Some usual phrases in Romanian are formed with a pronoun in the dative and the verb “to be” in the third person singular.

[audio:http://www.romania-insider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Special-phrases-in-Romanian.mp3|titles=Special phrases in Romanian]

Examples

Îmi este foame = mi-e foame (I am hungry)

Îmi este sete = mi-e sete (I am thirsty)

Îmi este frig = mi-e frig (I am cold)

Îmi este cald = mi-e cald (I am warm)

If we want to change the subject, only the dative pronoun “îmi” will be modified. The rest of the phrase including the verb “este” and the nouns “foame”, “sete”, “frig”, “cald” remains in the same form.

The current / common form of these phrases includes the short form of the pronoun “mi” and the short form of the verb “to be” (“e” instead of “este”). The contraction of the pronoun “mi” and the verb “e” is mandatory (“mi-e”). In this case, the two parts of speech turn into one syllable. This type pf contraction occurs in the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd person singular. In the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd person plural we use only the short form of the verb “to be”: “e”. As long as the two parts of speech (the pronoun and the verb) does not turn into one syllable, we cannot talk about a contraction (“ne e”, “vă e”, “le e” are not contractions).

Îmi este foame / sete  Mi-e foame / sete (I am hungry / thirsty)	Ne este foame / sete  Ne e foame / sete (We are hungry / thirsty)
Îți este foame / sete  Ți-e foame / sete (You are hungry / thirsty)	Vă este foame / sete  Vă e foame / sete. (You are hungry / thirsty)
Îi este foame / sete  I-e foame / sete (He / she is hungry / thirsty)	Le este foame / sete  Le e foame / sete (They are hungry /thirsty)

Meaning and grammar do not always go together. Not all phrases or verbs can be preceded by the normal subject (“eu”, “tu”, “el / ea” etc.). An important grammatical feature of this type of phrases is that it is not possible to express the subject “eu”, “tu”, “el / ea” etc. in front of them. A structure like “eu îmi este foame” is incorrect.

Romanian uses a double dative structure. If we want to emphasize the subject of this type of phrase, the subject is in the dative as well. The dative forms of the pronouns used in this case are: “mie” (in the 1^st person singular), “ție” (in the 2^nd person singular), “lui / ei” (in the 3^rd person singular; “lui” is for masculine, “ei” is for feminine), “nouă” (in the 1^st person plural), “vouă” (in the 2^nd person plural), “lor” (in the 3^rd person plural). The full form of these phrases is:

Mie îmi este foame / sete  Mie mi-e foame / sete (I am hungry / thirsty)	Nouă ne este foame / sete  Nouă ne e foame / sete (We are hungry / thirsty)
Ție îți este foame / sete  Ție ți-e foame / sete (You are hungry / thirsty)	Vouă vă este foame / sete  Vouă vă e foame / sete. (You are hungry / thirsty)
Lui / ei îi este foame / sete  Lui / ei i-e foame / sete (He / she is hungry / thirsty)	Lor le este foame / sete  Lor le e foame / sete (They are hungry /thirsty)

If we don't want to emphasize the subject, it's enough to say: “îmi este foame” or “mi-e foame”.The optional forms of the dative pronouns are only: “mie”, “ție”, “lui / ei”, “nouă”, “vouă”, “lor”.

“(Mie) îmi este foame” - “mie” is optional

“Îmi este foame” - “îmi” is mandatory

The negative form

In the negative, the particle “nu” must be added in front of the pronouns in the dative.

Nu îmi este foame / sete  Nu mi-e foame / sete (I am not hungry / thirsty)	Nu ne este foame / sete  Nu ne e foame / sete (We are not hungry / thirsty)
Nu îți este foame / sete  Nu ți-e foame / sete (You are not hungry / thirsty)	Nu vă este foame / sete  Nu vă e foame / sete. (You are not hungry / thirsty)
Nu îi este foame / sete  Nu i-e foame / sete (He / she is not hungry / thirsty)	Nu le este foame / sete  Nu le e foame / sete (They are not hungry /thirsty)

When we express the double dative, the particle “nu” remains in front of the second pronoun in the dative.

Mie nu îmi este foame / sete  Mie nu mi-e foame / sete (I am not hungry / thirsty)	Nouă nu ne este foame / sete  Nouă nu ne e foame / sete (We are not hungry / thirsty)
Ție nu îți este foame / sete  Ție nu ți-e foame / sete (You are not hungry / thirsty)	Vouă nu vă este foame / sete  Vouă nu vă e foame / sete. (You are not hungry / thirsty)
Lui / ei nu îi este foame / sete  Lui / ei nu i-e foame / sete (He / she is not hungry / thirsty)	Lor nu le este foame / sete  Lor nu le e foame / sete (They are not hungry /thirsty)

Other Romanian phrases with the same structure

Îmi pare bine de cunoștință = Nice to meet you

Îmi pare rău = I am sorry

Îmi este bine = I am fine

Îmi este rău = I am sick

The short form including the contraction of the pronouns in the dative and the verb is possible only when the structure includes the verb “to be”.

Îmi este bine = Mi-e bine = I am fine

Îmi este rău = Mi-e rău = I am sick

If the structure includes the verb “a părea” (to seem), a short form doesn't exist.

Îmi pare bine de cunoștință = Nice to meet you

Îmi pare rău = I am sorry

are the only possible constructions.

Mona Pologea, PhD. Linguist, Managing Director ROLANG School