Subjunctive Mood in Romanian

In Brief

Romanian normally forms the present subjunctive with să + a conjugated verb: Vreau să plec means “I want to leave.” It appears after wishes, requests, necessity, possibility, judgments, and expressions of purpose, often where English uses to + verb. Most first- and second-person forms match the present indicative, but the third-person form is often distinctive: pleacă “leaves” becomes să plece.

Overview

The subjunctive mood (modul conjunctiv) is a way of presenting an action as wanted, necessary, possible, intended, requested, evaluated, or otherwise dependent on another idea—not simply as a fact. A mood is just a set of verb forms that shows how the speaker views an action. In Romanian, the subjunctive is easy to recognize because it is normally introduced by să.

This is a core B1 topic, although learners meet it much earlier in everyday phrases such as Vreau să mănânc (“I want to eat”) and Pot să vin? (“Can I come?”). Romanian uses this construction far more often than English uses its formal subjunctive. English commonly joins two verbs with an infinitive (the basic “to” form, such as “to leave”); Romanian commonly builds a short clause with să and a verb marked for its subject.

That difference carries useful information. Compare Vreau să plec (“I want to leave”) with Vreau să pleci (“I want you to leave”). English changes the construction, but Romanian changes only the ending of the verb after să. Always ask who performs the second action.

How It Works

The basic pattern

The present subjunctive has this structure:

să + present subjunctive verb

The dictionary marker a is not used. Romanian says să plec, not să a plec. The verb after să agrees with its subject (the person or thing performing that action).

Meaning	Romanian pattern	Example
I want to leave	same subject: I → I	Vreau să plec.
I want you to leave	subjects change: I → you	Vreau să pleci.
I want them to leave	subjects change: I → they	Vreau să plece.

Romanian often leaves subject pronouns unspoken because the verb ending identifies the person. You can add one for contrast: Vreau ca tu să alegi (“I want you to choose”).

Regular-looking forms

For many verbs, the first- and second-person subjunctive forms are identical to the present indicative (the ordinary form used for facts). The main form to learn is the third person. Third-person singular and plural are the same in the present subjunctive.

Person	a lucra “to work”	a merge “to go”	a dormi “to sleep”
eu	să lucrez	să merg	să dorm
tu	să lucrezi	să mergi	să dormi
el / ea	să lucreze	să meargă	să doarmă
noi	să lucrăm	să mergem	să dormim
voi	să lucrați	să mergeți	să dormiți
ei / ele	să lucreze	să meargă	să doarmă

The contrast is especially clear in the third person:

Present indicative	Present subjunctive	Meaning
El lucrează.	Vreau să lucreze.	He works. / I want him to work.
Ea merge.	Trebuie să meargă.	She goes. / She has to go.
Copiii dorm.	E bine să doarmă.	The children sleep. / It is good for them to sleep.

Do not try to predict every stem change only from the infinitive. Learn the third-person subjunctive with each common verb: să facă, să vină, să spună, să vadă, să poată, să știe.

Essential irregular verbs

Person	a fi “to be”	a avea “to have”	a face “to do/make”	a veni “to come”
eu	să fiu	să am	să fac	să vin
tu	să fii	să ai	să faci	să vii
el / ea	să fie	să aibă	să facă	să vină
noi	să fim	să avem	să facem	să venim
voi	să fiți	să aveți	să faceți	să veniți
ei / ele	să fie	să aibă	să facă	să vină

Pay attention to spelling: să fii has two i in the second-person singular, while the unchanging form used in the perfect subjunctive is să fi: să fii atent (“to be careful”) but să fi fost atent (“to have been careful”).

Negation

Put nu after să and before the verb:

să + nu + verb

• Sper să nu plouă. — I hope it does not rain.
• Trebuie să nu întârzii. — You must not be late.
• Te rog să nu uiți. — Please do not forget.

English “don’t” does not correspond to a separate Romanian auxiliary here. The stable sequence is să nu.

Object and reflexive pronouns

Short object pronouns appear between să and the verb. An object pronoun is a small word standing for the person or thing affected by the action; a reflexive pronoun shows that the action returns to its subject.

• Vreau să te ajut. — I want to help you.
• Trebuie să-l sun. — I have to call him.
• E bine să ne odihnim. — It is good for us to rest.
• Sper să mă trezesc devreme. — I hope to wake up early.
• Vreau să i-o explic. — I want to explain it to him/her.

With negation, the order is să + nu + pronoun + verb: Sper să nu mă uiți (“I hope you don’t forget me”).

Where the subjunctive is used

Wants, preferences, hopes, and requests

Common triggers include a vrea (“to want”), a dori (“to wish”), a prefera (“to prefer”), a spera (“to hope”), and a ruga (“to ask/request”).

• Doresc să vorbesc cu directorul. — I would like to speak with the manager.
• Prefer să rămân acasă. — I prefer to stay home.
• Te rog să aștepți. — Please wait / I ask you to wait.

Necessity, possibility, and impersonal judgments

Impersonal expressions do not name a specific person as their grammatical subject. They are extremely common with the subjunctive:

• Trebuie să plecăm. — We have to leave.
• Se poate să întârzie. — He/She may be late.
• E important să citești instrucțiunile. — It is important to read the instructions.
• Ar fi bine să rezervăm o masă. — It would be good to reserve a table.

The person affected is usually shown by the verb ending. Trebuie să mănânci means “you must eat,” while Trebuie să mâncăm means “we must eat.”

Ability and other modal meanings

After a putea (“can, be able”), spoken and standard Romanian commonly uses să:

• Pot să intru? — May I come in?
• Nu putem să venim azi. — We cannot come today.

An infinitive is also possible after some verbs, especially a putea: Pot veni. The să construction is nevertheless fundamental and very frequent.

Purpose

Use să or ca să for an intended result:

• Am venit să te ajut. — I came to help you.
• Vorbesc rar ca să înțelegi. — I am speaking slowly so that you understand.

Ca să makes the purpose relation explicit and is especially useful when the two actions have different subjects. In formal writing, pentru a + infinitive is another option when the understood subject is the same: Am venit pentru a discuta problema (“I came to discuss the issue”).

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Vreau să plec.	I want to leave.	Same subject for both verbs
Vreau să pleci.	I want you to leave.	The second verb marks a new subject
Trebuie să mănânci.	You must eat.	Necessity
E bine să știi adevărul.	It is good to know the truth.	Impersonal judgment
Sper să reușești.	I hope you succeed.	Hope
Putem să stăm aici?	Can we sit here?	Ability or permission
Te rog să închizi ușa.	Please close the door.	Polite request
Mama vrea ca noi să venim duminică.	Mom wants us to come on Sunday.	ca helps introduce an explicit subject
Am ieșit să cumpăr pâine.	I went out to buy bread.	Purpose, same subject
Îți scriu ca să nu uiți întâlnirea.	I’m writing so that you don’t forget the meeting.	Purpose with negation
E posibil să plouă diseară.	It may rain this evening.	Possibility
Sper să nu mă trezesc târziu.	I hope I don’t wake up late.	Negative plus reflexive pronoun
Ar trebui să-l suni azi.	You should call him today.	Object pronoun between să and the verb
Să mergem!	Let’s go!	Independent encouraging use

Common Mistakes

Using the dictionary infinitive after să

• Wrong: Vreau să a pleca.
• Right: Vreau să plec.
• Why: The infinitive marker a disappears. After să, use a conjugated verb that matches the subject.

Copying the first verb’s person

• Wrong: Vreau să plec. when you mean “I want you to leave.”
• Right: Vreau să pleci.
• Why: Each verb has its own performer. The speaker wants, but “you” leave.

Reusing the indicative third-person form

• Wrong: Trebuie să merge acum.
• Right: Trebuie să meargă acum.
• Why: Third-person subjunctive forms are often distinct. Learn să meargă, not the indicative merge.

Putting nu before să

• Wrong: Sper nu să plouă.
• Right: Sper să nu plouă.
• Why: The normal negative order is să nu + verb.

Misplacing a short pronoun

• Wrong: Vreau te să ajut.
• Right: Vreau să te ajut.
• Why: An unstressed object or reflexive pronoun normally follows să and precedes the verb.

Translating every English to as să

• Wrong: Merg la magazin pentru să cumpăr lapte.
• Right: Merg la magazin să cumpăr lapte. / Merg la magazin ca să cumpăr lapte.
• Why: Purpose normally uses să or ca să, not the mixed pattern pentru să. Formal pentru a cumpăra is also possible.

Usage Notes

The subjunctive is not especially formal or literary in Romanian. It is part of ordinary conversation, including basic phrases with vreau, pot, and trebuie. Avoid treating it like the rare English subjunctive found in phrases such as “I suggest that he go.”

English often hides the subject of an infinitive: “I hope to arrive early.” Romanian makes it visible through the ending: Sper să ajung devreme. When subjects differ, English may require an object (“I want him to come”), whereas Romanian can use a separate subject in the să clause: Vreau să vină or, when clarity or emphasis is needed, Vreau ca el să vină.

Before a să clause, ca is not automatically the English word “that.” It is often used to introduce or highlight a separate explicit subject: Vreau ca Maria să răspundă. In careful standard usage, avoid ca să merely as a filler after verbs of wanting; Vreau să răspundă Maria or Vreau ca Maria să răspundă expresses “I want Maria to answer.” By contrast, ca să naturally marks purpose: Repet ca să înțelegi (“I’m repeating it so that you understand”).

The third-person singular and plural subjunctive are identical, so context or an expressed subject supplies the number: Vreau să vină can mean “I want him/her to come” or “I want them to come.” Add el, ea, or ei/ele if the context is unclear.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Romanian also has a perfect subjunctive, used to look back at an action that is already completed. It is formed with să fi + past participle. A past participle is the verb form seen in combinations such as plecat (“left/gone”) and făcut (“done”). Unlike the present subjunctive, fi does not change by person here:

Form	Meaning
să fi plecat	to have left / that … left
să fi făcut	to have done / that … did
să nu fi uitat	not to have forgotten / that … did not forget

You will meet it after uncertainty or evaluation: Nu cred să fi ajuns deja (“I don’t think he/she has arrived already”) and E posibil să fi uitat (“It is possible that he/she forgot”). The exact English tense varies with context.

The subjunctive also appears in relative clauses when the person or thing is wanted, hypothetical, or not yet identified: Caut pe cineva care să mă ajute (“I’m looking for someone to help me”). A relative clause is a clause beginning with a word like “who” or “that” and describing a noun. This use belongs to more advanced Romanian because the choice between indicative and subjunctive changes the nuance.

An independent să clause can express an invitation, wish, instruction, or indignant question:

• Să mergem! — Let’s go!
• Să ai o zi frumoasă! — Have a nice day!
• Să intre! — Let him/her come in!
• Eu să mint? Niciodată! — Me, lie? Never!

Finally, the conversational future with o să uses forms that look like the present subjunctive: o să plec, o să plece. Learn this as a future construction rather than assuming every occurrence of să has a wish or necessity meaning.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-person chains. Take one verb and say Vreau să plec, Vreau să pleci, Vreau să plece. This trains you to identify the subject of the second action instead of translating “to leave” as one fixed form.
2. Record third-person pairs. On one side write the indicative (merge, face, vine, poate); on the other write the subjunctive (să meargă, să facă, să vină, să poată). These are the forms most likely to cause errors.
3. Listen for complete chunks. Collect everyday combinations such as trebuie să, vreau să, e bine să, sper să, and ca să from conversations or podcasts. Then replace the verb and subject to create your own sentences.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Verb Conjugation Groups — helps you recognize Romanian stems and personal endings.
• Next step: Reported Speech — uses să after commands and requests that are reported rather than quoted directly.
• Advanced: Advanced Subjunctive Usage — develops perfect, relative-clause, and conditional uses of the subjunctive.