Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
-pronounce clearly and accurately consonants, vowels, consonant clusters, and vowel combinations
-identify the appropriate register to use for formal and informal contexts
-talk about nationalities, daily activities, professions, personal details, holidays, jobs, likes and dislikes,
past and future situations etc.
-talk about the weather, cities, sports, hotel reservations, getting a taxi, working on the computer,
means of transportation etc.
-recognize and use time phrases and prepositional phrases, main tenses
-make suggestions
-use the main tenses (past, future, subjunctive, conditional and imperative)
-recognize and use indefinite and negative pronouns, personal pronouns in the dative and accusative
case
-describe events, objects, processes and other aspects of his/her work clearly
-communicate opinions
-talk about social activities, historic towns, cultural program, food, going to the opera, famous inventors
and actors, organizing events and trips etc.
-debate various points of view to strengthen the ability to express points of view
-follow the essentials of lectures, talks and reports and other forms of academic/professional
presentation which are propositionally and linguistically complex
-understand most TV news, documentaries, live interviews, talk shows
-recognize and use the relative pronouns, conjunctions, supine and idioms
Vocala A
Se scrie și se pronunță a, nu ea, după literele ș și j în rădăcina cuvântului: șa, șade, șapte, șase,
deja, jale, jar (nu șea, șeade, șeapte, șease, dejea, jeale, jear).
Vocala Ă
Vocala Â
Se scrie â, nu î, în poziție medială (in cuvânt), în toate cuvintele (coborâsem, gând, mână, pâine,
scânteie, ținând etc), cu excepția cuvintelor compuse sudate în care al doilea cuvând începe cu î
(bineînțeles, oriîncotro, semiîntuneric etc.) și a cuvintelor derivate cu prefixe de la un cuvânt
care începe cu î (neînvins, preîntâmpina, subânțeles etc.).
Vocala E
Vocala I
Vocala Î
Se scrie î (nu â) în poziție inițială sau finală (înger, întâi, coborî, pârî) în toate cuvintele, precum
și în poziție medială, în cazurile menționate mai sus la numarul §8. Scrierea cu î în poziție
medială, în loc de â, este admisă și în numele propii de familiei, după dorința purtătorilor lor.
Vocala U
Nu se scrie și nu se pronunță u la sfârșitul cuvintelor terminate în diftongii ai, âi, ei, ii, oi, ui și în
consoanele ǩ, ģ și č urmate de i nesilabic: tai, luai, lămâi, mei, auzii, pietroi, cui, mănunchi, ochi,
vechi, unghi, arici, bici, cârmaci (nu taiu, luaiu, lămâiu, meiu, auziiu, pietroiu, cuiu, mănunchiu,
ochiu, vechiu, unghiu, ariciu, biciu, cârmaciu etc.).
Consoana B
Consoana C
Se scrie c și se pronunță în limba româna č în cuvintele: aprecia, cifră, cilindru, ciment, civil,
lucenă, viciu (nu apreția, țifră, țilindru, țiment, țivil, luțernă, vițiu).
Consoana H
Consoana J
Se scrie și se pronunță j în cuvintele formate cu sufixul –aj: abataj, afișaj, aliaj, foraj, isntructaj,
mesaj, pasaș, peisaj, personaj.
Notă: În familia unor cuvinte coexistă formele cu j alături de cele cu ge, gi: catilaj-cartilaginos,
mesaj-mesager, pasaj-pasager, dirija-dirigent/diriginte.
Consoana S
Consoana Ș
În limba româna se scrie și se pronunță obișnuit, pașnic, veșnic (nu obicinuit, pacinic, vecinic).
Consoana X
Consoana Z
Usual phrases
Greetings
Pa (engl. bye)
Usual phrases
Îmi pare bine de cunoștință / Îmi pare bine / Încântat(ă) de cunoștință / Încântat(ă) =
engl. nice / pleased to meet you
Mă bucur să vă cunosc = engl. I'm glad to know you
Cum te numești (vă numiți)? / Cum te cheamă (cum vă cheamă)? / Care este numele
tău (dumneavoastră)? = engl. what is your name?
Mă numesc Mihai / Mă cheamă Mihai / Numele meu este Mihai = engl. my name is
Mihai
Dialogul 1
Mihai: Bună ziua.
Rodica: Bună ziua.
Mihai: Mă numesc Mihai Rădulescu.
Rodica: Îmi pare bine de cunoștință. Numele meu este Rodica Ionescu.
Mihai: Încântat de cunoștință. Sunteți studentă la Universitate?
Rodica: Da. Și dumneavoastră la fel?
Mihai: Da.
Rodica: Îmi pare bine.
Dialogul 2
Gabriel: Bună!
Maria: Bună. Eu sunt Maria Ionescu.
Gabriel: Îmi pare bine. Eu mă numesc Gabriel Popescu.
Maria: Suntem colegi. Ești la secția Management Public?
Gabriel: Da.
Maria: Și eu la fel.
Gabriel: Mă bucur.
Vocabulary:
student, studentă = engl. student
universitate = engl. university
la fel = engl. the same / too
eu = engl. I
ești = engl. you are
da = engl. yes
și = engl. and
coleg, colegi = engl. colleague
secție, secții = engl. section
a se bucura (vb.) = engl. to enjoy / to be glad
Vacation plans
Mihai: Dar unde vrei să mergi (But where do you want to go)?
Oana: Eu vreau să merg oriunde, la mare, la munte (I want to go anywhere, to the sea, to the
mountains).
Mihai: Vino la munte cu mine la sfârşitul acestei săptămâni (Come with me to the mountains at
the end of this week).
Oana: Din păcate nu pot, am multe lucruri de rezolvat, dar am vacanţă săptămâna viitoare
(Unfortunately I cannot, I have a lot of things to do, but I have vacation next week).
Mihai: Bine, vorbim atunci săptămâna viitoare (Fine, we talk next week then).
plan= plan
a vrea = to want
a merge = to go
oriunde = anywhere
mare = sea
munte = mountain
lucru = thing
a rezolva = to solve
concediu = holiday
săptămână = week
viitor = next
Exercise:
a) Mihai o invită pe Oana la munte în weekend (Mihai invites Oana to the mountains during the
weekend).
b) Oana nu are concediu săptămâna viitoare (Oana doesn't have vacation next week).
c) Mihai nu are timp să o invite pe Oana la munte (Mihai doesn't have time to invite Oana to the
mountains)
Personal pronouns and the verbs "to be" and "to have"
Personal pronouns
Exercise:
If you are in Romania and you need some information about transportation, do not hesitate to ask
somebody in the street the information that you need.
Ioana: Îmi cer scuze, vreau să știu cum se numește piața asta în care ne aflăm. (Excuse me, I
want to know what the name of the square is where we are)
Mihai: Se numește Piața Universității. Unde vreți să ajungeți? (It is called Piața Universității.
Where do you want to go?)
Mihai: Trebuie să mergeți cu metroul o stație sau pe jos (You have to go one station by metro or
by foot) .
Mihai: Nu, este aproape, în maximum zece minute ajungeți. (No, it's close, you'll arrive in a
maximum of ten minutes)
Ioana: Vă mulțumesc, sunteți foarte amabil. O zi bună! (Thank you, you are very kind. Have a
nice day!)
Vocabulary:
a merge = engl. to go
Exercise:
Is it far away?
Where do you want to arrive?
Speak Romanian
Examples:
Noi vorbim foarte bine engleză. (We speak English very well).
A locui (to live)
Eu locuiesc
Tu locuiești
El / ea locuiește
Noi locuim
Voi locuiți
Ei / ele locuiesc
Examples:
Examples:
Exercise:
Scrieți verbele următoare la forma corectă (Write the following verbs in the correct form):
Adjective
Adjectives
Colors
Some of the colors names have the same form in the feminine and masculine (e.g. roz) and some
of them have a different form (e.g. roșu – roșie). The ending "ă" in the feminine form is available
only for a few color names.
Seasons, months and days of the week
primăvara
vara
toamna
iarna
ianuarie
februarie
martie
aprilie
mai
iunie
iulie
august
septembrie
octombrie
noiembrie
decembrie
luni
marți
miercuri
joi
vineri
sâmbătă
duminică
Exercise:
Care este ziua dumneavoastră preferată din săptămână? (What is your favorite day of the week?)
At the bookshop
Ion: Nu, sunt interesat numai de dicționar (No, I am only interested in the dictionary)
Exercise:
Translate the following sentences into Romanian:
Play: adverbs
Adverbs are important parts of speech in Romanian. If you want to use an adverb into a sentence,
you can place the adverb in front of the verb or after the verb. Its position is not fixed.
Example
Adverbial phrases
Remarks
The adverbial phrase “în fiecare zi” is used only when it expresses a time point.
If we have a sentence like “Every day is beautiful”, the Romanian translation is:
In this case, we don't use the preposition “în” in front of the phrase.
The rule is available for all the similar phrases (în fiecare dimineață – every morning, în fiecare
seară – every evening, în fiecare an – every year).
The difference between the phrases “săptămâna trecută / viitoare” and “anul trecut / viitor” is
the following: “săptămâna” is a feminine noun and “anul” is a masculine noun. In Romanian,
the first word of a phrase is usually the noun. If the noun is masculine/feminine, the adjective
will be in the masculine / feminine form as well. In our case, “trecută / viitoare” is feminine and
“trecut / viitor” is masculine.
Exercise:
acum (now), mâine (tomorrow), în fiecare zi (every day), săptămâna viitoare (next week).
Vegetables
Abbreviations
Exercise:
What time is it
Questions:
Vă rog să îmi spuneți cât este ceasul? (Please tell me what time is it)
Știți cât este ceasul? (Do you know what time is it?)
If you want to ask a friend what time it is, you have to change the verb.
Examples:
Te rog să îmi spui cât este ceasul. (Please tell me what time it is)
Știi cât este ceasul? (Do you know what time is it?)
Answers:
Exercise:
Play: numerals
The forms "o" and "un" precede a noun: un băiat (one boy) – o fată (one girl).
The forms "unu" (for a masculine or a neuter word) and "una" (for a feminine word) are
independently used, as an answer of a question.
Example 1
-Unu (one).
The form "doi" is used for a masculine noun and "două" for a feminine and a neuter noun.
Example 2
Numerals from 11 to 20
The form "doisprezece" is used for a masculine noun and "douăsprezece" for a feminine and a
neuter word.
Numerals from 21 to 99
21 douăzeci și unu / douăzeci și una
22 douăzeci și doi / douăzeci și două
23 douăzeci și trei
30 treizeci
40 patruzeci
50 cincizeci
60 șaizeci
70 șaptezeci
80 optzeci
90 nouăzeci
99 nouăzeci și nouă
Decimal point ('.') is used here just as a separator for each thousand.
100 o sută
200 două sute
300 trei sute
900 nouă sute
1.000 o mie
2.000 două mii
100.000 o sută de mii
1.000.000 un milion
2.000.000 două milioane
1.000.000.000 un miliard
2.000.000.000 două miliarde
Examples
33 treizeci și trei
78 șaptezeci și opt
289 două sute optzeci și nouă
1.300 o mie trei sute
2.450 două mii patru sute cincizeci
100.000 o sută de mii
125.000 o sută douăzeci și cinci de mii
4.000.000 patru milioane
Countries, nationalities and languages
Play: nationalities
Remarks:
When we talk about nationalities, there are always different forms in the masculine and feminine
form.
All the languages are feminine words, with the ending -ă.
Exercises:
1) Transform according to the model:
Model: Eu sunt din Grecia – eu sunt grec / grecoaică
Reflexive verbs
(Verbele reflexive)
There are two types of reflexive verbs in Romanian: preceded by the reflexive pronouns "se" (in
the accusative) and “și” (in the dative).
Affirmative form
Negative form
Affirmative form
Negative form
Eu nu îmi (nu-mi) amintesc Noi nu nu ne amintim
Tu nu îți (nu-ți) amintești Voi nu vă amintiți
El / ea nu își (nu-și) amintește Ei / ele nu își (nu-și) amintesc
Daily activities
Ce activități zilnice are George? (What daily activities does George have?)
Luni: merg la serviciu, beau o cafea, am o ședință, scriu niște emailuri, fac sport.
(On Monday: I go to the work, I have a coffee, I have a meeting, I write some emails, I play
sports)
(On Tuesday: I have a French class, I work on the computer, I have a meeting with some friends)
Miercuri: am niște întâlniri de afaceri, merg la cursul de dans, iau cina cu niște colegi.
(On Wednesday: I have some business meetings, I go to a dance class, I have dinner with some
colleagues)
Joi: merg la birou, scriu un raport, merg la un bar cu niște prieteni.
(On Thursday: I go to the office, I write a raport, I go to a bar with some friends)
Sâmbătă: vizitez castelul Bran, iau masa la un restaurant, mă pregătesc să revin în București.
(On Saturday: I visit Bran castle, I eat in a restaurant, I prepare to return to Bucharest)
Duminică: revin în București, merg 4 ore cu mașina, mă pregătesc pentru săptămâna următoare.
(On Sunday: I come back to Bucharest, I go 4 hours by car, I prepare for next week)
Vocabulary (Vocabular)
a face (vb.) = to do
The particle "a" is the marker for infinitives and it is placed in front of the verb.
Examples: a cânta (to sing), a dansa (to dance), a mânca (to eat) etc.
The infinitive ending (a vowel or a vowel group) shows the verb conjugation. The endings and
the verb conjugations are:
-i and -î: 4th conjugation: a iubi (to love), a hotărî (to decide)
The root verb is obtained by removing the infinitive suffix. For instance, is the infinitive form is
„a cânta”, the root is „cânt”. In order to form the Present Tense, we have to add some endings
to the root verb. These endings are: Ø, -i, -ă, -ăm, -ați, -ă.
Sometimes some phonetic mutations occur in the verb stem, as in the example below:
In some other situations, the vowel „e” from the root verb becomes the diphthong „ea” as
follows:
Some of the verbs in -a receive the suffix „ez” in the first and the second person singular. In the
third person singular, the suffix „ez” becomes „eaz”. After this suffix, the Present Tense endings
are added (Ø, -i, -ă, -ăm, -ați, -ă).
For most verbs, the 3rd person singular is homonymous with the 3rd person plural:
Exceptions
Examples:
A cânta A pleca
Eu nu cânt (I don't sing) Eu nu plec (I don't leave)
Tu nu cânți (you don't sing) Tu nu pleci (you don't leave)
El / ea nu cântă (he / she doesn't sing) El / ea nu pleacă (he / she doesn't leave)
Noi nu cântăm (we don't sing) Noi nu plecăm (we don't leave)
Voi nu cântați (you don't sing) Voi nu plecați (you don't leave)
Ei / ele nu cântă (they don't sing) Ei / ele nu pleacă (they don't leave)
Present Indicative of the verbs in "ea" (2nd conjugation)
Verbs with the infinitive ending in „-ea” are considered verbs of the 2nd conjugation.
A avea (engl. to have), a tăcea (engl. to be silent), a vedea (engl. to see), a bea (engl. to drink)
A avea A tăcea
Eu am Eu tac
Tu ai Tu taci
El / ea are El / ea tace
Noi avem Noi tăcem
Voi aveți Voi tăceți
Ei /ele au Ei / ele tac
A vedea A bea
Eu văd Eu beau
Tu vezi Tu bei
El / ea vede El / ea bea
Noi vedem Noi bem
Voi vedeți Voi beți
Ei /ele văd Ei / ele beau
As we can see from the examples above, verb roots have a lot of irregular forms. Nevertheless,
we can formulate some rules: the Present Tense ending must be added to the verb root. For most
verbs from the 2nd group, the endings are: Ø, -i, -e, -em, -eți, Ø. The exception is the verb "to
drink" (a bea), where the ending is "u" in the 1st person singular.
For most verbs, the 1st person singular is homonymous with the 3rd person plural:
Verbs with the infinitive ending "e" are considered verbs of the 3rd conjugation.
Examples: a merge (to go), a scrie (to write), a deschide (to open), a trimite (to send), a începe
(to start), a crede (to believe).
The Present Indicative is formed from the verb root. If the infinitive is "a merge", the verb root
is "merg" (without the infinitive suffix "e"). If the infinitive form is "a deschide", the verb root is
"deschid" etc.
After obtaining the root, the following endings must be added: Ø (1st person singular), -i (2nd
person singular), -e (3rd person singular), -em (1st person plural), -eți (2nd person plural), Ø
(3rd person plural).
Examples
A merge (engl. to go), a începe (engl.to start / to begin),a crede (engl. to believe)
A merge A începe A crede
Eu merg Eu încep Eu cred
Tu mergi Tu începi Tu crezi
El / ea merge El / ea începe El / ea crede
Noi mergem Noi începem Noi credem
Voi mergeți Voi începeți Voi credeți
Ei / ele merg Ei / ele încep Ei / ele cred
The consonant "d" as a last letter in the 1st person singular (cred, deschid) becomes "z" in the
2nd person singular (crezi, deschizi).
The 1st person singular has the same form as the 3rd person plural:
Some verbs receive the ending "u" in the 1st person singular and in the 3rd person plural.
Verbs ending in "-i / -î" are considered verbs of the 4th conjugation.
The Present Indicative is formed from the verb root. In order to obtain the verb root, the
infinitive suffix "-i / 'î" must be removed.
Examples: a fugi (to run) – the verb root is "fug" (without "-i")
After obtaining the verb root, the following endings must be added: Ø (1st person singular), -i
(2nd person plural), -e (3rd person singular), -im (1st person plural), -iți (2nd person
plural), Ø (3rd person plural).
Verbs with the infinitive ending "ui" keep the same vowels before suffixes.
Verbs ending in "-î" receive the following endings: Ø (1st person singular), -i (2nd person
plural), -a (3rd person singular), -âm (1st person plural), -âți (2nd person plural), ă (3rd
person plural). Some verbs are conjugated with a suffix. The suffixes are added to the verb
root. These suffixes are: -ăsc (1st person singular and 3rd person plural), -ășt (2nd and 3rd
persons singular)
Negative form
In order to obtain the negative form, the particle "nu" must be added in front of the verb.
Some usual phrases in Romanian are formed with a pronoun in the dative and the verb "to be" in
the third person singular.
Examples
If we want to change the subject, only the dative pronoun "îmi" will be modified. The rest of the
phrase including the verb "este" and the nouns "foame", "sete", "frig", "cald" remains in the same
form.
The current/common form of these phrases includes the short form of the pronoun "mi" and the
short form of the verb "to be" ("e" instead of "este"). The contraction of the pronoun "mi" and
the verb "e" is mandatory ("mi-e"). In this case, the two parts of speech turn into one syllable.
This type of contraction occurs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular. In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person
plural we use only the short form of the verb "to be": "e". As long as the two parts of speech (the
pronoun and the verb) does not turn into one syllable, we cannot talk about a contraction ("ne e",
"vă e", "le e" are not contractions).
Îmi este foame / sete Ne este foame /sete
Meaning and grammar do not always go together. Not all phrases or verbs can be preceded by
the normal subject ("eu", "tu", "el / ea" etc.). An important grammatical feature of this type of
phrases is that it is not possible to express the logical subject "eu", "tu", "el / ea" etc. in front of
them. A structure like "eu îmi este foame" is incorrect.
Romanian uses a double dative structure. If we want to emphasize the subject of this type of
phrase, the logical subject is in the dative as well. The dative forms of the pronouns used in this
case are: "mie" (in the 1st person singular), "ție" (in the 2nd person singular), "lui / ei" (in the 3rd
person singular; "lui" is for masculine, "ei" is for feminine), "nouă" (in the 1st person plural),
"vouă" (in the 2nd person plural), "lor" (in the 3rd person plural). The full form of these phrases is:
Mie îmi este foame / sete Nouă ne este foame / sete
If we don't want to emphasize the logical subject, it is enough to say: "îmi este foame" or "mi-e
foame". The optional forms of the dative pronouns are only: "mie", "ție", "lui / ei", "nouă",
"vouă", "lor".
In the negative, the particle "nu" must be added in front of the pronouns in the dative.
Nu îmi este foame / sete Nu ne este foame / sete
(You are not hungry / thirsty) (You are not hungry / thirsty)
Nu îi este foame / sete Nu le este foame / sete
(He / she is not hungry / thirsty) (They are not hungry /thirsty)
When we express the double dative, the particle "nu" remains in front of the second pronoun in
the dative.
Mie nu îmi este foame / sete Nouă nu ne este foame / sete
Mie nu mi-e foame / sete Nouă nu ne e foame / sete
(You are not hungry / thirsty) (You are not hungry / thirsty)
Lui / ei nu îi este foame / sete Lor nu le este foame / sete
(He / she is not hungry / thirsty) (They are not hungry /thirsty)
The short form including the contraction of the pronouns in the dative and the verb is possible
only when the structure includes the verb "to be".
If the structure includes the verb "a părea" (to seem), a short form does not exist.
This verb has only one possible form "place" in the Present Tense, preceded by the pronouns in
the dative "îmi" (1st person singular), "îți" ( 2nd person singular), "îi" (3rd person singular), "ne"
(1st person plural), "vă" (2nd person plural), "le" (3rd person plural).
If the noun in the singular form, the verb form is "place". If the noun is in the plural, the verb
form is "plac". The noun always has a definite article.
In the negative form, the particle "nu" must be added in front of the personal pronoun:
Nu îmi place = nu-mi place Nu ne place
The normal personal pronouns (eu/tu/noi/voi, etc.) cannot be used in front of this verb.
Structures like: "eu îmi place", "tu îți place" etc. are not correct.
Romanian uses a double dative. If we want to emphasize the logical subject of this type of verb,
the logical subject is in the dative as well. The dative forms of the pronouns used in this case are:
"mie" (1st person singular), "ție" (2nd person singular), "lui / ei" (3rd person singular; "lui" is for
masculine, "ei" is for feminine), "nouă" (1st person plural), "vouă" (2nd person plural), "lor"
(3rd person plural). The full form of these phrases is:
Mie îmi place Nouă ne place
In order to write this structure in the negative form, the particle "nu" is placed in front of the
second pronoun in the dative.
Mie nu îmi place = mie nu-mi place Nouă nu ne place
If we do not want to emphasize the logical subject, it is enough to say: "îmi place". The optional
forms of the dative pronouns are: "mie", "ție", "lui / ei", "nouă", "vouă", "lor".
These forms of the verb "to like" are available only in the Present Indicative. If the verb is used
in the Past Tense (Present Perfect Indicative), the forms are:
Mi-a plăcut Ne-a plăcut
Remarks:
The contraction of the pronoun in the dative and the auxiliary "a" is mandatory.
If we want to emphasize the logical subject, the forms "mie", "ție", "lui / ei", "nouă", "vouă",
"lor" must be added in front of the structure.
Negative form:
Nu mi-a plăcut Nu ne-a plăcut
Definite article
For a masculine noun ending in a consonant, the definite article is "l". This letter is attached to
the end of the noun and it is preceded by the vowel "u".
Play: article
If the last letter of the feminine word is "ă", "ă" becomes "a" (fată → fata)
If the last letter of the feminine word is "e" and "e" is preceded by a vowel, the last vowel "e"
becomes "a":
For some words ending in "ea" or "a" the definite article "a" is preceded by the vowel "u":
For a neuter noun, the definite article has the same forms and obeys the same rules and
restrictions as for masculine word:
For a masculine noun, the definite article is "i", which is added to the end of the word and is
preceded by the plural ending.
For a feminine word, the definite article "le" is added to the end of the word, after the plural
ending.
The definite article for a neuter word is the same as for a feminine word - "le". The article is
attached to the plural ending.
The indefinite article is attached in front of the noun. For a masculine and a neuter noun the
article is "un" and for a feminine word the article is "o".
The indefinite article in the plural is the same for all the genders - "niște" and it is placed in front
of the noun. The noun has to be in the plural form.
Certain objects are also masculine: pantalon – pantaloni (trousers), pantof – pantofi (shoes), as
are some fruits: strugure –struguri (grapes), pepene – pepeni (melon), and some vegetables:
castravete –castraveți (cucumber), ardei – ardei (pepper), morcov – morcovi (carrot).
The plural ending for a masculine noun is always "i". This letter is added to the end of a noun,
but in most cases vowel or consonant mutations in the root also occur.
Examples
consonant, -i
-u -i
-e -i
-i -i
Exceptions
Remarks
There are no specific rules for a vowel or consonant mutation: băiat (singular) – băieți (plural),
frate (singular) – frați (plural).
In the singular, the masculine nouns have different endings: consonant (prieten), -u (fiu), -e
(câine), -i (ochi), -ă (tată).
Certain masculine words have identical singular and plural forms ("ochi,ochi" or "pui,pui").
Feminine nouns. Forming the plural
A feminine noun designates a word referring to a female person, animal, bird, etc., or professions
and nationalities referring to females.
Certain objects are feminine: carte – cărți (books), masă – mese (tables), as are some fruits:
portocală – portocale (oranges), lămâie – lămâi (lemons), and some vegetables: roșie – roșii
(tomatoes), conopidă – conopide (cauliflowers).
The plural ending for a feminine word can be: -e,-i or -uri.
Singular Plural
-ă -e
-ă -i
-ă -uri
-e -i
-ea -ele
-a -ale
-ie -i
Exceptions
Examples: un telefon – două telefoane (one phone – two phones), un scaun – două scaune (one
chair – two chairs), un pix –două pixuri (one pen – two pens).
These endings can be added to the final letter of the neuter noun (bilete,dansuri) or it can replace
the last vowel of the noun in the singular (lucru – lucruri, fluviu – fluvii, teatru - teatre).
Phonetic mutations in the stem are rarer than masculine and feminine nouns.
Play: neuter nouns plural
Singular Plural
[consonant] -e
-u -e
-u -uri
-(i)u -(i)i
-i -e
[consonant] -uri
-i -uri
Most mutations occur in the root verb, as we can see in the examples mentioned above.
The vowel mutation: e – ea dansez/dansează (I dance – he dances) occurs in the Present Tense
suffix (ez / eaz).
All the verbs with the suffix "ez" register this type of mutation in the third person singular.
d – z: văd/vezi (I see – you see), deschid/deschizi (I open – you open), cred/crezi (I believe – you
believe)
All the consonant mutations occur in the 2nd person singular (văd/vezi: I see/you see). The
Present ending "i" determines a consonant mutation.
Grammatical features
Most mutations in Romanian are the result of some special phonetic laws that can be explained
by differences in the phonetic structure of various forms of the verbs in the Present.
The chronology of these mutations is related to the changes produced in the history of the
Romanian language. The oldest mutation is "a – ă"and dates from the twelfth century.
The mutations increase the irregular grammatical features of the verbs in the Present and occur
also in the Past Tense paradigm (forming the participle).
All the mutations in the Present Tense paradigm occur also in the noun and adjective inflection.
Past Tense (Present Perfect)
The Present Perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb "a avea" (to have) and the past participle of
the verb.
The auxiliary verb "a avea" (to have) has the following forms:
Eu am Noi am
Tu ai Voi ați
El / ea a Ei / ele au
Present Perfect
Affirmative form
A lucra (to work)
Eu am lucrat (I worked) Noi am lucrat (we worked)
Tu ai lucrat (you worked) Voi ați lucrat (you worked)
El / ea a lucrat (he / she worked) Ei / ele au lucrat (they worked)
Negative form
Eu nu am lucrat = eu n-am lucrat Noi nu am lucrat = noi n-am lucrat
The participle
The participle is formed by replacing the infinitive ending with the participle ending. The
participle endings are different according to each group of verbs. Phonetic mutations may also
occur in the stem.
Examples:
1st conjugation
A dansa: eu am dansat, tu ai dansat, el / ea a dansat, noi am dansat, voi ați dansat, ei / ele au
dansat
2nd conjugation
A bea: eu am băut, tu ai băut, el / ea a băut, noi am băut, voi ați băut, ei / ele au băut
A vedea: eu am văzut, tu ai văzut, el / ea a văzut, noi am văzut , voi ați văzut, ei / ele au văzut
3rd conjugation
A face: eu am făcut, tu ai făcut, el / ea a făcut, noi am făcut, voi ați făcut, ei / ele au făcut.
A cere: eu am cerut, tu ai cerut, el / ea a cerut, noi am cerut, voi ați cerut , ei / ele au cerut
4th conjugation
A veni: eu am venit, tu ai venit, el / ea a venit, noi am venit, voi ați venit, ei / ele au venit.
A vorbi: eu am vorbit, tu ai vorbit, el / ea a vorbit, noi am vorbit, voi ați vorbit, ei / ele au vorbit.
Future Tense
The Future Tense is formed with the auxiliary verb "a vrea" (to want) and the infinitive form of
the verb without the particle "a".
Negative form
a dansa: eu voi dansa, tu vei dansa, el / ea va dansa, noi vom dansa, voi veți dansa, ei / ele vor
dansa
a vrea: eu voi vrea, tu vei vrea, el / ea va vrea, noi vom vrea, voi veți vrea, ei / ele vor vrea
a bea: eu voi bea, tu vei bea, el / ea va bea, noi vom bea, voi veți bea, ei / ele vor bea
a merge: eu voi merge, tu vei merge, el / ea va merge, noi vom merge, voi veți merge, ei / ele vor
merge
a veni: eu voi veni, tu vei veni, el / ea va veni, noi vom veni, voi veți veni, ei / ele vor veni
a face: eu voi face, tu vei face, el / ea va face, noi vom face, voi veți face, ei / ele vor face
About weather (despre vreme)
Remarks
-"Vremea" is a feminine word; that means that the noun-adjective agreement has to be in the
feminine form:
-The verbs "a ploua" (to rain) and "a ninge" (to snow) have only one form (3rd person singular).
Remarks
If the sport has an instrument (like a ball, for instance), the verb used in front of these names of
sports is "to play" (a juca).
Example: Eu joc fotbal / tenis / baschet (I play football / tennis / basket ball).
The verb "a juca" (to play) has the following forms in the Present Indicative:
eu joc, tu joci, el/ea joacă, noi jucăm, voi jucați, ei/ele joacă.
In all the other situations, we use the verb "to do" (a face)
The verb "a face" (to do) has the following forms in the Present Indicative:
eu fac, tu faci, el/ea face, noi facem, voi faceți, ei/ele fac.
The general phrase "I do sport" is formed with the verb "to do":
Dialog 1
Taxiurile: Pentru moment nu, ne pare rău. Numai dacă așteptați 30 de minute.
(At the moment, no, we are sorry. Only if you wait for 30 minutes.)
Dialog 2
(Hello, taxi?)
(Yes, hello.)
Taxiurile: O secundă, să verific. Avem o mașină disponibilă în 15 minute. Unde vreți să mergeți?
(One second, to check. We have an available car in 15 minutes. Where do you want to go?)
Taxiurile: 20 de lei.
Ioana: Vă mulțumesc.
(Thank you.)
Vocabulary
oricine (anybody)
oricare(anybody)
un / o (one / a)
un
orice
oricare
fiecare
Conjunctional phrases
The most common conjunction in Romanian is "că" and is used after verbs and phrases as: a
spune (to say), a zice (to tell), a crede (to believe), a fi sigur (to be sure), a avea certitudinea (to
be sure), a stabili (to establish).
În caz că (if)
În afară de faptul că / în afara faptului că / pe lângă faptul că a întârziat o oră, nu și-a cerut nici
scuze.
Remarks
After these phrases, the verb can be used in the Present, in the Past or in the Future Tense.
Play: easter
The Latin etymology "Paschae" caused different forms of the word in other Latin
languages: Italian "Pasqua", French "Pâques", Portuguese "Pascoa", Romanian
"Paște".
The form "Paște" was considered a singular form in Romanian; the plural form is "Paști".
The most common greeting in Romanian is: "Paște fericit" (Happy Easter)
The expression
In Romanian the word "Paște" is part of a very popular phrase with a different meaning:
"La Paștele cailor" (at the horses' Easter) – it means "Never ever".
The word "Paște" is also part of a plant name: "Paștele calului" ("the horse's Easter").
Romanian curses
Two words appear in most of the Romanian curses: "naiba" and "dracu".
Both mean "devil" with the difference that "naiba" is less strong than "dracu".
The word "naiba" has a Turkish etymology ("naibe") and reached Romanian through the gypsy
word "naibah". "Naiba" is more a generic curse word than the proper name of the devil.
The word "dracul" has a Latin etymology ("draco") and appears with similar forms in
Istro Romanian ("drac") or Aromanian ("dracu", "darac"). In the spoken language, it is used the
form with the ending "u" instead of "ul": dracu' instead of dracul.
Examples
Du-te naibii / la naiba! (Go to hell) – less strong than "Du-te dracului / la dracu'!"
The words "naibii" and "dracului" are considered the dative forms of "naiba" and "dracul". These
dative forms are usually preceded:
1) by a verb that requires the dative (like "a da", "a transmite", "a răspunde", "a spune"):
In this case, the forms "dracului" and "naibii" cannot be replaced by "la dracu' " or "la naiba".
A structure like:
is not correct.
We can replace the dative forms "dracului" and "naibii" by "la dracu' " or "la naiba" only when
these words have a meaning of place. In the structures:
the words "dracului / naibii / la dracu' / la naiba" are referring to a kind of place where the cursed
person should go (i.e. to the hell). In this situation the forms "la naiba" and "la dracu" can replace
the dative forms "naibii" and "dracului".
The forms "la naiba / la dracu" can be used in any kind of questions beginning with a relative
adverb or pronoun: "ce" (what), "când" (when), "cum" (how), "unde" (where), "care" (what) etc.
These words are generally inserted between the relative adverb or pronoun and the verb.
Unde naiba vrei să mergi? (Where the hell do you wanna go?)
Unde dracu' vrei să mergi? (Where the hell do you wanna go?)
Other Romanian curses imply the genital organs: "pizdă" (female organ) and "pulă" (male
organ). The word "pulă" has a Latin etymology (pulla) and "pizdă" has a Slavic origin, having
the same form in Slovenian, Czech, Polish and Russian. Being feminine words, the possessive
adjective should agree with the noun in the feminine: "pula mea", "pizda mea"
Three religious words appear in some Romanian curses: "Paștele" (the Easter),
"Dumnezeu" (God) and "Cristos" (Christ).
"Dumnezeul mă-tii!"
The word "mă-tii" is the genitive form of "mama ta" (your mother). In the spoken
language the popular form "maică-ta" is used (instead of "mama ta"). The form "mă-tii"
is considered impolite and is generally used in the curses.
If we want to use "mă-tii" in the 3rd person singular (his / her mother), the form is "mă-sii"
(derived from "mama sa > maică-sa > mă-sii). Having the same evolution as "mă-tii",
the form "mă-sii" is impolite and generally occurs in the curses.
It is interesting that Romanian developed a curse that implies the word "Easter" (Paște):
"Paștele mă-tii"
The words "Dumnezeu" (God) and "Cristos" are also used in the curses.
The spelling dictionary of Romanian language considers that both forms ("Cristos" and
"Hristos") are correct. "Cristoșii / Hristoșii" is the plural form of "Cristos / Hristos". Being
masculine words, the definite article is "i" ("Cristoșii / Hristoșii”)
Approving phrases
Perfect (perfect)
În ceea ce mă privește, sunt de acord (as far as I'm concerned, I go for it)
Exact (exactly)
Într-adevăr (indeed)
Cu siguranță (certainly)
Cu certitudine (certainly)
Refusal phrases
Niciodată (Never)
Expressing opinions
Înțeleg (I understand)
Nu știu ce crezi tu, dar eu (I don't know what you think, but I) (informal)
Nu știu ce credeți dumneavoastră, dar eu (I don't know what you think, but I) (formal)
Încă mai consult meniul = engl. I'm still having a look at the menu
Aș dori o sticlă de vin roșu = engl. I would like a bottle of red wine
Se poate să-mi aduceți nota de plată? = engl. can you bring me the bill?
Are you a tourist in Romania and you need to ask for information? Here you can find some useful
phrases that you can use:
Scuzați-mă că vă deranjez, îmi puteți spune = engl. sorry to trouble you, can you tell me
-unde este cel mai apropiat hotel? = engl. where the nearest hotel is
-de unde putem să cumpărăm bilete? = engl. where we can buy tickets
-de unde pot să închiriez o mașină? = engl. where the car rental is
Există autobuze de la aeroport spre centrul orașului? = engl. is there any bus from the airport to the city
center?
De unde pot să cumpăr o hartă a orașului? = engl. where can I buy a map of the town?
Care sunt principalele locuri turistice? = engl. what are the main tourist places?
Aveți un program cu evenimentele culturale? = engl. do you have a program of cultural events?
The phrase "Sărbători fericite" ("Happy Holidays") is used as a generic greeting for the winter
holidays.
The word etymology is one of the most discussed etymologies of Romanian language.
Some controversial etymologies have been proposed for this word: lat. "creatio,-onis", lat.
"calationem" or lat. "incarnationem".
The same word appears in other languages that have been in contact with the Romanian
language: Kračon (Bulgarian), Kračun (Serbian), Koročjun (Russian).
The Romanian name for Santa Claus is "Moș Crăciun" ("moș" means "old man").
"Christmas Eve" is "Ajunul Crăciunului" and refers to the evening or the entire day that precedes
the Christmas (i.e. 24th of December).
The phrase "La mulți ani" is used in the month of January when we meet our friends/colleagues
for the first time in the new year. "La mulți ani!" is also used for "Happy Birthday!".
Parts of the day and temporal phrases
Temporal phrases
acum trei zile / cu trei zile în urmă= engl. three days ago
Aeroport (airport)
Bancă (bank)
Bar (pub)
Coafor (hairdresser's)
Farmacie (pharmacy)
Hotel (hotel)
Magazin (shop)
Restaurant (restaurant)
Spital (hospital)
Supermarket (supermarket)
Bilboards and signs
-when a noun preceded by the preposition „cu” indicates the instrument, the
association or the means of transportation:
The definite article is not used when the noun is preceded by numerals, interrogatives,
demonstrative or indefinite adjectives:
The definite article is not used after the quantifiers „mult / multă / mulți / multe / puțin
/ puțină / puțini / puține”:
Prepositions
Play: prepositions
-basic prepositions:
a (of)
către (towards)
până (until)
cu (with)
pe (on)
despre (about)
pentru (for)
dintre (between)
peste (over)
după (after)
prin (through)
fără (without)
printre (among)
în (in)
spre (towards)
la (at)
sub (under)
-prepositional phrases:
cu scopul de (with the purpose of), în ciuda (despite), în fața (in front of),în spatele
(behind).
After a preposition, a noun does not have a definite article (unless the noun is
specified).
Merg în parc.
Vin de la facultate.
Merg la aeroport.
Some adverbs require the preposition „de” if they are followed by a noun:
When the prepositions „în” and „din” are placed before indefinite nouns in the
singular, they change into „într-un” and „dintr-un” for the masculine, and „într-o” and
„dintr-o” for the feminine.
Locuiesc în București.
Common mistakes
http://rolang.ro/Romanian-weekly-lessons.php