Language/Romanian/Grammar/Conditional-and-Subjunctive-Moods
As a Romanian language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I understand that mastering the conditional and subjunctive moods in Romanian can be a challenging task. However, these complex structures are crucial to advance your language skills and achieve fluency in the language. In this lesson, we will explore the intricacies of the conditional and subjunctive moods in Romanian.
Conditional Mood
The conditional mood is used to express hypothetical situations, possibilities, or wishes. It is formed by taking the infinitive form of the verb, followed by the conditional particle "ar" or "a" for the first person singular. For the other persons, the conditional particle is added to the appropriate form of the verb "a avea" or "a fi". Here are some examples:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Aș merge la plajă dacă ar fi soare. | aash mer-ge la pla-jă da-kă ar fi so-are | I would go to the beach if it was sunny. |
| Ai putea să-mi spui ora, te rog? | ai pu-te-a să-mi spui o-ra, te rog? | Could you tell me the time, please? |
| Ar vrea să călătorească în America. | ar vre-a să că-lă-to-reas-că în A-me-ri-ca | She would like to travel to America. |
It is important to note that in Romanian, the conditional mood does not express a sense of obligation or necessity, which is expressed by the imperative mood.
Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood is used to express doubt, emotions, wishes or opinions. It is formed by taking the present tense third person singular form of the verb, dropping the final "e" and adding the subjunctive particle "să". Here are some examples:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ar fi bine să pleci mai devreme. | ar fi bi-ne să ple-ci mai de-vre-me | It would be good if you left earlier. |
| Îmi pare rău să te văd așa. | î-mi pa-re rău să te văd a-șa | I'm sorry to see you like this. |
| Îi cer să vină la întâlnire. | îi cer să vi-nă la întâlni-re | I'm asking him/her to come to the meeting. |
In addition to the present tense, the subjunctive mood can also be used in the past tense to express wishes or regrets:
| Romanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Aș fi vrut să mergem împreună la mare. | aș fi vrut să mer-gem îm-preu-nă la ma-re | I wish we had gone to the seaside together. |
| Mi-ar fi plăcut să particip la eveniment. | mi-ar fi plă-cut să par-ti-ci-p la e-ve-ni-ment | I would have liked to participate in the event. |
| Speram să-l văd mai des, dar n-a fost posibil. | speram să-l văd mai des, dar n-a fost po-si-bil | I was hoping to see him more often, but it wasn't possible. |
It is important to note that the subjunctive mood is only used in the subordinate clause of a sentence, never in the main clause.
Conclusion
Overall, mastering the conditional and subjunctive moods in Romanian can be challenging but rewarding. These complex structures allow for greater precision and nuance in the language, and offer deeper insights into Romanian culture and literature. Keep on practicing these moods, and don't hesitate to seek further guidance from your Romanian language teacher.
Sources
Related Lessons
- Possessive Case in Romanian
- Indefinite Articles in Romanian
- Definite Articles in Romanian
- Gender of Nouns
- Complex Sentences and Connectors
- Verbs and Conjugation
- Direct and Indirect Speech
- Reflexive Verbs and Pronouns
- Genitive Case in Romanian
- Instrumental Case in Romanian