sunt, ești, este

The present tense of a fi (to be) is eu sunt, tu ești, el/ea este, noi suntem, voi sunteți, ei/ele sunt. The subject pronoun can be omitted when the person is clear.

Use tu ești with a child or a friend. With an unfamiliar adult, use dumneavoastră sunteți. The verb is plural, but an adjective describing one person agrees with that person: sunteți nou for a man, sunteți nouă for a woman. Vecin is a male neighbour; vecină is a female neighbour.

Romanian nouns have grammatical gender. Masculine and feminine nouns take matching describing words: un vecin nou, o vecină nouă. Learn greetings and mă numesc (my name is) as whole expressions.

Singular means one person or thing. Plural means more than one person or thing. The respectful verb form uses the plural even when you address one person.

am, ai, nu am

The present forms of a avea (to have) are am, ai, are, avem, aveți, au. Polite dumneavoastră takes aveți.

Put nu before the verb to make a negative statement: nu am cheia, nu este aici. Questions can use the same order as statements and a question intonation: Ai cheia?

Use cine for who, ce for what, and unde for where. Romanian often uses este or sunt for there is or there are. Learn îmi este foame and îmi este frig as whole expressions.

un, o, vă rog

An indefinite article introduces one unspecified thing: masculine or neuter un, feminine o. Learn a noun with its article: un ceai, o cafea. A neuter noun behaves as masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural: un scaun, două scaune.

Use vă rog for polite please, te rog with a friend. Aș vrea and aș dori mean I would like. They are conditional courtesy chunks here; there is no need to form other conditional verbs yet.

A describing adjective agrees with its noun: un ceai bun, o cafea bună. Use îmi pare bine for nice to meet you. This expression does not depend on the learner’s sex.

locuiesc, cânt, vreau

The infinitive is the dictionary form, commonly written with a: a locui, a cânta. The present of a locui is locuiesc, locuiești, locuiește, locuim, locuiți, locuiesc. The present of a cânta is cânt, cânți, cântă, cântăm, cântați, cântă.

Romanian has one present tense for both I play and I am playing. The pronoun can be omitted: Cânt la trompetă. Nu comes before the verb.

Learn vreau să dorm (I want to sleep), poți să cânți? (can you play?) and am fost (I was) as whole scene expressions at this stage. Later lessons explain productive să complements and past forms.

unde, meu, mea

Use la for at or to, în for in, pe for on, and sub for under. They do not change the noun into different location endings: în casă, pe masă.

A possessive agrees with the owned noun, not its owner: cheia mea, patul meu, pantofii mei, cărțile mele. Your forms are tău, ta, tăi, tale. A definite article is often attached to the noun; the next module explains its endings.

Pronouns for more than one person are noi, voi, ei, ele. Ei is masculine or a mixed group; ele is feminine. Learn the reflexive expression mă numesc as a whole: its pronoun points back to the subject.

A preposition links a noun or phrase to the rest of the sentence: la, în, pe, sub.