The Most Common Irregular Verbs In Romanian
Author
Irregular verbs in Romanian don’t follow standard conjugation rules.
You must memorize their specific forms to use them correctly.
Fortunately, the most frequently used verbs in daily conversation happen to be irregular.
This guide covers the most common irregular verbs in Romanian and how to conjugate them in the present tense.
Learning these verbs early on will help you build simple sentences right away.
Table of Contents:
The verb a fi (to be)
The verb a fi is the most important verb in the Romanian language.
You’ll use it constantly to describe yourself, your location, and your feelings.
In spoken Romanian, people often shorten este to e.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | sunt |
| Tu (You) | ești |
| El / Ea (He / She) | este / e |
| Noi (We) | suntem |
| Voi (You plural) | sunteți |
| Ei / Ele (They) | sunt |
Eu sunt foarte obosit astăzi.
Ea este sora mea.
The verb a avea (to have)
The verb a avea is essential for expressing possession in Romanian.
It’s also used as an auxiliary verb to form the past tense.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | am |
| Tu (You) | ai |
| El / Ea (He / She) | are |
| Noi (We) | avem |
| Voi (You plural) | aveți |
| Ei / Ele (They) | au |
Eu am un câine mare.
Ei au timp mâine.
The verb a vrea (to want)
You need the verb a vrea to express your desires and requests.
It’s highly irregular but extremely common in everyday situations like ordering food.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | vreau |
| Tu (You) | vrei |
| El / Ea (He / She) | vrea |
| Noi (We) | vrem |
| Voi (You plural) | vreți |
| Ei / Ele (They) | vor |
Vreau să învăț româna.
Noi vrem două cafele, vă rog.
The verb a mânca (to eat)
The verb a mânca has spelling changes in the root of the word depending on the pronoun.
You’ll notice that the letter â changes to ă in some forms.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | mănânc |
| Tu (You) | mănânci |
| El / Ea (He / She) | mănâncă |
| Noi (We) | mâncăm |
| Voi (You plural) | mâncați |
| Ei / Ele (They) | mănâncă |
Eu mănânc pâine cu unt.
El mănâncă un măr.
The verb a bea (to drink)
Like the verb to eat, a bea is a daily necessity.
Its conjugation is quite short and heavily relies on vowels.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | beau |
| Tu (You) | bei |
| El / Ea (He / She) | bea |
| Noi (We) | bem |
| Voi (You plural) | beți |
| Ei / Ele (They) | beau |
Eu beau apă rece.
Tu bei ceai în fiecare dimineață.
The verb a da (to give)
The verb a da is a short, single-syllable root verb.
It behaves similarly to other short verbs like a sta and a lua.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | dau |
| Tu (You) | dai |
| El / Ea (He / She) | dă |
| Noi (We) | dăm |
| Voi (You plural) | dați |
| Ei / Ele (They) | dau |
Eu îi dau un cadou.
Ea îmi dă cartea.
The verb a lua (to take)
The verb a lua is used for taking items, taking medicine, or taking public transport.
Its root changes significantly in the present tense forms.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | iau |
| Tu (You) | iei |
| El / Ea (He / She) | ia |
| Noi (We) | luăm |
| Voi (You plural) | luați |
| Ei / Ele (They) | iau |
Eu iau autobuzul spre muncă.
Ei își iau bagajele.
The verb a sta (to stay / to sit)
The verb a sta can mean to stay, to stand, to sit, or even to live somewhere.
It follows almost the exact same conjugation pattern as a da.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu (I) | stau |
| Tu (You) | stai |
| El / Ea (He / She) | stă |
| Noi (We) | stăm |
| Voi (You plural) | stați |
| Ei / Ele (They) | stau |
Eu stau acasă în seara asta.
Ea stă pe scaun.
