You're right. They did reply se gaseste, and I do understand what you write. thank you.. As for the de facut part, can I use de and any 'past tense' form of the verb to make that statement? Can I say, "Asculta! Am ceva de spus.. Or must I say, "Asculta! Am ceva sa spui"..

dave

Originally Posted by dya

I think their answer was: dacă nu se găsește ceva de făcut.

which is not passive voice but reflexive "voice" in Romanian.
(check this for reference, in case you're not familiar with the reflexive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_voice)

The english translation of the phrase you mentioned can only be made with a passive(due to the absence of relexive in English): if nothing is found to do / if something isn't found to do
(None of these translations sound natural in English, but they help you understand the idea itself)

Now, your question as to why the person didn't use the first person:
Dacă nu găsesc ceva de făcut.

If you use the first person (active voice) it literally means "If I don't find something to do".

If you use the reflexive of the verb, that "something" is not to be found by you, it will appear regardless of your personal will.

I have to think of some exmaples of the reflexive so I can better illustrate its use and meaning.

Meanwhile, tell me if you understood what I've explained so far and if something is not clear, ask the questions! It's easier for me to explain when I know where to start from

Originally Posted by rudaire

Also, I see many times people are asking for the different forms of verbs when they already know the infinitive. Here is a website that will list all the forms for you if you know the infinitive and the correct spelling... Hope people find it helpful
http://www.dictionare.com/dictionaries/dictionary.htm
dave

I use this site all the time!!!

Originally Posted by rudaire

You're right. They did reply se gaseste, and I do understand what you write. thank you.. As for the de facut part, can I use de and any 'past tense' form of the verb to make that statement? Can I say, "Asculta! Am ceva de spus.. Or must I say, "Asculta! Am ceva sa spui"..

dave

de + participle is called "supin"(which is an impersonal verbal mood) : de făcut, de spus, de mers, de văzut, etc.

I don't imply you should learn all grammar terminology, but just in case you find the word supin in a book, you should know what it is.

And the phrase you asked about, you could say it in two ways:

Am ceva de spus-- (de+ participle)
Am ceva să spun--(using of the conjunctive mood: să+ present tense form)

Am ceva să spui is sometimes used but it's incorrect. So, don't learn it like this.

Originally Posted by dya

[B]
Am ceva să spui is sometimes used but it's incorrect. So, don't learn it like this.

Wow, I simply used the incorrect conjugation when I said spui.. I meant sa spun. People really sometime say sa spui when they mean "to (I) say"??? Why would they say that?

dave

It's a sign of not knowing grammar rules. It's that kind of thing which not so educated people "catch" from others and use it in the same way.

Now if you're curious to know why they use "spui" and they don't make another (wrong) choice: it's easier to pronounce spui as it ends in two vowels, than spun which ends in vowel+consonant.

hy all. i'm from romania too and i found this site accidentaly while i was looking for some greek lyrics and after i saw that here are some greek classes too (a new language that i try to learn). but the most surprising of all are romanian classes and i take a look and saw the great work that dya and others made here. i've observed that u translated "thank you in advance" as "mulţumesc în avans" but i think that a better translation would be "mulţumesc anticipat " anyway congrats for all u've done so far!

Welcome kmmy And thank you!

You're right about "multumesc anticipat", I think it is more used than "multumesc in avans".

Oh, and you'll find me in the Greek section as well That's how I found this forum too!!

glad i could help when i see all this people trying to learn romanian , and they succeed , im more confident in myself learning greek.. its my 1st language that i learn without a teacher ... actualy 2nd ... 1st was spanish but that i learned it from "telenovele" looool (wich is a diff thing :P)

A few of questions:

1) Do you always use the infinitive after "putea" & if not, then when?

2) I'm having trouble understanding dumnealui/dumnealor & dumneaei/dumnealor.

3) & now I'm confused with dumneata vs. dumneavoastra.

Can someone please help?

Very briefly, cause I need to go now (and I'll be away for a few days, so I'll answer other questions when back)

1. not the infinitive, but the conjunctive:

Aș putea să spun--I could say
Putea să vină--He could have come

2. dumnealui/dumnealor & dumneaei/dumnealor are the formal counterparts of he/they & she/they. So, in showing respect for a person(remember what I told you about dumneavoastra), instead of using he you'll talk about him with dumnealui. And so on.

3.Dumneata and all the afferent declined forms are just the informal counterpart of dumneavoastra. Meaning not very formal (like dumneavoastra) not totally informal (like tu)

Oh ok, thanks!

As for the putea, I meant after you conjugate "putea" do you always use the infinitive?

like "Eu pot vedea" vs. "Eu pot sa vad"...do you get what I mean?

*if you don't mind me asking, where are you off to? Vacation?

After you conjugate "a putea" you always use infinitive OR conjunctive.

"Eu pot vedea" & "Eu pot sa vad" are BOTH correct. The firt one is more formal, the second one is more used on a daily basis. You ahve more chances to hera "eu pot sa vad" in a conversations that "eu pot vedea". But both are correct and used.

And yes, short vacation Just a few days in order to recharge batteries

Mersi!

That's good! Enjoy & have fun!

Hello from me after a long long time...I have been busy, and still i'm with my job, but do not worry i read your posts every day and sometimes they are helpful to me too...
To be frank with you i'm still not completely dedicated to learning Romanian but only because in some weeks i will travel there and soon i will probably go there for a longer time...
But i have some questions...even that all of you are so serious in some grammatical issues ...
How can I say " I do not know everything, but just enough!"
And how to say " you are the sweetest! " I know the expression "Esti atat de dulce" but not the superlative from dulce...
Multumesc in avans!

I do not know everything, but just enough! - nu stiu tot , dar stiu destul
you are the sweetest! - esti cea mai dulce . the superlative form in romanian is formed by cea mai/ cele mai ( feminine form) + adjective
cel mai/ cei mai ( masculine form) + adjective
In romanian "multumesc anticipat" is used more often than "multumesc in avans" although both are correct

Muuuuultumesc KMMY!

cu placere

Originally Posted by dya

Very briefly, cause I need to go now (and I'll be away for a few days, so I'll answer other questions when back)

1. not the infinitive, but the conjunctive:

Aș putea să spun--I could say
Putea să vină--He could have come

I have a gap in my ability to express a common idea in romanian.. Follow me here..

I can say, I can go (I have the ability to go). "Pot sa merg, sau pot merge"
I can say, I would have gone. "As fi mers"
I can say, I have to go. "Trebuie sa merg"
I can say, I will go. "O sa merg, sau am sa merg, sau voi merge"

How do I say:
I should go.
I should have gone.
I would go. (I could say, o sa merge daca.....) but there has to be another way.. is it "as putea sa merg? sau as putea merge?".. Actually I just realized it would simply be as merge..
I could have gone. "as fi putut sa merg?"

Also, from the quote above, is putea sa vina correct? Shouldn't it be "poate sa vina or poate vine? I understand the As putea, but haven't seen putea used without as, ai, ar, am, ati, or i forgot the form for "they would"..

thanks for your help. You are amazing..

dave

Question for who knows: what's the difference between "responsibility" and "responsability"? I know the correct noun is "responsibility", but I also saw the other form used in many texts, even the Everest dictionary has the form with "a"...Firstly I thought it's a difference between british/american english but i haven't found anything. So..is the form with "a" accepted just because it's used?

Originally Posted by Raisa-Miruna

Question for who knows: what's the difference between "responsibility" and "responsability"? I know the correct noun is "responsibility", but I also saw the other form used in many texts, even the Everest dictionary has the form with "a"...Firstly I thought it's a difference between british/american english but i haven't found anything. So..is the form with "a" accepted just because it's used?

I really have never seen it written with an "a" in formal texts or anything of the sort. So I'm pretty sure it's just a commom mistake that English speakers make. The correct form is "responsibility" - just use that one lol.

Anyone know/think something else?