Language/Romanian/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have
Hi Romanian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use the verb "have" in Romanian. This is an important verb that is used in many different contexts. We will cover the different tenses, pronouns, and some cultural information to help you understand how to use this verb in real-life situations. Let's get started!
Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Nouns & Conditional Mood.
Introduction to "Have"[edit | edit source]
The Romanian verb "have" is "a avea" in its infinitive form. In English, "have" is an auxiliary verb used to form compound tenses (i.e. present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) and in some constructions to express obligation or permission. "A avea" serves the same purpose in Romanian. However, "a avea" is also used in a variety of common phrases, idioms, and expressions. For example, "a avea nevoie" (to need), "a avea dreptate" (to be right), "a avea grijă" (to take care) and "a avea chef" (to feel like - literally "to have mood").
Present Tense[edit | edit source]
The present tense of "a avea" is used to describe things that are happening now or habitual actions. Here is the conjugation of "a avea" in the present tense:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| am | /am/ | I have |
| ai | /aj/ | You have (singular informal) |
| are | /a.re/ | He/she has |
| avem | /a.vem/ | We have |
| aveți | /a.ve.ztʲ/ | You have (plural formal) |
| au | /aw/ | They have |
To illustrate the use of "a avea" in the present tense, here's a conversation between two friends:
- Andreea: Ce faci? (What are you doing?)
- Ana: Eu am o carte bună și o citesc. (I have a good book and I'm reading it.)
In this example, "am" is the first person singular form of "a avea." Ana is talking about a book she currently possesses: "Eu am o carte" means "I have a book."
Past Tense[edit | edit source]
The past tense of "a avea" is used to describe actions or situations that happened in the past. It is formed by adding the past participle of "a avea" - "avut" - after the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb "a fi" (to be). Here is the conjugation of "a avea" in the past tense with the verb "a fi":
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| am avut | /am a.vut/ | I had |
| ai avut | /aj a.vut/ | You had (singular informal) |
| a avut | /a a.vut/ | He/she had |
| am avut | /a.vem a.vut/ | We had |
| ați avut | /aʦʲ a.vut/ | You had (plural formal) |
| au avut | /aw a.vut/ | They had |
Here is an example of "a avea" being used in the past tense:
- Maria: Ai avut vreodată o pisică? (Did you ever have a cat?)
- Ion: Da, am avut o pisică, dar s-a pierdut după câteva luni. (Yes, I had a cat, but it got lost after a few months.)
In this dialogue, Ion is talking about a cat that he used to have in the past: "am avut" means "I had." He then goes on to talk about what happened to the cat.
Future Tense[edit | edit source]
The future tense of "a avea" is used to describe actions or situations that will happen in the future. Here is the conjugation of "a avea" in the future tense:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| voi avea | /voj a.ve̯a/ | I will have |
| vei avea | /vej a.ve̯a/ | You will have (singular informal) |
| va avea | /va a.ve̯a/ | He/she will have |
| vom avea | /vom a.ve̯a/ | We will have |
| veți avea | /ve̯tsʲ a.ve̯a/ | You will have (plural formal) |
| vor avea | /vor a.ve̯a/ | They will have |
Here's an example of "a avea" being used in the future tense:
- Vlad: Ce vei face în weekend? (What will you do this weekend?)
- Sanda: Voi avea o petrecere acasă. (I will have a party at home.)
In this example, Sanda is talking about a party that she will have in the future: "voi avea" means "I will have."
Reflexive Pronouns[edit | edit source]
In Romanian, reflexive pronouns are used to show that the subject is performing an action on itself, or for its own benefit. The reflexive pronoun for "a avea" is "își." Here is the conjugation of "a avea" in the present tense with the reflexive pronoun:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| mă am | /mə ʌm/ | I have (myself) |
| te ai | /te aj/ | You have (yourself) |
| se are | /se a.re/ | He/she has (himself/herself) |
| ne avem | /ne a.vem/ | We have (ourselves) |
| vă aveți | /və a.ve.tʲ/ | You have (yourselves) |
| se au | /se aw/ | They have (themselves) |
Here's an example of "a avea" being used with reflexive pronouns:
- Cristina: Te simți bine azi? (Are you feeling well today?)
- Iulia: Nu prea. Mă simt obosită pentru că nu am avut o noapte bună de somn. (Not really. I feel tired because I didn't have a good night's sleep.)
In this example, Iulia is using "mă simt" to say "I feel." This is a reflexive pronoun because she is performing the action on herself.
Cultural Information[edit | edit source]
Romanian culture makes great use of the verb "a avea" beyond its grammatical use. For instance, a popular Romanian phrase that has become a famous song is "Cine-a pus carciuma-n drum?" This phrase can be translated to "Who put the pub on the road?" It is a rhetorical question usually asked in cases when someone hits an obstacle on their path. The person asking this question is implying that the obstacle was purposely set up to thwart their progress. Additionally, there is a Romanian saying "a avea ureche muzicală," which means "to have a musical ear." This saying is used to describe someone who has an innate ability to discern and appreciate musical sounds.
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
In this lesson, we covered how to use "a avea" in Romanian. We learned about its different tenses and how to use it with reflexive pronouns. We also discussed some cultural information to help you better understand the verb in context. To improve your Romanian grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Comaratives and Superlatives & Ordinal Numbers in Romanian.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- The Accusative Case in Romanian
- Instrumental Case in Romanian
- How to use ¨to speak¨ in Romanian
- Cardinal Numbers in Romanian
- The Locative Case in Romanian
- Cases
- Prepositions
- Nouns
- Indefinite Articles in Romanian
Sources[edit | edit source]