă, iar geanta este lângă ușă. (The book is on the table, and the bag is next to the door.) The accusative is often visible through the preposition rather than through a special noun ending.
What does “takes the accusative” mean?
It means that the preposition selects the accusative form or construction of the noun phrase that follows it. Romanian nouns usually have the same form in the nominative and accusative, so în oraș (in the city) and oraș (city) do not display a separate accusative ending. The case is still part of the grammar: compare accusative lângă profesor (next to the teacher) with genitive în fața profesorului (in front of the teacher). For a wider map of Romanian cases, see the Romanian case system.
| Preposition | Common meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cu | with, by | Scriu cu un creion. (I write with a pencil.) |
| de | of, from, about; context-dependent | Am nevoie de timp. (I need time.) |
| din | from, out of | Vin din oraș. (I am coming from the city.) |
| fără | without | Pleacă fără umbrelă. (He or she is leaving without an umbrella.) |
| în | in, into | Copiii sunt în curte. (The children are in the yard.) |
| la | at, to, in | Lucrează la bibliotecă. (He or she works at the library.) |
| lângă | next to, near | Stăm lângă fereastră. (We are sitting next to the window.) |
| pe | on; also a direct-object marker | Telefonul este pe masă. (The phone is on the table.) |
| pentru | for | Acest mesaj este pentru Ana. (This message is for Ana.) |
| peste | over, across | Sărim peste șanț. (We jump over the ditch.) |
| prin | through, by means of | Trecem prin parc. (We are going through the park.) |
| spre | towards | Trenul merge spre Brașov. (The train is going towards Brașov.) |
| sub | under | Pisica doarme sub masă. (The cat is sleeping under the table.) |
| către | towards, to | Se îndreaptă către ieșire. (He or she is heading towards the exit.) |
| despre | about | Discutăm despre film. (We are talking about the film.) |
This is a practical B1 inventory of common simple prepositions, not a complete list of every preposition or prepositional phrase. Compound forms and phrases such as de la (from), de pe (from off), and în fața (in front of) need to be learned separately because their internal case behavior can differ.
How do articles behave after these prepositions?
The preposition comes before the whole noun phrase and does not normally create a new accusative ending. Article choice is construction-sensitive: many simple prepositional phrases use a bare noun where English uses “the,” while indefinite or independently identified and modified phrases show an article.
- A simple noun is often unarticulated after a preposition: Cartea este pe masă. (The book is on the table.) and Pisica este sub scaun. (The cat is under the chair.) The Romanian context can make the location definite without an overt article.
- Use the indefinite article when you introduce one non-specific item: Pisica este sub un scaun. (The cat is under a chair.) and Vorbesc cu o colegă. (I am talking with a colleague.)
- A definite article appears when the noun phrase is independently definite or modified: pe masa mare (on the big table), lângă casa noastră (next to our house), and despre cartea nouă (about the new book). The definite article remains attached to the noun.
- With cu, the definite article is common for an instrument or means of transport: Scriu cu stiloul. (I write with the pen.) and Mergem cu trenul. (We are going by train.) This is an article pattern, not a different case.
- Before a singular indefinite un or o, în and din commonly combine with the article: într-un oraș (in a city), într-o țară (in a country), dintr-un sat (from a village), and dintr-o cameră (from a room).
Which pronoun forms follow an accusative preposition?
Use the full accusative pronoun after an ordinary preposition: cu mine (with me), pentru tine (for you), or lângă ea (next to her). The full forms are different from the verb-linked unstressed forms used in direct-object constructions. The table shows the neutral full form and the matching clitic in a human direct-object pattern.
| Person | Full form after a preposition | Direct-object pattern |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | mine: pentru mine (for me) | mă ... pe mine: Mă vede pe mine. (He or she sees me.) |
| 2nd singular | tine: cu tine (with you) | te ... pe tine: Te așteaptă pe tine. (He or she is waiting for you.) |
| 3rd singular masculine | el: lângă el (next to him) | îl ... pe el: Îl cheamă pe el. (He or she is calling him.) |
| 3rd singular feminine | ea: despre ea (about her) | o ... pe ea: O vede pe ea. (He or she sees her.) |
| 1st plural | noi: fără noi (without us) | ne ... pe noi: Ne invită pe noi. (He or she is inviting us.) |
| 2nd plural | voi: spre voi (towards you) | vă ... pe voi: Vă caută pe voi. (He or she is looking for you.) |
| 3rd plural masculine or mixed | ei: despre ei (about them) | îi ... pe ei: Îi așteptăm pe ei. (We are waiting for them.) |
| 3rd plural feminine | ele: lângă ele (next to them) | le ... pe ele: Le așteptăm pe ele. (We are waiting for them.) |
The forms mine, tine, el, ea, noi, voi, ei, and ele are full forms; they do not attach to the preposition. In a complete emphatic human direct-object clause, Romanian normally also has the matching clitic before the verb, as in Mă vede pe mine, nu pe tine. (He or she sees me, not you.) In an isolated answer, the full phrase can stand alone: Pe mine. (Me.) For the broader full-pronoun patterns, see stressed direct and indirect object pronouns.
How is direct-object pe different from prepositional pe?
There are two useful pe patterns. Lexical pe means “on” or a related location and is an ordinary preposition: Telefonul este pe masă. (The phone is on the table.) The other pe is a grammatical marker used with many specific or human direct objects: O văd pe Ana. (I see Ana.) It does not mean “on” there. This direct-object marker belongs to the verb's object construction, not to the general rule that all prepositions take the accusative.
| Pattern | Romanian | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Lexical preposition | Caietul este pe masă. (The notebook is on the table.) | Expresses location; pe is the preposition and masă is its complement. |
| Human direct object | O văd pe Ana. (I see Ana.) | Marks a specific human direct object; o is the matching clitic. |
| Ordinary inanimate object | Citesc cartea. (I am reading the book.) | Does not need direct-object pe simply because it is an accusative object. |
Do not put direct-object pe before every noun, and do not translate every Romanian pe as “on.” The exact conditions for human, animate, definite, and contrastive objects are broader than this lesson; see the direct-object marker pe.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not search for a special noun ending every time you see an accusative preposition. cu profesorul and profesorul share the same noun form; the preposition and sentence role identify the case.
- Do not replace an accusative pronoun with a dative form: cu mine (with me), not cu mie. The dative contrast is a separate pattern; compare genitive and dative noun forms.
- Do not treat în fața casei as a simple accusative-preposition example. The compound phrase în fața selects the genitive, while simple în selects the accusative in în casă.
- Do not add direct-object pe merely because a noun is definite: Am cumpărat cartea. (I bought the book.) is complete without it.
Which sentence uses lexical pe with the meaning “on”?
- Vorbesc despre film.
- Cartea este pe masă.
- Merg fără umbrelă.
- Vin din oraș.
In pe masă, pe expresses location and means “on.” It is different from direct-object pe in O văd pe Ana, where it marks a human direct object.
Which phrase means “under a chair” and uses the indefinite article correctly?
- sub scaunul
- sub scaune
- sub un scaun
- sub lui scaun
The singular indefinite article is un, so sub un scaun means “under a chair.” Sub scaunul is definite, while lui is not the correct article for this noun phrase.
Complete the sentence with the full accusative pronoun for “with him”: Ea locuiește ___.
- cu el
- cu lui
- cu îl
- cu ei
After the preposition cu, the full accusative form for a singular masculine “him” is el. Lui is a dative or genitive form, îl is a clitic, and ei means “them” in the masculine or mixed plural.
Which sentence gives the neutral human direct-object pattern for “I see Ana”?
- Îl văd pe Ana.
- Văd la Ana.
- O văd Ana.
- O văd pe Ana.
The feminine singular clitic o matches Ana, and direct-object pe introduces the full human object: O văd pe Ana. The other choices either mismatch the clitic or use the wrong preposition or construction.
Which statement about Romanian accusative prepositions is accurate?
- Every noun after one must show a special accusative ending.
- A noun often keeps its nominative-accusative form, so the preposition helps make the case visible.
- Direct-object pe always means “on.”
- The full pronoun after cu is mie.
Romanian frequently has identical nominative and accusative noun forms, as in în oraș and oraș. The preposition selects the case even when the noun does not visibly change. Direct-object pe is not always locative, and cu takes full accusative mine, not dative mie.