Choice and tag questions

Romanian has two useful question patterns beyond a simple yes–no question: a choice question offers alternatives, and a tag question asks for confirmation of a statement. Compare Vrei ceai sau cafea? (Do you want tea or coffee?) with Vrei ceai, nu-i așa? (You want tea, don't you?)

How do you form a choice or tag question?

For a choice question, keep ordinary Romanian word order and join the alternatives with sau or ori. For a confirmation tag, say the statement first, then add the invariant tag nu-i așa? or the shorter nu?; the tag does not copy the main verb or change for the subject.

How do you ask someone to choose?

Place sau or ori between the alternatives. The alternatives should have the same grammatical role where possible, and a single question mark normally comes at the end. Romanian does not need an English-style auxiliary before the subject. See yes–no questions for the ordinary question pattern and basic Romanian word order for the wider clause order.

• Choose between nouns or noun phrases: Vrei ceai sau cafea? (Do you want tea or coffee?)
• Choose between places or destinations: Mergem la muzeu sau la parc? (Are we going to the museum or the park?)
• Choose between actions: Preferi să plecăm acum sau să mai așteptăm? (Do you prefer us to leave now or wait a little longer?)
• Use ori in the same basic pattern: Vii cu trenul ori cu autobuzul? (Are you coming by train or by bus?)

How do you make the alternatives parallel?

Repeat a preposition, article, or verb when it belongs to both alternatives and repeating it makes the contrast clear. With longer or more deliberate alternatives, Romanian can use the correlative pattern sau...sau..., ori...ori..., or fie...fie.... These pairs highlight the two options; they do not create a new verb tense.

The first two examples keep the alternatives parallel; the last two show complete correlative pairs. In a short everyday question, simple sau is usually the easiest choice. Ori is a standard alternative, while fie...fie... can sound more deliberate or formal when it frames a pair of possibilities. See coordinating conjunctions for the wider contrast among sau, ori, and other coordinating forms.

How do you answer a choice question?

Name the selected alternative, or repeat enough of the phrase to make the choice clear. A short noun phrase is a natural answer; a full sentence is useful when the subject, time, or action could otherwise be misunderstood.

How do confirmation tags work?

A Romanian confirmation tag is normally an invariant phrase added after a statement. The most explicit everyday pattern is nu-i așa? (isn't that so? / right?), and the shorter nu? is also common in conversation. Unlike English tag questions, the tag does not switch between este, sunt, ai, or another auxiliary, and it does not need a matching subject pronoun.

• After a positive statement: Este târziu, nu-i așa? (It is late, isn't it?)
• After a negative statement: Nu este greu, nu-i așa? (It is not difficult, is it?)
• After a perfect-tense statement: Au sosit deja, nu? (They have already arrived, haven't they?)
• After a statement with an omitted subject: Vii mâine, nu-i așa? (You are coming tomorrow, aren't you?)

The tag usually has a rising, checking intonation in speech and is separated by a comma in writing. The speaker may expect agreement, invite a correction, or simply keep the conversation moving; the words alone do not guarantee one attitude. A direct question such as Este târziu? asks for the information itself, while Este târziu, nu-i așa? presents the answer as an assumption to confirm.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Do not add English do or mechanically copy English subject–auxiliary inversion: say Vrei ceai sau cafea? Romanian can vary subject placement for its own information-structure reasons, but inversion is not required to form the question.
• Do not replace a choice question with a yes–no question if two alternatives are required: Vrei ceai? does not ask whether coffee is the other option.
• Do not make the tag agree with the main verb: use Au sosit deja, nu-i așa?, not a different tag built from au.
• Do not assume that nu-i așa? means the statement is negative. The nu belongs to the fixed confirmation phrase, so it can follow either a positive or a negative statement.
• Do not force fie...fie... into every short question. Simple sau is the neutral default for two everyday options.