Romanian *A Fi* (To Be): Present Tense

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concept: ro-a1-a-fi-prezent lang: ro ui: en title: Romanian A Fi (To Be): Present Tense description: >- Learn Romanian a fi in the present: sunt, ești, este/e, suntem, sunteți and sunt, with clear rules for identity, description and location. generation: article: version: native-ui-reference-v3.1 model: openai-codex/gpt-5.6-sol at: 2026-07-11T18:48:19Z

reviews: spell-check: status: clean at: 2026-07-11T18:48:19Z score: 0 score-english: null score-coverage: null criteria: v7 language-mixing: status: clean at: 2026-07-11T18:53:16Z criteria: v2

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In Brief

Romanian a fi means “to be.” Its present forms are sunt, ești, este/e, suntem, sunteți, sunt: Sunt student (“I am a student”), Ești obosit? (“Are you tired?”), Suntem acasă (“We are at home”). Subject pronouns are often left out because the verb form and context usually make the subject clear.

Overview

A fi is essential from A1 onward. It lets you identify people and things, describe them, state where they are, give their origin, and form common impersonal expressions: Ea este Ana (“She is Ana”), Cafeaua e rece (“The coffee is cold”), Sunt la birou (“I am at the office”), and E târziu (“It is late”).

It is an irregular verb (a verb whose forms do not follow one regular pattern), just as English “to be” has the unrelated-looking forms am, is, and are. Learn the Romanian forms as a complete set. The dictionary form is the infinitive (the basic “to…” form): a fi, literally “to be.”

Romanian often omits the subject pronoun (the word that names who or what the sentence is about), while English normally requires one. Thus Sunt gata is a complete sentence meaning “I am ready.” Pronouns such as eu and tu remain useful for emphasis or contrast, but repeating them in every sentence can sound unnecessarily heavy.

How It Works

Present-tense forms

Person	Subject pronoun	Form of a fi	Basic English equivalent
first-person singular	eu	sunt	I am
second-person singular	tu	ești	you are (one person, informal)
third-person singular	el / ea	este or e	he / she / it is
first-person plural	noi	suntem	we are
second-person plural	voi	sunteți	you are (more than one person)
third-person plural	ei / ele	sunt	they are

The full form este and the short form e have the same meaning. Both are standard, but e is especially frequent in ordinary conversation: Maria e acasă. Este can sound more deliberate or formal and is also useful for emphasis: Aceasta este problema (“This is the problem”). Do not shorten other forms in the same way: ești, suntem, and sunteți remain unchanged.

Notice that sunt has two jobs: “I am” and “they are.” Context or an explicit subject resolves the meaning:

• Sunt în București. — “I am in Bucharest.”
• Ei sunt în București. — “They are in Bucharest.”
• Studenții sunt în București. — “The students are in Bucharest.”

Leaving out the subject pronoun

The verb ending often identifies the person, so Romanian commonly says:

• Sunt pregătit. — “I am ready.”
• Ești din Canada? — “Are you from Canada?”
• Suntem prieteni. — “We are friends.”

Use the pronoun when contrasting people or correcting an assumption: Eu sunt acasă, dar ei sunt la serviciu (“I am at home, but they are at work”). With third-person e, a noun or pronoun may be needed if the context does not tell the listener who is meant: El e medic, iar ea e profesoară (“He is a doctor, while she is a teacher”).

Identity, classification, and professions

Use a fi to say who or what someone or something is. A singular profession or role normally appears without an indefinite article after a fi:

• Sunt profesor. — “I am a teacher.”
• Ea este ingineră. — “She is an engineer.”
• Andrei e vecinul meu. — “Andrei is my neighbor.”

English requires “a/an” in the first two examples, but Romanian normally does not use un/o when merely naming a profession, nationality, religion, or role. An article becomes natural when the noun is further identified or characterized: Este un profesor excelent (“He is an excellent teacher”).

Descriptions and agreement

After a fi, an adjective describes the subject. Romanian adjectives generally agree with the noun or person in gender and number—that is, their form matches masculine/feminine and singular/plural where the adjective has distinct forms:

Subject	Romanian	English
Mihai	Mihai este obosit.	Mihai is tired.
Ana	Ana este obosită.	Ana is tired.
Mihai și Paul	Ei sunt obosiți.	They are tired.
Ana și Maria	Ele sunt obosite.	They are tired.

The verb agrees with the grammatical person and number; the adjective agrees with the person or thing described. These are separate choices. English learners should pay particular attention to the adjective, because English “tired” never changes.

Location and origin

A fi also locates someone or something:

• Cartea este pe masă. — “The book is on the table.”
• Noi suntem acasă. — “We are at home.”
• Biroul e în centru. — “The office is downtown.”

The preposition depends on the location. Common patterns include în for “in,” la for many destinations, institutions, or activities, and pe for “on.” Acasă normally stands without a preposition when it means “at home”: Sunt acasă, not Sunt la acasă.

Origin is commonly expressed with din: Sunt din România (“I am from Romania”). Nationality can instead be expressed with an agreeing adjective or noun: Sunt român (said by a man) and Sunt româncă (said by a woman).

Negatives and questions

Place nu directly before the verb to make a negative:

• Nu sunt obosit. — “I am not tired.”
• Maria nu e aici. — “Maria is not here.”
• Nu suntem gata. — “We are not ready.”

Yes/no questions normally keep the same word order as statements. In speech, intonation signals the question; in writing, the question mark does:

• Ești acasă. — “You are at home.”
• Ești acasă? — “Are you at home?”

Question words come before the verb or the rest of the clause: Unde e gara? (“Where is the station?”), Cine este el? (“Who is he?”), Cum e cafeaua? (“How is the coffee?”).

Formal and plural “you”

Use tu ești for one person in an informal relationship. Use voi sunteți for two or more people. The polite singular address dumneavoastră also takes sunteți, grammatically the plural form:

• Tu ești nou aici? — “Are you new here?” (informal singular)
• Voi sunteți gata? — “Are you ready?” (plural)
• Dumneavoastră sunteți doamna Popescu? — “Are you Mrs. Popescu?” (polite)

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Eu sunt profesor.	I am a teacher.	Eu adds emphasis; the profession has no article.
Tu ești obosit.	You are tired.	Informal singular; masculine adjective.
Ea este frumoasă.	She is beautiful.	Full este; feminine adjective.
Noi suntem acasă.	We are at home.	Acasă takes no preposition here.
Sunteți gata?	Are you ready?	Could address several people or one person politely.
Copiii sunt în parc.	The children are in the park.	A plural noun makes the meaning of sunt clear.
Maria e din Cluj.	Maria is from Cluj.	Short e in a neutral everyday sentence.
Cartea este pe masă.	The book is on the table.	Location with pe.
Nu sunt sigură.	I am not sure.	Said by a woman; nu precedes the verb.
Unde e stația de autobuz?	Where is the bus stop?	Question word plus e.
El e medic, iar ea e arhitectă.	He is a doctor, while she is an architect.	Roles without un/o.
Astăzi e frig.	It is cold today.	Impersonal weather expression; no Romanian “it.”
Aceasta este problema.	This is the problem.	Este suits a clear identification.
Eu sunt aici, dar ei sunt acolo.	I am here, but they are there.	Pronouns clarify the contrast and the two meanings of sunt.

Common Mistakes

Adding a subject pronoun to every sentence

• Awkward: Eu sunt acasă. Eu sunt obosit. Eu sunt gata.
• More natural: Sunt acasă. Sunt obosit. Sunt gata.
• Why: Romanian does not need eu when context already identifies the speaker. Keep it for contrast or emphasis.

Using an English-style article with a profession

• Wrong in a neutral statement: Sunt un profesor.
• Right: Sunt profesor.
• Also right with a description: Sunt un profesor răbdător.
• Why: A bare profession normally has no un/o. The article becomes appropriate when the noun phrase is characterized or singled out.

Forgetting adjective agreement

• Wrong: Ana este obosit.
• Right: Ana este obosită.
• Why: The adjective must match feminine singular Ana. The verb form stays este/e for every third-person singular subject.

Confusing singular and plural “you”

• Wrong: Voi ești gata?
• Right: Voi sunteți gata?
• Why: Ești goes with singular informal tu. Sunteți goes with plural voi and polite dumneavoastră.

Putting English “it” into an impersonal expression

• Wrong: El e frig for “It is cold.”
• Right: E frig.
• Why: Romanian weather and general expressions do not insert a dummy pronoun corresponding to English “it.” El means “he” or refers to a masculine noun.

Using a preposition before acasă

• Wrong: Sunt la acasă.
• Right: Sunt acasă.
• Why: In the basic meaning “at home,” acasă is used directly after the verb.

Usage Notes

In everyday speech, e is often more frequent than este, but neither is incorrect or inherently careless. Prefer este when a formal tone, deliberate identification, or extra clarity suits the situation. In fast speech, you will also hear forms joined closely to nearby words, but standard writing keeps ordinary word boundaries: nu e, unde e.

Romanian has no separate verb corresponding exactly to the permanent-versus-temporary distinction made by Spanish ser and estar. The same a fi covers identity, qualities, conditions, and location: Este român, Este obosit, Este acasă. The meaning comes from the complement—the words completing the sentence—and the wider context.

Some regional and colloquial varieties use forms such as îs for standard sunt. Recognize them in conversation or informal media, but use the standard paradigm in general writing and while building your beginner foundation.

English “there is/there are” often corresponds to Romanian este/e and sunt: Este un magazin aici (“There is a shop here”), Sunt două ferestre (“There are two windows”). This is an existential use—stating that something exists—and deserves separate study because the Romanian word order and choice of singular or plural matter.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following forms at A1, but a fi continues to appear throughout Romanian grammar. Its other common forms are irregular too:

Use	Forms or pattern	Example
past	am fost, ai fost, a fost…	Am fost acasă. — “I was at home.”
subjunctive	să fiu, să fii, să fie…	Vreau să fiu medic. — “I want to be a doctor.”
conditional	aș fi, ai fi, ar fi…	Aș fi fericit. — “I would be happy.”
future	voi fi, vei fi, va fi…	Voi fi acolo. — “I will be there.”

The subjunctive is a verb form commonly used after wishes, needs, and possibilities; the conditional presents a hypothetical situation. For now, simply notice that the infinitive element fi returns in these later constructions.

A fi can also act as an auxiliary (a helping verb used to build another verb form), especially in passive constructions: Cartea este citită de Ana (“The book is read by Ana”). Here este combines with citită, a participle (a verb form used with an auxiliary or like an adjective). The participle agrees with cartea. This is more advanced than the simple present-tense uses taught here.

Finally, English expressions with “be” do not always translate word for word. Age uses a avea (“to have”): Am douăzeci de ani, not a form modeled on “I am twenty.” Likes use a plăcea, and many sensations have their own Romanian constructions. Treat a fi as highly useful, not as an automatic replacement for every English “be.”

Practice Tips

1. Learn the forms in three pairs: sunt–suntem, ești–sunteți, este/e–sunt. Then cover one column of the conjugation table and recall the matching form aloud.
2. Build one mini-dialogue per use: introduce yourself, describe a friend, say where three objects are, and ask whether someone is ready. Leave subject pronouns out unless they add contrast.
3. Check two things separately: first choose the verb person (ești, este, suntem); then check whether a following adjective needs masculine, feminine, singular, or plural agreement.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — learn eu, tu, el/ea, noi, voi, and ei/ele and when Romanian can omit them.
• Next step: Existential Constructions — use este/e and sunt for “there is” and “there are.”
• Next step: Expressing Likes (A Plăcea) — see why English “I like” maps to a different Romanian sentence structure.
• Next step: Weather — practice impersonal expressions such as e frig and e cald.