a vrea + să-Clause

Vreau Să

Level 2

Vreau să... (I want to...) is the standard way to express desire in Romanian. Unlike English or Spanish, Romanian uses a să construction instead of an infinitive.

How It Works

In Romanian, the verb a vrea (to want) is used to express desires and intentions. It can be followed by a noun or a dependent clause.

1. Using 'A Vrea' with Nouns
When you want a specific thing, a vrea acts as a regular transitive verb followed by a direct object:

  • Vreau o cafea. (I want a coffee.)
  • Ei vor mere. (They want apples.)

2. Conjugating 'A Vrea'
The verb a vrea is irregular in the present tense:

  • Eu vreau (I want)
  • Tu vrei (You want)
  • El/Ea vrea (He/She wants)
  • Noi vrem (We want)
  • Voi vreți (You all want)
  • Ei/Ele vor (They want)

3. The Subjunctive Requirement
When expressing an action you want to do, the usual modern construction uses a dependent clause introduced by să; infinitive complements survive in literary usage. The verb following să must be in the present subjunctive. For most persons, this looks like the normal present tense, but the 3rd person (singular and plural) often changes (e.g., el mănâncă becomes el să mănânce).

4. Negation
To say you 'don't want' to do something, place nu before a vrea: Nu vreau să plec (I don't want to leave). If you want 'not to' do something, place nu after să: Vreau să nu întârzii (I want to not be late).

5. Register and Politeness
While vreau is common, it can sound blunt. To be more polite, you can use:

  • Aș vrea: The present conditional form, which is a common middle-ground for polite requests (e.g., Aș vrea o apă, vă rog).
  • Aș dori: The polite conditional aș dori, which is the most formal option, ideal for restaurants or professional settings.

Examples (4)

  1. Vreau să învăț limba română.

    I want to learn the Romanian language.

    Word by Word: I-want that I-learn language-the Romanian.

    A standard use where the subject of both verbs is 'I'.

  2. Vrei să mergem la film diseară?

    Do you want us to go to the movie tonight?

    Word by Word: Want-you that we-go to movie tonight?

    Here, 'a vrea' is in the 2nd person singular, while the second verb is in the 1st person plural.

  3. Ei nu vor să recunoască adevărul.

    They don't want to admit the truth.

    Word by Word: They not want that they-admit truth-the.

    Note that 'vor' is the 3rd person plural of 'a vrea', which looks identical to the future auxiliary.

  4. Ea vrea să doarmă mai mult.

    She wants to sleep more.

    Word by Word: She wants that she-sleeps more.

    Notice the subjunctive form 'doarmă' (from 'a dormi'), which differs from the indicative 'doarme'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the non-standard hybrid form 'vroiam'.

    Vroiam să îți spun ceva.
    Voiam să îți spun ceva.

    Vroiam is a common colloquial hybrid. In current standard writing use voiam, from a voi, or the less common vream, from a vrea.

How It Connects

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

a vrea + să-ClauseLevel 2Vreau Să

Learn This First

To use 'a vrea' with the subjunctive, you first need to understand how the 'să' particle and the subjunctive mood work in Romanian. Additionally, you must be able to conjugate 'a vrea' in the present tense and understand that the subject is often omitted in these constructions.

Words in This Pattern

vreasă