Gerund in Romanian

Overview

The Romanian gerund (gerunziul) is a verbal form used to express ongoing, simultaneous, or accompanying actions. It is formed by adding -ând to Group I verbs and -ind to verbs of Groups II, III, and IV. While its name resembles the English gerund (the -ing form), the Romanian gerund functions quite differently — it is primarily an adverbial form, describing the manner or circumstances of the main action, rather than serving as a noun.

At the B2 level, the gerund allows you to create more sophisticated, flowing sentences. Instead of stringing together two separate clauses with a conjunction, you can compress one into a gerund phrase: Mergând pe stradă, am întâlnit un prieten (Walking down the street, I met a friend). This construction is common in written Romanian, journalism, literature, and formal speech, and understanding it is essential for reading at an advanced level.

The gerund is invariable — it does not change for person, number, or gender. Its subject is typically the same as the subject of the main verb, which is an important structural rule to follow.

How It Works

Formation

Conjugation Group	Infinitive	Gerund	Rule
Group I (-a)	a cânta	cântând	stem + -ând
Group I (-a)	a lucra	lucrând	stem + -ând
Group II (-ea)	a vedea	văzând	stem + -ând (irregular)
Group III (-e)	a merge	mergând	stem + -ând
Group IV (-i/-î)	a dormi	dormind	stem + -ind
Group IV (-î)	a coborî	coborând	stem + -ând

Common Irregular Gerunds

Infinitive	Gerund	Note
a fi	fiind	to be → being
a avea	având	to have → having
a face	făcând	to do → doing
a ști	știind	to know → knowing
a veni	venind	to come → coming
a lua	luând	to take → taking
a da	dând	to give → giving
a vedea	văzând	to see → seeing
a bea	bând	to drink → drinking
a spune	spunând	to say → saying

Functions of the Gerund

Function	Example	Translation
Simultaneous action	Citind, ascultam muzică.	While reading, I was listening to music.
Manner	A intrat alergând.	He entered running.
Cause	Fiind obosit, am plecat devreme.	Being tired, I left early.
Condition	Lucrând mai mult, vei reuși.	Working more, you will succeed.
Concession	Știind adevărul, a tăcut.	Knowing the truth, he stayed silent.

Negation

The gerund is negated with ne- (prefix):

• neștiind — not knowing
• neavând — not having
• nefiind — not being
• nefăcând — not doing

With Pronouns

Clitic pronouns attach to the gerund:

• Văzându-l, am fugit. — Seeing him, I ran.
• Gândindu-se la asta, a decis. — Thinking about this, he decided.
• Spunându-mi adevărul, m-a ajutat. — Telling me the truth, he helped me.

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Mergând pe stradă, am găsit un portofel.	Walking down the street, I found a wallet.	Simultaneous action
A plecat plângând.	She left crying.	Manner
Fiind bolnav, nu a venit la muncă.	Being sick, he didn't come to work.	Cause
Studiind mai mult, vei înțelege.	Studying more, you will understand.	Condition
Vorbind cu el, am aflat totul.	Speaking with him, I found out everything.	Circumstance
Neavând bani, nu a cumpărat nimic.	Not having money, he didn't buy anything.	Negated gerund
Copiii alergau strigând.	The children ran shouting.	Simultaneous actions
Citind ziarul, a văzut știrea.	Reading the newspaper, he saw the news.	Circumstance
Ajungând acasă, am mâncat.	Arriving home, I ate.	Sequential action
Știind limba, a obținut postul.	Knowing the language, he got the job.	Cause
Văzându-mă, a zâmbit.	Seeing me, he/she smiled.	With clitic pronoun
Terminând proiectul, am sărbătorit.	Finishing the project, we celebrated.	Sequential

Common Mistakes

Using the gerund as a noun (English influence)

• Wrong: Înotând este sănătos. (Swimming is healthy.)
• Right: Înotul este sănătos. or A înota este sănătos.
• Why: Unlike the English -ing form, the Romanian gerund cannot function as the subject of a sentence. Use the verbal noun (with -ul) or the infinitive instead.

Having different subjects for the gerund and the main verb

• Wrong: Plecând eu, a început să plouă. (Me leaving, it started to rain.)
• Right: După ce am plecat, a început să plouă.
• Why: The gerund's implied subject should be the same as the main verb's subject. If the subjects differ, use a subordinate clause instead.

Confusing the gerund with the present participle

• Wrong: Using cântând as an adjective modifying a noun.
• Right: The gerund is adverbial. For adjectival use, Romanian has the present participle (cântător — singing/melodious) or adjectival participle.
• Why: Romanian distinguishes between the gerund (adverbial) and the participle (adjectival), unlike English where -ing covers both.

Forgetting ne- for negation

• Wrong: Nu știind ce să facă...
• Right: Neștiind ce să facă...
• Why: The gerund uses the prefix ne- for negation, not the independent particle nu.

Usage Notes

The gerund is more common in written and formal Romanian than in casual speech. In everyday conversation, Romanians tend to use finite subordinate clauses: Când mergeam pe stradă... (When I was walking down the street...) rather than Mergând pe stradă... However, certain gerunds are idiomatic in speech: Vorbind de asta... (Speaking of that...), Ținând cont de... (Taking into account...).

In journalism and academic writing, the gerund is very productive. News reports frequently use it: Ajungând la locul accidentului, pompierii au descoperit... (Arriving at the accident scene, the firefighters discovered...).

The gerund can express aspect (ongoing action) in a way that other verbal forms cannot. Combined with the imperfect of a motion verb, it creates vivid descriptions: Mergea cântând. (He walked along singing.)

Practice Tips

• Transform subordinate clauses: Take sentences with când (when), pentru că (because), or deși (although) and rewrite them using the gerund. This is excellent practice for B2-level writing.
• Read Romanian news articles: Journalism is rich with gerund constructions. Underline each gerund you find and identify its function (simultaneous, causal, manner).
• Memorize irregular gerunds: Focus on the ten most common irregular gerunds listed above, as they appear constantly.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Verb Conjugation Groups — knowing which group a verb belongs to determines whether you use -ând or -ind
• Next steps: Supine — another non-finite verbal form with distinct functions in Romanian