| preceding vowel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a / i | e / ə / i̇ | o / u | ö / ü | |
| postconsonantal except after L | -ıl | -il | -ul | -ül |
| after L | -ın | -in | -un | -ün |
| postvocalic | -n | |||
-ul
See-il.
-ul
-ul/-ül (essive-modal case suffix)
| case | back vowel a, á, o, ó, u, ú | front vowel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded e, é, i, í | rounded ö, ő, ü, ű | ||
| nominative | — | ||
| accusative | -t | ||
| -ot /-at | -et | -öt | |
| dative | -nak | -nek | |
| instrumental | -val | -vel | |
| causal-final | -ért | ||
| translative | -vá | -vé | |
| terminative | -ig | ||
| essive-formal | -ként1 | ||
| essive-modal | -ul | -ül | |
| inessive | -ban | -ben | |
| superessive | -n | ||
| -on | -en | -ön | |
| adessive | -nál | -nél | |
| illative | -ba | -be | |
| sublative | -ra | -re | |
| allative | -hoz | -hez | -höz |
| elative | -ból | -ből | |
| delative | -ról | -ről | |
| ablative | -tól | -től | |
-ul
-ul
Identical to-l (a contracted form of an older-lu, from a clipping ofVulgar Latin*illu, fromLatinille), compareAromanian-lu.
Due to the misunderstanding of modern speakers, *-ul* is assumed to be a separate suffix. In older Romanian (still dialectially attested and present in place names) masculine nouns end in-u for example:focu (nowfoc). A tendency to drop the pronunciation of final-u sounds lead to the modern pronunciation. Accordingly the old definite form forfocu isfoculu. Thus when subjected to final u dropping it results in the modern formfocul. It is not that -ul is a suffix, but that the indefinite form is contracted, such that its not immediately obvious.
This form of the definite article is used for both masculine and neuter singular nouns in the nominative and accusative cases which do not end in a vowel, except for-i (which is somewhat uncommon in Romanian):
The suffix is also used with masculine and neuter singular adjectives in the nominative and accusative cases to make the articulated definite form, often for emphasis, and it is used before the noun it modifies:
In informal speech, the final-l is often not pronounced.
| preceding vowel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a / i | e / i̇ | o / u | ö / ü | |
| postconsonantal except after L | -ıl | -il | -ul | -ül |
| after L | -ın | -in | -un | -ün |
| postvocalic | -n | |||
-ul
See-il.