Third-Person Subjunctive
Third-person singular and plural use the same present subjunctive form after să. Learn the ending and any stem change with each verb.
How It Works
The third-person present subjunctive has the same form for he/she and they.
A common ending change: Many verbs ending in -ă in the third-person singular indicative have -e after să: cântă → să cânte. Many ending in -e have -ă: merge → să meargă. Stem changes may accompany this ending change.
Not every verb changes its final vowel: scrie → să scrie and încuie → să încuie keep their form. Learn these forms with the verb.
Common irregular forms: să fie (be), să aibă (have), să vină (come), să dea (give), să ia (take).
One form for both numbers: Vreau să vină el. / Vreau să vină ei. The subject or context identifies the person and number.
Placement: Put nu and any object clitic between să and the verb: să nu-l vadă.
Examples (5)
- Trebuie să vină acum.
He/She/They must come now.
Word by Word: Must that come now.
The verb 'a veni' changes from 'vine' (indicative) to 'vină' (subjunctive) for the 3rd person.
- Vreau ca ei să aibă succes.
I want them to have success.
Word by Word: I want that they that have success.
'A avea' is irregular; the 3rd person subjunctive is 'aibă' for both singular and plural.
- O să cânte la chitară diseară.
He/She/They will play the guitar tonight.
Word by Word: Will that sing at guitar tonight.
This uses the colloquial future 'o să' + subjunctive. 'Cântă' flips to 'cânte'.
- E important să fie aici.
It is important that he/she/they be here.
Word by Word: Is important that be here.
'A fi' uses the irregular form 'fie' in the 3rd person subjunctive.
- Ea vrea ca el să vorbească românește.
She wants him to speak Romanian.
Word by Word: She wants that he that speak Romanian.
Verbs ending in -esc like 'a vorbi' change to -ească in the 3rd person subjunctive.
Common Mistakes
Using the indicative form after 'să' for the 3rd person.
El vrea să merge.El vrea să meargă.Learners often forget the vowel flip. Since 'merge' ends in -e, it must change to -ă in the subjunctive.
Trying to make the 3rd person plural different from the singular.
Ei trebuie să vină, el trebuie să vine.Ei trebuie să vină, el trebuie să vină.In the subjunctive, the 3rd person singular and plural are always the same form.
Using 'să este' for the verb 'to be'.
Vreau să este fericit.Vreau să fie fericit.The verb 'a fi' (to be) is irregular; you must use 'fie' for the 3rd person subjunctive.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the third-person subjunctive, you first need to understand the general 'să' construction and be familiar with the standard present indicative endings for different verb groups, as the third-person subjunctive often 'swaps' these endings (e.g., -a verbs taking -e endings).
Related Patterns
- Irregular Subjunctives
Focuses specifically on the irregular 3rd person forms like 'fie' and 'aibă'.
Level 3 - Future With o să
The most common use of the 3rd person subjunctive in daily speech is forming the future tense.
Level 2 - trebuie + să-ClauseTrebuie Să
Trebuie can introduce a subjunctive clause with any person: trebuie să plec, să pleci, să plece.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Third-Person Subjunctive in Bubblegum
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