# Names of cities and towns with definite article?



## (Infant)ry

This is quite awkward, normally Romance languages place definite articles with the names of countries. Is it true that the definite article can be used in Romanian both ways. If it is, I have names of few towns in Croatia and I would like to know which definite article suits a certain name of town, that is if the gender can be determined. Here it goes:

Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, some extra: London, Paris, Moscow, Barcelona, Rome. 

P.S. do you call these towns differently in Romanian?


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## Outsider

(Infant)ry said:


> [...] normally Romance languages place definite articles with the names of countries.


It depends on the languages. Spanish usually doesn't.


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## kernowseb

Masculine place names, i.e. those ending in a consonant, -u or -eşti, have the definite article when they are used as a subject, or when the name is used in the genitive, when it will take the genitive singular ending.

Examples:

Paris*ul *a fost ocupat de un trib galic.
Bucureşti*ul* este cel mai mare centru economic al României.
În jurul Bucureşti*ului *sunt multe păduri.

By default, feminine place names, i.e. those ending in -a, are considered definite in form and will decline according to standard rules:

Londr*a *este capitala Angli*ei*
În centrul Rom*ei *sunt multe clădiri frumoase

As to Romanian rendering of place names, the Croatian ones stay the same: Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek; London = Londra, Moscow = Moscova, Paris = Paris, Rome = Roma


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## (Infant)ry

My gratitude to all.


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