Impersonal verbs and constructions

Romanian often describes weather, necessity, or a general situation without naming a grammatical subject: Plouă. (It is raining.) The finite verb is usually in the third-person singular, while a dative phrase can name the person affected: Îmi este frig. (I am cold.)

What makes a Romanian construction impersonal?

An impersonal construction has no overt grammatical subject; Romanian uses a default third-person form, a generic se, or a dative phrase for an experiencer instead of making a person the subject. The English translation may still use it, people, you, or a personal pronoun.

Which verbs describe weather and the time of day?

Weather verbs such as a ploua, a ninge, a tuna, and a fulgera normally occur in the third-person singular. Weather and time-of-day changes can also use reflexive forms with se.

• The same default continues in other tenses: A plouat toată noaptea. (It rained all night.) and Mâine va ninge. (It will snow tomorrow.)
• Do not add a dummy subject such as el or ea: say Plouă, not El plouă.
• The verb a se însenina describes the weather becoming clear; it is not a reflexive action performed by a person.

How do necessity and evaluation take a subjunctive clause?

Impersonal predicates commonly introduce a present subjunctive clause with să. The impersonal predicate does not agree with the person who must act or with the person being evaluated; the verb after să carries that agreement. See the Romanian present subjunctive for the full form system.

The short form e is common in conversation and ordinary writing: E ușor să înveți. (It is easy to learn.) The full este is also standard and can sound more deliberate: Este important să verifici. (It is important to check.) With an explicitly stated different subject, use ca ... să: Este bine ca voi să așteptați. (It is good for you to wait.)

What is the difference between trebuie să and îmi trebuie?

Use trebuie să for an action that someone must perform, but use dative îmi trebuie plus a noun for something that someone needs. In the present, trebuie keeps its singular form in this nonpersonal frame, even when the needed item is plural.

The dative clitic identifies the person with the need: îmi (to me), îți (to you), îi (to him or her), ne (to us), vă (to you plural), or le (to them). Do not turn the dative into a subject: Îmi trebuie un bilet, not Eu trebuie un bilet. In the past and future, keep the standard forms shown by context: Mi-a trebuit timp. (I needed time.) and Îmi va trebui timp. (I will need time.)

How do dative experiencer constructions express states?

Romanian commonly puts the experiencer in the dative rather than making it the subject of a verb meaning be hungry, be cold, miss, or be afraid. The contracted forms mi-e, ți-e, and similar forms are neutral contemporary choices; the full forms îmi este and îți este are also standard.

With a plăcea, the thing liked can control number: filmul gives îmi place, while plural filmele gives îmi plac. This is a useful contrast with fixed state expressions such as mi-e foame, where the dative marks the experiencer and the frame is learned as a whole.

When does se mean people in general?

Impersonal se removes a specific agent and gives a general reading: people, one, or you in general. The verb normally remains in the third-person singular when there is no expressed subject. This is different from an ordinary reflexive verb such as Maria se spală (Maria washes herself); see Romanian reflexive verbs.

How do you distinguish impersonal se from passive se?

With generic impersonal se, there is no expressed grammatical subject and the verb stays singular: Se lucrează. With passive se, a noun can function as the subject, so the verb agrees with it. Romanian also has a separate passive voice with a fi plus a participle.

Mistakes to avoid

• Do not add el or ea to weather verbs: Plouă, not El plouă.
• Do not conjugate present trebuie for the person who must act: Eu trebuie să plec and Ei trebuie să plece use the same impersonal predicate; the să clause carries person and number.
• Do not confuse the two frames: Trebuie să cumpăr pâine means I have to buy bread, while Îmi trebuie pâine means I need bread.
• Do not treat every se as reflexive. Maria se spală has a subject and a reflexive action; Se lucrează aici has a generic agent.
• Do not ignore agreement in passive se: compare Se construiește podul with Se construiesc poduri.
• Do not copy the English subject-plus-adjective pattern word for word: Romanian says Mi-e frig for I am cold, with the experiencer in the dative.