Romanian's present conditional, often called the present optative-conditional, presents an action as desired, hypothetical, politely proposed, or less than certain. It uses a person-marked auxiliary plus the verb's bare infinitive: Aș citi cartea în liniște. (I would read the book in peace.)
How do you form the Romanian present conditional?
Choose the auxiliary for the subject and add the lexical verb's infinitive without the particle a. The lexical verb does not change with the person: a cânta becomes aș cânta, ai cânta, and so on. The bare infinitive is the dictionary form after its initial a has been removed.
| Person | Auxiliary | Form with a cânta | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | aș | aș cânta | I would sing |
| tu | ai | ai cânta | you would sing |
| el / ea | ar | ar cânta | he / she would sing |
| noi | am | am cânta | we would sing |
| voi | ați | ați cânta | you would sing, plural or polite |
| ei / ele | ar | ar cânta | they would sing |
The third-person singular and plural share ar: Ea ar veni. (She would come.) and Ei ar veni. (They would come.) The subject or surrounding context identifies the person and number when the pronoun is omitted.
Where do negation and clitics go?
Put nu before the conditional auxiliary. In careful writing use the full form, while the common contracted form drops the final vowel of nu and uses a hyphen: nu aș accepta and n-aș accepta both mean I would not accept.
- An unstressed personal or reflexive pronoun normally comes before the auxiliary: Mi-aș lua o zi liberă. (I would take a day off for myself.)
- With negation, the order is nu + clitic + auxiliary: Nu mi-aș lua o zi liberă. (I would not take a day off for myself.)
- A direct-object clitic such as o can follow the bare infinitive: Aș cumpăra-o mâine. (I would buy it tomorrow.) This placement is different from the usual position of mi, te, i, or l before the auxiliary.
- A modal adverb can stand between the auxiliary and infinitive: Aș mai sta puțin. (I would stay a little longer.)
When does the present conditional express a wish or request?
Use the form by itself for a present desire, intention, or imagined action: Aș citi mai mult, dar sunt obosit. (I would read more, but I am tired.) A conditional can also soften a request or recommendation. Ai putea să-mi trimiți adresa? (Could you send me the address?) is more tentative than the direct Poți să-mi trimiți adresa? (Can you send me the address?)
| Function | Romanian | Why the conditional is used |
|---|---|---|
| Wish or preference | Aș vrea să învăț mai mult. | I would like to learn more; aș vrea softens the desire. |
| Polite request | Te-aș ruga să aștepți aici. | I would ask you to wait here; the request is less direct than Te rog să aștepți aici. |
| Advice or necessity | Ar trebui să plecăm. | We should leave; the conditional makes the recommendation less categorical than a bare command. |
| Hypothetical action | Aș merge cu voi. | I would go with you; the context may supply an obstacle or condition. |
A conditional in a main clause does not always translate with English would. For example, Ar trebui să plecăm is normally We should leave, and Ai putea să mă ajuți? is Could you help me? Meaning comes from the verb, context, and speech situation, not from the auxiliary alone.
How does it work with dacă clauses?
In a present unreal or imagined condition, dacă introduces the condition and the present conditional commonly appears in both clauses: Dacă aș avea timp, aș merge la munte. (If I had time, I would go to the mountains.) The first conditional form states the imagined condition; the second states its hypothetical result.
| Relationship | Romanian example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Open or realistic condition | Dacă am timp, merg la munte. | If I have time, I go / will go to the mountains. |
| Future possibility | Dacă voi avea timp, voi merge la munte. | If I have time, I will go to the mountains. |
| Imagined condition and result | Dacă aș avea timp, aș merge la munte. | If I had time, I would go to the mountains. |
Do not turn every English if ... would sentence into a fixed Romanian sequence. Romanian chooses the indicative, future, or conditional according to whether the condition is presented as real, future, or imagined. A conditional can also appear after ca și cum or de parcă: Se poartă ca și cum ar ști totul. (He or she behaves as if they knew everything.)
How is it different from the imperfect and subjunctive?
| Form | Structure | Typical example | Main point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present conditional | auxiliary + bare infinitive | Aș citi. (I would read.) | A desired, imagined, softened, or uncertain action |
| Imperfect | one past-tense finite form | Citeam. (I was reading / used to read.) | An ongoing, background, or habitual past action |
| Present subjunctive | să + present-tense form | Vreau să citesc. (I want to read.) | A dependent action after verbs or expressions that select să |
The forms can occur together without being interchangeable. In Aș vrea să citesc, aș vrea is the present conditional of a vrea, while să citesc is the present subjunctive. In Când eram copil, citeam mult, the imperfect locates a habit in the past; it is not a conditional merely because English might sometimes use a form with would for a past habit.
Can it show uncertainty or hearsay?
Yes, in the right context. The present conditional can mark potentiality, probability, or a report that the speaker does not present as certain: Am auzit că întâlnirea s-ar amâna. (I heard that the meeting might be postponed.) Here s-ar amâna is not a general Romanian reported-speech tense; it presents the reported event as possible or unconfirmed.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not add a after the auxiliary: aș cânta is correct, not aș a cânta. The infinitive particle has been removed.
- Do not use the present subjunctive marker in a simple conditional: Aș merge means I would go, while să merg belongs to a different construction.
- Do not confuse aș citi with the imperfect citeam. The first is conditional and the second is a past form; their meanings and time reference differ.
- Keep nu before the clitic and auxiliary in a negative clitic sequence: Nu mi-aș cumpăra cartea, not Nu aș mi cumpăra cartea.
- Remember that dacă does not force the conditional. Use it with the indicative or future when the condition is presented as open or future, and with the conditional when it is imagined or contrary to the current situation.
Complete the present conditional: Eu ___ citi romanul.
- aș
- ai
- ar
- am
The first-person singular auxiliary is aș. The verb keeps the bare infinitive citi, so the complete form is aș citi; ai, ar, and am belong to other persons.
Which sentence uses the present conditional with a bare infinitive?
- Vreau să plec acum.
- Plec acum.
- Aș pleca acum.
- Plecam acum.
Aș pleca has the conditional auxiliary aș plus the bare infinitive pleca. Vreau să plec uses the present subjunctive, plec is present indicative, and plecam is imperfect.
Choose the correctly ordered negative sentence for “I would not buy the book for myself.”
- Nu aș mi cumpăra cartea.
- Mi nu aș cumpăra cartea.
- Nu mi-aș cumpăra cartea.
- Nu cumpăra mi-aș cartea.
The neutral order is nu + clitic mi + auxiliary aș + bare infinitive cumpăra: Nu mi-aș cumpăra cartea. The other options place the clitic in an impossible position.
Which sentence clearly presents both an imagined condition and its hypothetical result?
- Dacă am timp, merg la munte.
- Dacă voi avea timp, voi merge la munte.
- Dacă aveam timp, mergeam la munte.
- Dacă aș avea timp, aș merge la munte.
Dacă aș avea timp, aș merge la munte uses the present conditional in both clauses for an imagined condition and its result. The other sentences use present indicative, future, or imperfect forms and therefore frame the relationship differently.
Which sentence uses the conditional to present hearsay as a possibility rather than an established fact?
- Știu că întâlnirea se amână.
- Am auzit că întâlnirea s-a amânat.
- Am auzit că întâlnirea s-ar amâna.
- Întâlnirea se amână mâine.
In Am auzit că întâlnirea s-ar amâna, the conditional marks the postponement as reported but unconfirmed: the meeting might be postponed. The other sentences present knowledge, a completed reported event, or a direct statement.