Clitics After să

Clitics Before Să-Verbs

Level 3

In Romanian, when you use the să construction, object pronouns (like 'him', 'her', 'it') don't go after the verb like in English. Instead, they are placed immediately before the verb, often attaching to the word să with a hyphen.

How It Works

In a subjunctive clause, place object or reflexive clitics after să and before the verb: să mă vadă, să se spele.

Negation: Nu precedes the clitics: să nu mă vadă, să nu-l vadă.

Full and contracted forms: Both să îl vadă and să-l vadă are possible; likewise să își amintească / să-și amintească. Contraction is not obligatory for every pronoun beginning with î. Să o vadă may contract to s-o vadă.

Two clitics: The dative comes first: să mi-l dea, să ne-o dea.

Short adverbs: Items such as mai can occur between a clitic and the verb: să-l mai văd. Longer adverb phrases follow their own placement rules and are not inserted arbitrarily into the clitic cluster.

Perfect subjunctive: Clitics precede fi: să-l fi văzut, să o fi văzut. This differs from compound-perfect am văzut-o.

Examples (5)

  1. Vreau să-l invit la petrecere.

    I want to invite him to the party.

    Word by Word: I want to-him invite to party.

    The clitic 'îl' (him) contracts with 'să' to become 'să-l' and sits before the verb 'invit'.

  2. Trebuie să le explicăm situația.

    We must explain the situation to them.

    Word by Word: Must to them explain situation-the.

    The indirect object clitic 'le' (to them) is placed between 'să' and the verb 'explicăm'.

  3. Sper să nu-i spui nimic.

    I hope you don't tell him/her anything.

    Word by Word: I hope to not-him/her tell nothing.

    In a negative sentence, the clitic 'îi' (him/her) attaches to 'nu' (not) rather than 'să'.

  4. Vreau s-o văd mâine.

    I want to see her tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I want to-her see tomorrow.

    The feminine clitic 'o' (her) contracts with 'să' to become 's-o'. It stays before the verb.

  5. Să nu-l mai cauți!

    Don't look for him anymore!

    Word by Word: To not-him anymore search!

    This shows the full order: să + nu + clitic (l-) + semi-adverb (mai) + verb.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the clitic after the verb (English word order).

    Vreau să văd îl.
    Vreau să-l văd.

    In Romanian, unstressed pronouns must precede the verb in the subjunctive mood. Placing them after the verb is grammatically incorrect.

  • Placing the clitic before the particle 'să'.

    Îl să văd.
    Să-l văd.

    Unlike some other Romance languages, the clitic in Romanian is 'trapped' between the mood marker 'să' and the verb.

  • Moving the feminine clitic 'o' to the end of the verb.

    Vreau să văd-o.
    Vreau s-o văd.

    Learners often confuse this with the past tense (am văzut-o). In the subjunctive, 'o' must come before the verb, usually as 's-o'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Clitics After săLevel 3Clitics Before Să-Verbs

Learn This First

To learn clitic placement with 'să', you first need to understand how the Romanian subjunctive is formed using the 'să' particle. Additionally, you must be familiar with the forms of both direct and indirect object clitics, as this pattern describes their specific position—sandwiched between 'să' and the conjugated verb.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

să