The Present Tense

Level 1

Romanian uses the present for both I read and I am reading: citesc. The verb changes with the subject, and context helps identify forms shared by more than one person.

How It Works

Six Person-and-Number Positions
Use this order when learning a verb: eu (I), tu (you, singular), el/ea (he/she), noi (we), voi (you, plural), ei/ele (they). A noun subject takes the corresponding third-person form. An overt subject pronoun is often unnecessary when the verb and context identify it.

Four Traditional Classes

  • I: -a, as in a cânta (to sing): cânt, cântă. Some verbs add -ez- in part of the present: a lucra (to work) gives lucrez, lucrează, but lucrăm.
  • II: -ea, as in a vedea (to see) and a cădea (to fall). This is a separate class from verbs ending in unstressed -e.
  • III: -e, as in a merge (to go): merg, merge.
  • IV: -i or -î, as in a citi (to read): citesc, citește; and a coborî (to go down): cobor, coboară. These endings include several different present patterns.

The paired forms above are eu and el/ea. Class membership alone is not a complete conjugation rule.

Two -ea Verbs
In the six-person order above:

  • a vedea: văd, vezi, vede, vedem, vedeți, văd.
  • a cădea: cad, cazi, cade, cădem, cădeți, cad.

Notice both the shared first-singular/third-plural forms and the stem changes.

Frequent Irregular Verbs
Learn these separately, in the same six-person order:

  • a fi (to be): sunt, ești, este/e, suntem, sunteți, sunt.
  • a avea (to have): am, ai, are, avem, aveți, au.
  • a vrea (to want): vreau, vrei, vrea, vrem, vreți, vor.

Meaning in Context
Citesc acum means I am reading now; Citesc în fiecare zi means I read every day. Romanian does not need a separate progressive verb form for this difference. A present form can also refer to a planned future event when context makes the time clear: Plec mâine (I leave tomorrow).

Examples (6)

  1. Eu văd muntele.

    I see the mountain.

    Word by Word: I see mountain-the.

    Văd is the first-person singular present of a vedea, a verb in the -ea class.

  2. Tu cânți în fiecare zi.

    You sing every day.

    Word by Word: You sing in each day.

    Cânți agrees with tu. The time phrase makes this a habitual action.

  3. Frunza cade din copac.

    The leaf falls from the tree.

    Word by Word: Leaf-the falls from tree.

    The singular noun frunza takes the third-person singular cade, from a cădea.

  4. Noi coborâm scările.

    We are going down the stairs.

    Word by Word: We descend stairs-the.

    Coborâm is the first-person plural present of a coborî. The same form can describe an action in progress.

  5. Voi citiți aceeași carte.

    You are reading the same book.

    Word by Word: You-plural read same book.

    Citiți agrees with plural voi. The -esc- seen in eu citesc is absent from this form.

  6. Ei au timp astăzi.

    They have time today.

    Word by Word: They have time today.

    Au is the irregular third-person plural present of a avea.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the infinitive as a present-tense verb.

    Eu vedea muntele.
    Eu văd muntele.

    For the intended present meaning I see, use văd. Vedea is the infinitive without its marker and is also a third-person singular imperfect form; it is not the present form for eu.

  • Using the first-person singular form with noi.

    Noi lucrez acasă.
    Noi lucrăm acasă.

    Noi takes lucrăm. Lucrez belongs to eu; learning only one form does not give the full present pattern.

How It Connects

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

The Present TenseLevel 1

Learn This First

Recognize the subject pronouns that label the six present-tense person-and-number positions.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.