The Romanian past participle is a non-finite verb form. A non-finite verb form does not mark grammatical person, such as I or you, and cannot form a tense by itself. Romanian uses the participle in compound tenses and in passive or adjective-like phrases. For example, Am făcut tema. (I did the homework.) The form făcut is the participle of a face (to do, make).
How do you form the Romanian past participle?
Start with the verb’s dictionary form. Identify the infinitive ending after a, then use the participle ending for that verb. The -e class uses several participle endings, so learn each verb’s individual form.
- Identify the verb's dictionary form, including a: a lucra (to work).
- Remove the infinitive marker a and recognize the ending: lucra ends in -a.
- Use the verb's participle: a lucra -> lucrat. When the pattern is not predictable, check the full form.
- In an active compound tense, keep the participle in its basic form. When it functions as an adjective or in a passive construction, make it agree with the noun or subject.
The infinitive ending points to the frequent participle endings in the second column. Use the examples to compare the full infinitive and participle.
| Infinitive ending | Frequent participle ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -a | -at | a lucra -> lucrat (to work); a cânta -> cântat (to sing) |
| -ea | -ut | a vedea -> văzut (to see); a apărea -> apărut (to appear) |
| -e | -ut, -s, or -t | a cere -> cerut (to ask); a merge -> mers (to go); a rupe -> rupt (to tear) |
| -i | -it | a dormi -> dormit (to sleep); a veni -> venit (to come) |
| -î | -ât | a coborî -> coborât (to descend); a urî -> urât (to hate) |
Some verbs also change their spelling or stem. Examples include a vedea -> văzut, a face -> făcut, and a spune -> spus.
Why must you learn the participles of -e verbs individually?
Verbs ending in -e can have participles ending in -ut, -s, or -t, and the infinitive spelling alone does not reliably tell you which form to choose. Learn the participle with the verb.
| Infinitive | Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a începe | început | to start |
| a cere | cerut | to ask for |
| a merge | mers | to go |
| a scrie | scris | to write |
| a râde | râs | to laugh |
| a rupe | rupt | to tear, break |
| a fierbe | fiert | to boil |
Spelling alone does not determine the participle. Although a scrie and a rupe both end in -e, their participles use different endings: scris and rupt. Some stems also change, as in a spune -> spus.
Which frequent participles should you memorize?
Learn each frequent participle with its infinitive, especially when the stem changes.
| Infinitive | Past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a fi (to be) | fost | Am fost acasă. (I was at home.) |
| a avea (to have) | avut | Am avut timp. (I had time.) |
| a face (to do, make) | făcut | Ai făcut cafea. (You made coffee.) |
| a vedea (to see) | văzut | A văzut filmul. (He or she saw the film.) |
| a merge (to go) | mers | Am mers pe jos. (I or we walked.) |
| a spune (to say, tell) | spus | Mi-a spus adevărul. (He or she told me the truth.) |
| a scrie (to write) | scris | Am scris mesajul. (I wrote the message.) |
| a pune (to put) | pus | Au pus masa. (They set the table.) |
| a lua (to take) | luat | Am luat trenul. (I took the train.) |
| a da (to give) | dat | I-am dat cartea. (I gave him or her the book.) |
Check a dictionary or reliable conjugation reference for the participle of an unfamiliar verb. Do not create a participle by adding -at to every verb: a merge has mers, and a face has făcut.
What happens in an active compound tense?
In an active compound tense, the auxiliary carries the person and number while the past participle stays invariant, or unchanged. In the Romanian compound past, use a form of a avea plus the participle.
| Subject | Form with a veni | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | am venit | I came |
| ea | a venit | She came |
| noi | am venit | We came |
| ei | au venit | They came |
| ele | au venit | They came |
The participle is still invariant in other active compound forms such as să fi venit (to have come) and aș fi venit (I would have come). The participle also stays venit with feminine or plural subjects: Ea a venit and Ele au venit. Do not change it to venită or venite in an active compound form.
When does the participle agree?
The participle agrees when it works as an adjective or as part of a passive construction. It matches the modified noun or passive subject in gender and number, following the patterns in Romanian adjective agreement.
| Use | Example | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Active compound | Ana a scris scrisoarea. (Ana wrote the letter.) | scris is invariant |
| Adjective | o scrisoare scrisă (a written letter) | scrisă is feminine singular |
| Passive, singular | Scrisoarea a fost scrisă de Ana. (The letter was written by Ana.) | scrisă agrees with scrisoarea |
| Passive, plural | Scrisorile au fost scrise de Ana. (The letters were written by Ana.) | scrise is feminine plural |
The auxiliary a fi in a passive construction does not remove this agreement: compare mesajul a fost scris (the message was written) with mesajele au fost scrise (the messages were written). The participle agrees with the passive subject, not with the agent after de.
Can a participle behave like an adjective or noun?
Yes. A participle can become an ordinary adjective, and an adjective can be used as a noun-like expression. The adjective fost changes for gender and number.
| Gender and number | Form of fost | Phrase and meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | fost | un fost coleg (a former colleague) |
| Feminine singular | fostă | o fostă colegă (a former female colleague) |
| Masculine plural | foști | foști colegi (former colleagues) |
| Feminine plural | foste | foste colege (former female colleagues) |
The form foștii can mean the former members or people, with the definite article and plural form. The adjective fost differs from the active compound verb a fost. The verb means was or has been, while fost in un fost coleg means former. Not every participle is equally common as an adjective or noun, so learn these uses with the word.
How do negation and clitics fit around the participle?
For a negative active compound, put nu before the auxiliary group: Nu am văzut filmul. (I did not see the film.) Some participles also take the prefix ne- to make an independent adjective-like form, such as necunoscut (unknown) and nevăzut (unseen). These forms belong to individual words and are not available for every verb.
Object clitics are short, unstressed pronoun forms that attach closely to a verb. They normally come before the auxiliary, while feminine singular o commonly follows the participle: l-am văzut (I saw him or it), am văzut-o (I saw her or it), and nu l-am văzut (I did not see him or it). Hyphens attach each clitic to the neighboring verb form; they do not change the participle.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not assume every -e verb has a predictable participle ending. Compare a cere -> cerut, a merge -> mers, a scrie -> scris, and a rupe -> rupt.
- Do not use the masculine singular form automatically in a passive or adjectival phrase: scrisoarea a fost scrisă, not scrisoarea a fost scris.
- Do not make an active compound participle agree with its subject: Ele au venit, not Ele au venite.
- Do not put nu after the participle in the compound tense: use nu am plecat, not am plecat nu.
Which infinitive and past participle pair is correct?
- a scrie -> scriat
- a merge -> mers
- a vedea -> vedat
- a hotărî -> hotărut
A merge has the participle mers. The other standard pairs are a scrie -> scris, a vedea -> văzut, and a hotărî -> hotărât.
Complete the sentence: Noi am ___ la birou. (We worked at the office.)
- lucrut
- lucrit
- lucrs
- lucrat
The verb a lucra ends in -a and has the participle lucrat. The auxiliary am marks the subject; the participle does not change for noi.
Which sentence uses an invariant participle in an active compound past?
- Ea a venit ieri.
- Ea a venită ieri.
- Ea a venite ieri.
- Ea a venit-a ieri.
In a venit, the auxiliary a carries third-person singular marking and venit stays unchanged. The feminine subject does not make an active compound participle feminine.
Which sentence means “The letters were written by Ana”?
- Scrisorile au scris de Ana.
- Scrisorile a fost scrise de Ana.
- Scrisorile au fost scrise de Ana.
- Scrisorile au fost scris de Ana.
The passive uses au fost plus the participle, and scrise agrees with feminine plural scrisorile. The agent after de does not control agreement.
Which sentence uses a negative participle as an adjective rather than a negative compound tense?
- Nu am cunoscut persoana.
- Persoana este necunoscută publicului.
- Am necunoscut persoana.
- Persoana nu cunoscută publicului.
Necunoscută is an adjective-like form meaning unknown and agrees with feminine singular persoana. In Nu am cunoscut, nu negates the compound tense. The other two options do not form a standard negative construction.