Verbs: Present Tense

01

Three Conjugation Groups

Verbs are sorted by the ending of their dictionary form (the infinitive, listed with the marker a):

• -a verbs, e.g. a lucra (to work)
• -ea / -e verbs, e.g. a vedea (to see), a merge (to go)
• -i / -î verbs, e.g. a vorbi (to speak), a coborî (to descend)

02

The Personal Endings

Take a merge (to go) as a model. The six forms are:

• eu merg - I go
• tu mergi - you go (one person)
• el / ea merge - he / she goes
• noi mergem - we go
• voi mergeți - you go (plural)
• ei / ele merg - they go

Notice that the eu form and the ei/ele form are identical here - this happens with many verbs, and the context or a pronoun clears it up.

03

The -ez and -esc Infixes

Very many verbs add a small piece between the stem and the ending in some forms. This is regular and worth recognising early:

• Many -a verbs insert -ez-: a lucra → lucrez (I work), lucrezi, lucrează.
• Many -i verbs insert -esc-: a vorbi → vorbesc (I speak), vorbești, vorbește.

The piece is there in four forms out of six. The noi and voi forms drop it and sit straight on the stem: lucrăm, lucrați, vorbim, vorbiți.

04

Stem Changes

Many verbs change a vowel inside the stem, and the change happens in one predictable place: the he/she form. A stem o becomes oa there, and a stem e becomes ea.

• pot, poți, poate

  I can, you can, he can. (o → oa)

• plec, pleci, pleacă

  I leave, you leave, he leaves. (e → ea)

A handful of very common verbs are simply irregular and have to be learnt as they come, such as vreau, vrei, vrea (I want, you want, he wants).

05

The Present in Use

• Lucrez la un restaurant.

  I work at a restaurant.

• Ce faci?

  What are you doing?

• Vorbim românește.

  We speak Romanian.