The Subjunctive

Expressing wishes and desires using the Subjunctive in Romanian

România Internațional, 04.10.2015, 12:00

More often than not, inflection-rich Romanian can be quite tricky for non-native speakers, if they want to express complex language functions, and insert them into large, meaningful communicative patterns that are vital for the everyday spoken Romanian. Which basically means that your spoken Romanian grammar will have to be correct, if you want, let’s say, to express wishes and desires in Romanian. To that effect, modul conjunctiv the conjunctive mood in Romania, or in a wider sense, subjonctivul, the subjunctive, is a core element of Romanian morphology. This lesson gives you tips on how to use the subjunctive correctly.

Here is the paradigm of the present subjunctive of the verb a invata, to learn associated with the verb a trebui, expressing necessity. From the very beginning, we should note that the subjunctive pronouns are unnecessary in Romanian.

Trebuie sa invat. I have to learn.

Trebuie sa inveti. You have to learn.

Trebuie sa invete. She/He has to learn.

Trebuie sa invatam. We have to learn.

Trebuie sa invatati. You have to learn.

Trebuie sa invete. They have to learn.

Now let us use some of the sentences in more complex, meaningful communicative patterns:

Trebuie sa invat Germana foarte bine, daca vreau sa am o slujba mai bine platita.

I have to learn German very well, if I want to have a better-paid job.

In era Internetului, trebuie sa invatati sa folositi computerul.

In the age of the Internet, you have to learn to use a computer.

Trebuie sa invete cum sa se poarte cu bunica lor, chiar daca sint inca copii mici.

They have to learn how to behave with their granny, even if they are still little children.

Trebuie sa invatam sa spunem NU, ori de cite ori este necesar.

We have to learn to say NO, whenever it is necessary.

Trebuie sa invete ceva nou, ceea ce presupune mai mult efort din partea ei.

She must learn something new, which requires a lot of effort on her part.

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