înainte să / după ce
Before and After Clauses
Înainte să takes the subjunctive. Ordinary temporal după ce clauses use the indicative, with present, past or future forms as needed.
How It Works
Use înainte să for 'before' and după ce for 'after'.
Before: Înainte să plece, verifică ușa. The să construction takes the subjunctive. You can also say înainte ca el să plece when an explicit subject precedes să, or înainte să plece el with the subject later.
After: După ce a terminat, a plecat. Use the indicative in this ordinary temporal construction. Future reference is possible: După ce vine, vorbim or După ce va veni, vom vorbi. The event need not already have happened when the speaker speaks.
Sequence: These constructions order two events; their mood choices are properties of the connectors, not a general rule that facts use one mood and nonfacts another.
Infinitive alternative: Înainte de a pleca is common when the understood subject is shared. Romanian infinitives have additional subject patterns, so shared subject is a useful common case, not an absolute ban on other subjects.
Examples (5)
- Înainte să pleci, închide fereastra.
Before you leave, close the window.
Word by Word: Before that you leave, close the window.
Here, 'pleci' is in the subjunctive mood because it follows 'înainte să'.
- Înainte ca el să vină, noi trebuie să terminăm curățenia.
Before he arrives, we must finish the cleaning.
Word by Word: Before that he to come, we must to finish the cleaning.
When the subject of the 'before' clause (el) is different from the main clause (noi), the construction 'înainte ca... să' is used.
- După ce voi termina proiectul, voi pleca în vacanță.
After I finish the project, I will go on vacation.
Word by Word: After that I will finish the project, I will leave in vacation.
'După ce' is used here with the future indicative to describe a sequence of future events.
- Înainte de a pleca, am mâncat ceva.
Before leaving, I ate something.
Word by Word: Before of to leave, I have eaten something.
The formal 'înainte de a' + infinitive is used here because the subject (I) is the same for both actions.
- Până să ajungi tu, eu deja terminasem totul.
By the time you arrived, I had already finished everything.
Word by Word: Until to arrive you, I already had finished everything.
'Până să' follows the same subjunctive rule as 'înainte să' for prospective or preceding actions.
Common Mistakes
Using the indicative mood after 'înainte să'.
Înainte să pleacă.Înainte să plece.Learners often use the standard present tense (pleacă), but 'înainte să' requires the subjunctive (plece).
Using 'înainte că' instead of 'înainte să'.
Înainte că vine el.Înainte să vină el.While 'că' is used for 'that' in many contexts, it cannot be used with 'înainte' to introduce a verb clause.
Using the subjunctive after 'după ce' for future events.
După ce să vină...După ce vine / va veni...Unlike some other Romance languages, Romanian always uses the indicative after 'după ce', even when referring to the future.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn 'înainte să' and 'după ce', you must first understand the subjunctive mood (specifically the 'să' construction) because 'înainte să' triggers it. Additionally, you need a solid grasp of indicative tenses like the compound perfect, which typically follows 'după ce', and a general understanding of how temporal clauses function in Romanian.
- să + Present SubjunctiveThe Să Construction
The pattern 'înainte să' requires the use of the subjunctive mood, which is introduced here.
Level 2 - The Compound Perfect
The pattern 'după ce' is frequently used with the compound perfect to describe completed actions in the past.
Level 2 - Time Clauses With cândWhen Clauses
Understanding basic temporal clauses provides the functional foundation for more specific time-based conjunctions like 'before' and 'after'.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- Third-Person Subjunctive
Crucial for using 'înainte să' correctly with 'he/she/they', as these forms often change vowels.
Level 3 - Future With voi
'După ce' can be paired with the future indicative to discuss planned sequences of events.
Level 2 - Romanian Infinitives
The short infinitive is used in the formal 'înainte de a' construction when subjects are identical.
Level 3 - fără săWithout Doing
Another conjunction that, like 'înainte să', always triggers the subjunctive mood.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice înainte să / după ce in Bubblegum
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