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SYNTAX.
We propose to show here very briefly how to combine the different parts and particles of speech, in order to make a correct Roumanian sentence.
THE NOUNS.
Nominative.
The subject of the verb is put in the nominative case, and its place is at the beginning of the sentence:
- Trandafirul este o flóre frumóssă, ‘The rose is a pretty flower;’
- Dumnezeŭ a zidit lumea, ‘God has created the world.’
Genitive.
The dependence of one noun upon another is indicated by the genitive case:
- Flórea cîmpuluĭ, ‘The flower of the field;’
- Cartea copiluluĭ, ‘The book of the child.’
We see here that when the genitive follows the subject, the particle a is omitted. But when the genitive precedes the subject, as it often does in verse, the particle a cannot be omitted. In such case the subject is without the article:
a cîmpuluĭ flóre, ‘the field’s flower;’
a copiluluĭ carte, ‘the child’s book.’
