The conjunction deși introduces a concessive clause. The deși clause presents a fact or situation that might create an expectation. The main clause states an outcome that still happens despite that background: Deși plouă, mergem la concert. (Although it is raining, we are going to the concert.)
How do you build a deși sentence?
Put deși before a complete finite clause — a clause with a verb that shows tense. The deși clause gives an obstacle or unexpected background, and the main clause states the outcome. The conjunction itself never changes form or selects a special tense.
| Part | Romanian pattern | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Concessive clause | deși + finite clause | Sets up the obstacle or unexpected fact |
| Main clause | finite clause | States what happens despite that obstacle |
The two clauses form one complete sentence: Deși era obosită, Ana a terminat raportul. (Although she was tired, Ana finished the report.)
- For a current or general obstacle, use a present form: Deși este târziu, mai rămân puțin. (Although it is late, I will stay a little longer.)
- For an obstacle in a past event, use a past form: Deși a plouat, meciul a continuat. (Although it rained, the match continued.)
- For an obstacle expected later, use a future form: Deși va fi greu, vom încerca. (Although it will be difficult, we will try.)
Keep the ordinary subject and verb agreement inside the subordinate clause: Deși studenții erau obosiți, au mai lucrat o oră. (Although the students were tired, they worked for another hour.)
Where can the concessive clause go?
The deși clause can come before or after the main clause. When you want to frame the situation, put the deși clause first. When the main result is the main point, put the deși clause last. In ordinary written punctuation, separate the two clauses with a comma in either order.
| Order | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Concessive clause first | Deși era frig, am stat pe terasă. | Although it was cold, we stayed on the terrace. |
| Main clause first | Am stat pe terasă, deși era frig. | We stayed on the terrace, although it was cold. |
A negative obstacle can also come first: Deși nu cunoștea orașul, s-a descurcat bine. (Although she did not know the city, she managed well.)
How is deși different from similar connectors?
The four connectors in this comparison build different relations. When the first clause is a concessive background, use deși. Use dar for coordination and dacă for a condition. When the first clause gives a reason, use a causal connector such as pentru că.
| Connector | Relation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| deși | concession: an obstacle does not prevent the result | Deși plouă, ieșim la plimbare. (Although it is raining, we are going for a walk.) |
| dar | coordination: two independent clauses contrast | Plouă, dar ieșim la plimbare. (It is raining, but we are going for a walk.) |
| dacă | condition: one situation controls the other | Dacă plouă, rămânem acasă. (If it rains, we stay at home.) |
| pentru că | cause: one situation explains the other | Rămânem acasă pentru că plouă. (We are staying at home because it is raining.) |
The difference is about the relationship, not just the English translation. Compare Deși plouă, ieșim la plimbare. (The rain is an obstacle, but we go out) with Dacă plouă, rămânem acasă. (The rain is the condition for staying home.) See conditional clauses with dacă and giving reasons with pentru că and deoarece for those neighboring patterns.
When do you use totuși with deși?
Totuși means “still” or “nevertheless.” It can reinforce the unexpected result in the main clause, but it is optional: Deși era obosit, totuși a venit la întâlnire. (Although he was tired, he still came to the meeting.) Without totuși, Deși era obosit, a venit la întâlnire. is also complete and natural.
- When the concessive relation is already clear, use the simple pattern: Deși nu aveam mult timp, am verificat toate datele. (Although I did not have much time, I checked all the data.)
- When you want to underline the contrast, use deși … totuși: Deși drumul a fost lung, totuși am ajuns înainte de prânz. (Although the journey was long, we still arrived before noon.)
- Do not treat totuși as a replacement for deși: Totuși belongs to the main clause and can also appear without a concessive clause, as in Era târziu; totuși, am mai discutat. (It was late; nevertheless, we continued talking.)
Which variants should you recognize?
The neutral default is deși. Romanian also uses longer or more emphatic concessive expressions. They are not interchangeable with every other connector in every context, so choose the form that matches the intended meaning.
| Expression | Typical meaning or use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| chiar dacă | even if; often frames an accepted possibility or emphasizes the concession | Chiar dacă plouă, mergem la concert. (Even if it rains, we are going to the concert.) |
| cu toate că | although, even though; a standard multi-word alternative | Cu toate că era obosită, a continuat să lucreze. (Although she was tired, she continued working.) |
| în ciuda faptului că | despite the fact that; a longer, explicit phrase | În ciuda faptului că era târziu, au mai discutat. (Despite the fact that it was late, they continued talking.) |
Deși and chiar dacă can overlap when the speaker accepts the first clause as a real obstacle. Deși normally presents an “although” relation, while chiar dacă readily presents “even if”: Deși plouă, ieșim. (Although it is raining, we are going out) versus Chiar dacă va ploua, ieșim. (Even if it rains, we are going out.) The context can make both choices possible, so do not turn this contrast into an absolute rule.
Reference grammars also list chiar de and chiar să among concessive forms. Treat them as forms to recognize in marked or context-dependent usage, not as replacements for the neutral learner pattern deși; this article does not attempt to define their full distribution.
Mistakes to avoid
- For the neutral pattern, do not add să after deși: say Deși plouă, ieșim., not Deși să plouă, ieșim. The deși clause already has a finite verb.
- Do not use dar as if it were part of the basic deși pattern: use Deși plouă, ieșim. or the separate coordination Plouă, dar ieșim. For an explicit paired concessive, pair deși with totuși: Deși plouă, totuși ieșim.
- Do not confuse an obstacle with a cause. Deși era obosit, a continuat. means that tiredness did not stop the action; Pentru că era obosit, s-a culcat. gives tiredness as the reason.
- When the concessive clause is initial or final in the ordinary written pattern, keep the comma: Deși era târziu, am plecat. and Am plecat, deși era târziu.
Which sentence means “Although it was late, we continued the discussion”?
- Deși era târziu, am continuat discuția.
- Dacă era târziu, am continuat discuția.
- Pentru că era târziu, am continuat discuția.
- Deși să fie târziu, am continuat discuția.
Deși introduces the obstacle “it was late,” while the main clause says that the discussion continued anyway. Dacă makes a condition, pentru că gives a cause, and the neutral deși pattern does not insert să before the finite verb.
Complete the sentence: “Although Ana was tired, Ana finished the report.”
- Deși a fi obosită, Ana a terminat raportul.
- Deși era obosită, Ana a terminat raportul.
- Deși să fie obosită, Ana a terminat raportul.
- Deși fost obosită, Ana a terminat raportul.
The past imperfect era is a finite form that presents Ana’s state as background to the completed action. A fi is an infinitive, să fie is not the neutral construction after deși, and fost cannot stand alone as the finite verb here.
Which sentence places an initial concessive clause before the main clause and uses the ordinary comma?
- Meciul a continuat, deși a plouat.
- Deși a plouat meciul a continuat.
- Deși a plouat, meciul a continuat.
- Deși să plouat, meciul a continuat.
Place a comma after an initial deși clause: Deși a plouat, meciul a continuat. The first option has the main clause first, the second omits the ordinary clause boundary, and the fourth has an invalid să pattern and verb form.
Which sentence uses separate coordination with dar, rather than a deși concessive clause?
- Deși era obosit, a venit la întâlnire.
- Deși era obosit, totuși a venit la întâlnire.
- Deși să fie obosit, a venit la întâlnire.
- Era obosit, dar a venit la întâlnire.
Era obosit, dar a venit la întâlnire joins two contrasting clauses with the coordinating conjunction dar. The first two options use deși, and the third is not the neutral concessive construction.
What does totuși do in Deși era obosit, totuși a venit?
- It replaces deși and introduces the obstacle.
- It optionally reinforces the unexpected result in the main clause.
- It requires the verb after deși to use să.
- It changes the concessive relation into a cause.
Totuși optionally reinforces the unexpected result in the main clause. The sentence remains complete and natural without it: Deși era obosit, a venit.