Some very common Romanian verbs have present forms that cannot be built reliably from the infinitive alone. Learn each verb with its key forms: Știu răspunsul. (I know the answer.)
What makes these present forms irregular?
The present indicative — the ordinary present used for facts, habits, and actions happening now — may use a different stem, a stem alternation, or a special form in one or more persons. There is no single formula that predicts every irregular verb.
- Learn the infinitive with at least the eu, el / ea, and noi forms: a lua — iau, ia, luăm.
- Expect some forms to repeat: dau means both eu dau and ei / ele dau; context or a subject pronoun identifies the person.
- Notice stem changes rather than forcing one stem into every person: a veni has vin, vii, vine but venim, veniți.
- Use neutral contemporary Standard Romanian first. A dictionary check is still useful when a new verb has an unfamiliar present set.
Which six-form sets should you learn first?
The tables below give the present indicative in the order eu, tu, el / ea, noi, voi, and ei / ele. The forms in the same row belong to one verb; do not assume that a similar infinitive will follow the same row.
| Infinitive and meaning | eu | tu | el / ea | noi | voi | ei / ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a fi (to be) | sunt | ești | este / e | suntem | sunteți | sunt |
| a avea (to have) | am | ai | are | avem | aveți | au |
| a putea (can; to be able to) | pot | poți | poate | putem | puteți | pot |
| a vrea (to want) | vreau | vrei | vrea | vrem | vreți | vor |
| Infinitive and meaning | eu | tu | el / ea | noi | voi | ei / ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a ști (to know) | știu | știi | știe | știm | știți | știu |
| a da (to give) | dau | dai | dă | dăm | dați | dau |
| a lua (to take) | iau | iei | ia | luăm | luați | iau |
| a sta (to stay; to sit; to stand) | stau | stai | stă | stăm | stați | stau |
| Infinitive and meaning | eu | tu | el / ea | noi | voi | ei / ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a bea (to drink) | beau | bei | bea | bem | beți | beau |
| a mânca (to eat) | mănânc | mănânci | mănâncă | mâncăm | mâncați | mănâncă |
| a face (to do; to make) | fac | faci | face | facem | faceți | fac |
| a veni (to come) | vin | vii | vine | venim | veniți | vin |
These paradigms include several different kinds of change. A lua has iau, iei, ia beside luăm and luați; a veni has vin and vii beside vine and venim; a face alternates between fac- and făc- in other forms of the verb, while its present has fac, faci, face. Treat each set as lexical knowledge, not as a rule that can be extended automatically to every verb.
How do you use the most important irregular verbs?
Use the same present-tense sentence patterns as with regular verbs, but choose the memorized form that agrees with the subject. Romanian often leaves out a subject pronoun when the context is clear.
| Verb and use | Romanian example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a fi: identity or location | Sunt studentă. Ea este acasă. | I am a student. She is at home. |
| a avea: possession, age, or need | Am douăzeci de ani și am nevoie de ajutor. | I am twenty years old and I need help. |
| a putea + să: ability or possibility | Pot să vin mâine. | I can come tomorrow. |
| a vrea + să: desire or intention | Vrem să învățăm română. | We want to learn Romanian. |
| a ști: knowledge or a learned ability | Știu răspunsul și știu să înot. | I know the answer and I know how to swim. |
| a sta: remaining, sitting, or standing | Stau acasă. Stau pe scaun. | I am staying at home. I am sitting on the chair. |
After a putea, a vrea, and similar verbs, the next verb commonly appears in the present subjunctive with să: Nu pot să plec. (I cannot leave.) See the Romanian present subjunctive for that following verb. With a sta, the English translation depends on the context: stau în picioare means I am standing, while stau pe scaun means I am sitting.
Which forms can have two jobs?
Some high-frequency forms are also auxiliaries or have a second common construction. Look at the words around the form before translating it.
| Form | Main verb | Other use |
|---|---|---|
| am / au | Am o întrebare. (I have a question.) | Am citit cartea. (I read / have read the book.) — a avea is the auxiliary before a past participle. |
| vor | Ei vor cafea. (They want coffee.) | Ei vor veni. (They will come.) — here vor is the future auxiliary, not the lexical verb a vrea. |
| este / e | El este aici. (He is here.) | Both are present forms of a fi; e is the shorter common form, while este is the full form. |
The separate articles on the present of a fi and the present of a avea give more detail on their main uses. The surrounding verb or noun phrase usually makes the difference clear: vor cafea has a noun object, while vor veni has another verb.
How do you negate and question these verbs?
Put nu directly before the finite verb — the form that carries the present tense and agrees with the subject. For a basic yes-or-no question, keep the same verb form and use question intonation in speech or a question mark in writing.
| Use | Romanian | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Negative statement | Nu știu. | I do not know. |
| Negative modal | Nu pot să vin. | I cannot come. |
| Yes-or-no question | Vrei cafea? | Do you want coffee? |
| Question with a da | Dai lecția astăzi? | Are you giving the lesson today? |
For the general placement of nu, see Romanian negation with nu. Do not add an English-style auxiliary such as “do” to a Romanian present question: Știi răspunsul? means Do you know the answer?
What should you memorize, and what should you not assume?
- Memorize a high-frequency verb as a + infinitive plus a small set of present forms: a vrea — vreau, vrea, vrem, vor.
- Use the subject to choose the person: Noi vrem, but ei vor; noi putem, but ei pot.
- Keep all diacritics in careful writing: știu, știe, dă, stă, mănâncă, beți.
- Do not make a new irregular verb from a familiar one: tu iei is the form of a lua, but tu bei is the form of a bea.
- When a form is shared by two persons, let context do the work: Dau un telefon can mean I am making a call or They are making a call.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not use the infinitive after the subject: say Noi venim mâine, not Noi a veni mâine.
- Do not use vrem with ei / ele: Ei vor să plece is correct; ei vrem mixes two persons.
- Do not confuse știu (I know / they know) with știe (he or she knows) or știi (you know).
- Do not omit the diacritic in dă or stă: these are present forms, not the unmarked strings da and sta.
- Do not treat every repeated ending as proof of a regular pattern. The full set for each common verb is the reliable information.
Which form completes: Tu ___ să vii mâine?
- pot
- poți
- poate
- puteți
The second-person singular form of a putea is poți: Tu poți să vii mâine? The other forms are first-person singular or third-person singular/plural, or second-person plural.
Complete: Noi ___ autobuzul la ora opt.
- iau
- iei
- luăm
- ia
With noi, a lua uses luăm. The forms iau, iei, and ia belong to other persons, and the change from lua- to luăm must be learned as part of the paradigm.
Which sentence means “They want coffee”?
- Ei vor cafea.
- Ei vor veni.
- Ei vrem cafea.
- Ei vreți cafea.
Ei vor cafea uses vor as the third-person plural present of a vrea, followed by the noun cafea. In Ei vor veni, vor is the future auxiliary before another verb.
Complete: Ana ___ acasă în seara aceasta.
- stau
- stai
- stați
- stă
Ana is third-person singular, so a sta takes stă. The other options are first-person singular, second-person singular, and second-person plural.
Which sentence uses vor as the present verb “want,” rather than as the future auxiliary?
- Ei vor pleca.
- Ei vor să plece.
- Ei vor veni.
- Ei vor lucra.
In Ei vor să plece, vor is the present form of a vrea and is followed by să plus the next verb. In the other sentences, vor comes directly before an infinitive-like verb form and marks the future.