Romanian grammar. Să

As you work through and learn the sentences, you will come across the word frequently.

is needed in specific situations, a few of which are outlined here.

Trebuie 'must'

follows Trebuie in Romanian sentences with the structure 'I must ... do something'.

Sunt ocupat. Trebuie să lucrez I am busy. I must work (Male)
Sunt ocupată. Trebuie să lucrez I am busy. I must work (Female)
Trebuie să cumpăr niște pantofi noi I need to/must buy some new shoes
Astăzi trebuie să fac curățenie în apartament Today I must clean the flat

A Putea 'to be able'

follows Putea in Romanian sentences with the structure 'I am able/not able ... do something', 'Can you ...?'

Nu pot să vorbesc mâine I can't talk tomorrow
Putem să vorbim mâine, dacă dorești We can talk tomorrow if you want
Poți să scrii asta? Can you write that?
Poți să vorbești limba engleză? Can you speak English?

A Vrea 'to want'

is used with Vrea 'to want', for example 'I want to learn ...'

Vreau să vizitez România I want to visit Romania
Vreau să învăț limba franceză I want to learn French
Anul acesta vreau să vizitez Italia This year I'd like to visit Italy

The examples were selected from throughout the sentences on Surface languages. If you want some examples instantly Romanian sentences. Unit 16 has sentences using Trebuie and Putea and is a good place to start.