Romanian verbs. Irregular

Some of the most widely used Romanian verbs are irregular. This means that they don't follow the normal patterns other verbs.

All the romance languages do the same.

But don't worry, as the majority of these verbs are so widely used that you can't help but learn them.

The irregular verbs that follow occur frequently in the sentences.

A fi 'to be'

I am Sunt
You are Ești
He/she is Este
We are Suntem
You are Sunteți
They are Sunt

A few examples follow, and as ever it is much easier to learn and become familiar with these irregular verbs through learning complete sentences.

I am English (man speaking) Sunt englez
Where are you from? De unde ești?
It is a beautiful city Este un oraș frumos

A avea 'to have'

Another irregular and absolutely vital verb. 'A avea' is also used to form the past tense.

I have Am
You have Ai
He/she has Are
We have Avem
You have Aveți
They have Au

Some examples below, and further sentences using am 'I have':-

I have a car Eu am mașină
She is/has fifteen years old Ea are cincisprezece ani
Do you have a car? Tu ai mașină?
They have two children Ei au doi copii

These examples also show the Romanian personal pronouns (in bold). These are used in a similar way to the other romance languages - i.e. they are not always required.

When nu 'no' precedes the various forms of 'a avea', it may be hyphenated resulting in n-am, n-ai and so on.