Focused learning guide
Romanian să and the subjunctive: a practical sentence engine
Use Romanian să after wishes, ability, necessity and purpose, form present subjunctive verbs and avoid word-for-word translation.
Romanian să introduces a highly productive subjunctive construction used after wanting, being able, needing and many other everyday meanings.
Build high-value frames
Learn vreau să plec (I want to leave), pot să vin (I can come), trebuie să lucrăm (we must work) and îmi place să citesc (I like reading). These frames create useful speech immediately.
Notice where forms differ
Many present subjunctive forms resemble the indicative, while third-person forms often show distinctive morphology. The invariant marker să makes the clause visible; learn irregular high-frequency verbs such as să fiu, să am and să merg.
Do not map English infinitives mechanically
English “to + verb” can correspond to several Romanian structures. Store the Romanian governing verb with its following construction, then practise subject changes: Vreau să vin versus Vreau să vii.
Questions learners ask
Frequently asked questions
Is să itself a verb?
No. It is a grammatical marker introducing the subjunctive clause.
Does Romanian have an infinitive?
Yes, but the subjunctive is productive in many contexts where other Romance languages or English use an infinitive.
Is the subject always different across the clauses?
No. Romanian readily uses să with the same or a different understood subject, depending on the construction.