Present of -e Verbs

Level 1

Romanian -e verbs (Third Conjugation) are common action verbs like 'a merge' (to go) or 'a face' (to do). They use specific endings attached to the root, and the 1st person singular ('eu') is usually identical to the 3rd person plural ('ei/ele').

How It Works

To conjugate -e verbs (the 3rd conjugation), remove the final -e from the infinitive to find the root, then add these endings:

  • eu: - (no ending) or -u
  • tu: -i
  • el/ea: -e
  • noi: -em
  • voi: -eți
  • ei/ele: - (no ending) or -u

Phonetic Alternations:
To become proficient in these verbs, watch for shifts in the root to keep pronunciation smooth:

  • Consonants: Before the -i (tu), d → z (cred → crezi) and t → ț (trimit → trimiți). If the root ends in c or g (a face, a merge), these letters become soft before -i and -e.
  • The 'sc' group: For verbs like 'a cunoaște', the root changes to 'cunosc' for 'eu' and 'ei/ele', and becomes 'cunoști' for 'tu'.
  • Vowels: The vowel oa changes to o when the next syllable contains i or when there is no following vowel (a scoate → eu scot, tu scoți). Also, some verbs change i to â in the 'eu' and 'ei/ele' forms (a vinde → eu vând).
  • The '-ne' group: For verbs like 'a pune' (to put) or 'a spune' (to say), the n is dropped before the -i ending (tu pui, tu spui).

Usage:
This tense covers both simple and continuous actions. Because Romanian is a pro-drop language, the verb ending alone usually tells you who is performing the action.

Examples (6)

  1. Eu merg la școală.

    I go to school / I am going to school.

    Word by Word: I go to school.

    The verb 'a merge' (to go) has a zero ending for 'eu'. Note that 'ei merg' (they go) is identical.

  2. Tu crezi ce spune el?

    Do you believe what he is saying?

    Word by Word: You believe what says he?

    The root 'cred-' changes to 'crez-' before the '-i' ending for 'tu'.

  3. Ea scrie o carte.

    She is writing a book.

    Word by Word: She writes a book.

    For 'a scrie', the root ends in 'i', so the 3rd person singular simply adds the '-e' ending.

  4. Noi facem cafea acum.

    We are making coffee now.

    Word by Word: We make coffee now.

    The 'noi' form uses the '-em' ending, which is consistent across the 2nd and 3rd conjugations.

  5. Voi treceți strada.

    You (plural) are crossing the street.

    Word by Word: You cross street-the.

    The 'voi' form uses the '-eți' ending attached to the root 'trec-'.

  6. Tu pui masa.

    You are setting the table.

    Word by Word: You put table-the.

    For verbs ending in '-ne' like 'a pune', the 'n' changes to 'i' in the 'tu' form.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the -ă ending for the 3rd person singular (mixing with -a verbs).

    El mergă acasă.
    El merge acasă.

    Verbs in the -e conjugation must end in -e for the 3rd person singular (el/ea), not -ă.

  • Forgetting the consonant alternation in the 'tu' form.

    Tu credi în mine?
    Tu crezi în mine?

    In Romanian, 'd' followed by 'i' almost always changes to 'z' in verb conjugations.

  • Misspelling 'i-stem' verbs like 'a scrie' in the 'tu' form.

    Tu scri frumos.
    Tu scrii frumos.

    When the root already ends in 'i' (scri-), you must still add the '-i' ending, resulting in 'ii'.

How It Connects

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Present of -e VerbsLevel 1

Learn This First

To learn the conjugation of -e verbs, you need to understand the subject pronouns they correspond to and how Romanian uses verb endings to indicate the subject even when the pronoun is omitted. Familiarity with the alphabet is also required to handle specific consonant changes and diacritics found in the endings.

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-e