Romanian Lessons for Talking About This or That

In our A2 Romanian lessons, students progress from simple vocabulary to expressing preferences with clarity and precision. One essential tool for confident, natural conversation is learning how to use demonstrative pronouns — words like “this” and “that” — which help speakers indicate objects or people in their immediate environment. These grammar tools are vital for real-time interactions, especially in settings like stores or markets where choices are made on the spot.

Understanding Romanian Demonstrative Pronouns

At this level, we introduce learners to both forms of demonstratives in Romanian: those that precede the noun (adjectival demonstratives) and those that replace it (pronominal demonstratives). Here’s how they function:

• acest, această, acești, aceste – refer to people or objects that are close to the speaker (this, these).

• acel, acea, acei, acele – refer to things or people at a distance (that, those).

• Example:

  • Acest pantof este nou. (This shoe is new.)

  • Acea geantă este scumpă. (That bag is expensive.)

These demonstratives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Practice drills in our course include transformations like:

• această carte ↔ cartea aceasta

• acel bărbat ↔ bărbatul acela

This structure reinforces word order flexibility while building accuracy.

Practice: Expressing Preferences While Shopping

On the practical side, students are guided through shopping dialogues where they need to compare items and state preferences clearly. The following types of exchanges are common in our practice exercises:

• Vreți acești pantaloni sau pe aceia?

• Îmi place mai mult această rochie decât cealaltă.

• Îl iau pe acesta, nu pe acela.

In context-rich dialogues and fill-in-the-gap exercises, learners develop the reflex to switch between demonstrative adjectives and pronouns depending on whether the noun is present or implied.

Grammar Meets Functionality

This lesson goes beyond rote memorization by showing how demonstratives are used in authentic contexts: trying on clothes, comparing prices, or pointing to items in a store. It supports fluency by giving learners access to real communication strategies, with grammar serving as a means to effective interaction.

By building on their A1 foundation, learners at this stage are empowered to use grammatical structures more flexibly, responding to real-life situations instead of rehearsed scripts.

🎯 Speak Clearly and Confidently – Join Our Romanian Courses

Whether you’re shopping, comparing, or simply pointing things out in Romanian, mastering demonstratives is essential. Our structured courses help you develop these skills through personalized practice and native-like input. Join our A2 program today and discover how to learn Romanian in a way that’s engaging, real-world focused, and built for fluency.

Visit our resource page for grammar guides, dictionaries, and pronunciation support.

Disclaimer: This article was developed with the support of AI tools, based on original ideas created by our team. The content was carefully reviewed, edited, and adapted by a human to ensure accuracy, clarity, and relevance for learners of Romanian.
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