Future Tense in Romanian

Overview

Romanian has two main ways to express the future, and the choice between them is one of the clearest markers of register in the language. The formal future uses the auxiliary verb voi combined with the infinitive, while the colloquial future relies on the construction o sa followed by the subjunctive. Both forms are grammatically correct, but their usage contexts differ significantly.

As a B1-level topic, the future tense builds on your knowledge of verb conjugation groups and the present tense. Understanding both constructions is essential for natural communication, since Romanians overwhelmingly prefer the colloquial form in everyday speech. The formal future, meanwhile, appears in writing, news broadcasts, and official contexts.

Romanian shares the analytical future construction (auxiliary + main verb) with other Romance languages, but the colloquial subjunctive-based future is a distinctive Balkan feature, influenced by centuries of contact with Slavic and Greek languages.

How It Works

Formal Future (Viitorul cu "voi")

The formal future is formed with the auxiliary voi conjugated for person and number, followed by the infinitive of the main verb (without the particle "a").

Person	Auxiliary	Example (a merge)	Translation
eu	voi	voi merge	I will go
tu	vei	vei merge	you will go
el/ea	va	va merge	he/she will go
noi	vom	vom merge	we will go
voi	veți	veți merge	you (pl.) will go
ei/ele	vor	vor merge	they will go

Colloquial Future (Viitorul cu "o sa")

The colloquial future uses the invariable particle o sa followed by the subjunctive form of the verb.

Person	Construction	Example	Translation
eu	o sa + subjunctive	o sa merg	I'm going to go
tu	o sa + subjunctive	o sa mergi	you're going to go
el/ea	o sa + subjunctive	o sa mearga	he/she's going to go
noi	o sa + subjunctive	o sa mergem	we're going to go
voi	o sa + subjunctive	o sa mergeți	you (pl.) are going to go
ei/ele	o sa + subjunctive	o sa mearga	they're going to go

Negation

For the formal future, nu is placed before the auxiliary: nu voi merge (I will not go). For the colloquial future, nu goes before o sa: n-o sa merg or nu o sa merg (I'm not going to go).

Near Future with "a avea"

A third, less common construction uses am sa + subjunctive, which is slightly more formal than o sa but less formal than voi: Am sa plec (I'm going to leave).

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Voi merge maine la birou.	I will go to the office tomorrow.	Formal future
O sa plec devreme azi.	I'm going to leave early today.	Colloquial future
Va fi frumos la munte.	It will be beautiful in the mountains.	Formal; weather/descriptions
O sa vina si el la petrecere.	He will come to the party too.	Colloquial; everyday speech
Vom termina proiectul saptamana viitoare.	We will finish the project next week.	Formal; professional context
Nu o sa uit niciodata.	I will never forget.	Colloquial with negation
Vei vedea ca am dreptate.	You will see that I am right.	Formal; emphatic statement
O sa-ti placa filmul asta.	You're going to like this movie.	Colloquial with clitic pronoun
Vor fi anuntate rezultatele maine.	The results will be announced tomorrow.	Formal; passive construction
N-o sa mai fac asta.	I won't do that anymore.	Colloquial; contracted negation
Am sa incerc din nou.	I'm going to try again.	Semi-formal "am sa" variant
Va trebui sa plecam devreme.	We will have to leave early.	Formal; with modal verb

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Eu o sa voi merge. Right: Eu o sa merg. / Eu voi merge. Why: Do not mix the two future constructions. Use either the auxiliary voi with the infinitive or o sa with the subjunctive, never both together.

Wrong: Voi sa merg. Right: Voi merge. Why: The formal future takes the bare infinitive (without "a" or "sa"). The auxiliary voi is directly followed by the infinitive form.

Wrong: O sa merge el. (meaning "I will go") Right: O sa merg eu. Why: After o sa, the verb must be conjugated in the subjunctive to match the subject. The subjunctive form changes by person.

Wrong: Nu va sa vina. Right: Nu va veni. / Nu o sa vina. Why: The formal future negation places nu before the auxiliary, which is then followed directly by the infinitive. Do not insert sa into the formal future.

Wrong: Vom sa terminam. Right: Vom termina. Why: The formal future auxiliary is never followed by sa. Only the colloquial future uses sa (as part of the subjunctive).

Usage Notes

The colloquial future with o sa dominates spoken Romanian across all regions. Using the formal future with voi in casual conversation can sound stiff or overly literary. However, the formal future is standard in written Romanian, news media, academic texts, and official documents.

In informal writing such as text messages and social media, the colloquial future is perfectly acceptable. The am sa variant occupies a middle ground and is common in certain dialects, particularly in Moldova and Transylvania.

For A1-A2 learners, exposure to both forms is useful, but active production of the colloquial future is more practical. At B1 and above, learners should be comfortable using both and recognizing which register calls for which form.

Practice Tips

• Listen to Romanian news broadcasts to hear the formal future in action, then switch to a Romanian podcast or YouTube vlog to notice how speakers almost exclusively use o sa in conversation.
• Practice converting sentences between the two future forms to internalize the structural differences: take a formal sentence with voi and rewrite it with o sa, and vice versa.
• Pay attention to how clitic pronouns attach differently in each construction, as this is where learners most often stumble in natural speech.

Related Concepts

• Parent: Verb Conjugation Groups -- the future tense builds on knowing which conjugation group a verb belongs to, as this determines the infinitive and subjunctive forms.
• Child: Presumptive Mood -- the presumptive reuses future tense auxiliaries to express probability and supposition.