Present Indicative of the verbs in -a
(1st conjugation)
Play: present indicative of the verbs in -a
The dictionary form of the
verb is the infinitive form.
The particle "a" is
the marker for infinitives and it is placed in front of the verb.
Examples: a
cânta (to
sing), a
dansa (to
dance), a
mânca (to
eat) etc.
The infinitive ending (a vowel or a vowel group) shows the verb conjugation. The endings and the verb conjugations are:
-a:
1st conjugation: a cânta
(to sing)
-ea:
2nd conjugation: a avea
(to have)
-e:
3rd conjugation: a merge
(to go)
-i
and -î:
4th conjugation: a iubi
(to love), a hotărî
(to decide)
Let's learn the
Present Indicative of the verbs in -a
(1st conjugation).
A
cânta (engl. to
sing), a
pleca (engl. to
leave)
-
A
cânta |
A
pleca |
Eu cânt |
Eu plec |
Tu cânți |
Tu pleci |
El / ea cântă |
El / ea pleacă |
Noi cântăm |
Noi plecăm |
Voi cântați |
Voi plecați |
Ei / ele cântă |
Ei / ele pleacă |
The
root verb is obtained by removing the infinitive suffix. For
instance, is the infinitive form is „a
cânta”,
the root is „cânt”.
In order to form the Present Tense, we have to add some endings to
the root verb. These endings are: Ø,
-i,
-ă,
-ăm,
-ați,
-ă.
Sometimes some phonetic mutations occur in the verb stem, as
in the example below:
eu
cânt
(I
sing)
– the
root is
„cânt”
tu
cânți
(you
sing)
– the
root is
„cânț”
Due
to phonetic rules, „t”
becomes „ț”
before „i”.
In
some other situations, the vowel „e”
from the root verb becomes the diphthong
„ea” as
follows:
tu
pleci
(you
leave)
el
pleacă
(he
leaves)
Some
of the verbs in -a
receive the suffix „ez”
in the first and the second person singular. In the third person
singular, the suffix „ez”
becomes „eaz”.
After this suffix, the Present Tense endings are added (Ø,
-i,
-ă,
-ăm,
-ați,
-ă).
A
dansa (engl. to
dance), a
lucra (engl. to
work)
-
A
dansa |
A
lucra |
Eu dansez |
Eu lucrez |
Tu dansezi |
Tu lucrezi |
El / ea dansează |
El / ea lucrează |
Noi dansăm |
Noi lucrăm |
Voi dansați |
Voi lucrați |
Ei / ele dansează |
Ei / ele lucrează |
For most verbs, the 3rd
person singular is homonymous with the 3rd person plural:
el cântă (he
sings) = ei cântă (they sing)
el lucrează (he
works) = ei lucrează (they work)
Exceptions
A
sta (engl. to
stay), a da (engl. to give), a
lua (engl. to
take)
-
A
sta |
A
lua |
Eu stau |
Eu iau |
Tu stai |
Tu iei |
El / ea stă |
El / ea ia |
Noi stăm |
Noi luăm |
Voi stați |
Voi luați |
Ei / ele stau |
Ei / ele iau |
The
negative form
The particle “nu” must be placed in front of the
verbs.
Examples:
-
A
cânta |
A
pleca |
Eu nu
cânt (I don't sing) |
Eu nu
plec (I don't leave) |
Tu nu
cânți
(you don't sing) |
Tu nu
pleci (you don't
leave) |
El / ea nu
cântă (he / she
doesn't sing) |
El / ea nu
pleacă
(he / she doesn't leave) |
Noi nu
cântăm (we don't
sing) |
Noi nu
plecăm
(we don't leave) |
Voi nu
cântați (you don't
sing) |
Voi nu
plecați (you don't
leave) |
Ei / ele nu
cântă (they don't
sing) |
Ei / ele nu
pleacă
(they don't leave) |
Mona Moldoveanu Pologea, Ph.D. Linguist
ROLANG School Managing Director |