Learning Romanian language

I agree I am so grateful I found this thread. It has helped me a lot with Romanian and I would probably be really lost without it, hehe. =) Thanks to everyone, you guys are a big help! =)

Originally Posted by dya

Instead, try to read, listen and speak as much as you can. This way you'll identify some patterns and in time you'll be able to use them yourself without even realising it.

Read the trannslations in this forum. It doesn't matter what the song is about; you're after the language not the music. Ask for translations. And not only for translations of songs. Whatever you feel it may help you.

Thanks - I have spent a bit of time in the lyrics section and I am getting my hands on a load of Romanian music too so I can get used to it a bit more - apparently I learn better with music! *lol*

I like reading the grammar books - I find writing things a lot helps them sink into my head - but some days it just doesn't work! *lol*

I am going to make sure I spend more time studying too - I may be going to Romania in a couple of months and I really want to be able to speak a little of the language before I go!

EDIT: Ooh, I have just thought of another question! When someone asks how you are, I know how to say I am well - but what if I'm not? I realise that in polite conversation people nearly always say they are fine whether they are or not - but I was wondering how you would say "I don't feel so good?"/"I am ill"?

Thanks in advance!

I don't have much experience but I'm pretty sure "Sunt bolnav." means "I'm sick"...I am not sure how to say "I feel sick"..

I think I found it..."Mã simt rãu" I think that is "I feel sick" but I am not sure...some please correct me if I am wrong ^.^

Yes you're right. Ma simt rau is the right thing to say and it means I feel bad. Sunt bolnav or Ma simt bolnav sounds weird and people will think you have some kind of disease

i usualy say nu mă simt prea bine : I don't feel so good

Originally Posted by krityx

Yes you're right. Ma simt rau is the right thing to say and it means I feel bad. Sunt bolnav or Ma simt bolnav sounds weird and people will think you have some kind of disease

LOL!

Thanks guys!

Haha thanks for the correction krityx...the last thing I want is people thinking I have a disease lol At least I got that last part right ^-^

Originally Posted by dya

Exacty!

Ar trebui să merg--> I should go

Aș putea să merg--> I might go

Ok.. I'm really hammering out the details of this, and I think i have it...

As putea sa merg is really 'i would have the ability to go', which translates best to 'I could go'

S-ar putea sa merg is a better fit for 'i might go'

but..

I might go can also be translated as 'Voi fi mergand', or 'oi fi mergand'... I guess those better translate to 'i might be going'.. Still, I seem to never cross these last forms in print, either in newspapers, or in chat rooms.. Are they used less frequently?

I've also seen 'poate' before sentences to indicate 'maybe' but I've forgotten exactly how to use it.. 'poate mergem.. 'we might be going'?? or is it poate vom mergem 'maybe we will go, we might go'..

ar trebuie sa merg is 'I should go'..

Does s-ar trebuie sa merg make sense or change anything??

thanks for your help

dave

Hello again!

Yes, you got it right. Let's see:

As putea sa merg= I could go
S-ar putea sa merg= I might go

Voi fi mergand & Oi fi mergand

Voi fi mergand= I will be going
Oi fi mergand= I might go/ I might be going

And yes, they are very little used. The first one is really rare, the second one is to be found in contexts like:
Oi fi mergand eu cu tine, dar asta nu inseamna ca imi face placere- I might go with you, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it.

The meaning of oi fi mergand does not refer to possibility. It's more like: I go with you, all right, but that doesn't mean..etc. I'm not sure I made myself clear. Tell me if you need further explanation on this.

Ar trebui sa merg- I should go.

s-ar trebuie sa merg is incorrect.

Trebuie sa merg= I must/ have to go.

Poate is followed by the verb in the tense you need and it's best translated like this:

Poate merg- Maybe I go
Poate voi merge- Maybe I'll go
Poate am mers- Maybe I went
Poate as merge- Maybe I would go

If you have any other questions about this subject, feel free to ask

Voi fi mergand sounds like future(viitor anterior + gerunziu !?) to me (I will be going) and Oi fi mergand = I might be going. I might be wrong, there's been several years since i've taken a grammar lesson.

Yes, you're absolutely right!

This is what I wanted to write in the first place, and this is why I didn't explained anything about it, cause it doesn't have anything to do with modal verbs. I meant to write: I will be going, instead I wrote might be going.

I will modify my post, so that everything to be clear in there

Thank you again

Further back in this thread there is an enormous list of verbs, like "to read", "to sing"....I was wondering if there is some kind of easy to follow rule to change them into "I read" "You read" etc(present) , then "I read" "you read" etc (past)? Or do I just have to learn them all seperately because there isn't set rule to work out the endings?

Thanks in advance (again!)

Originally Posted by IMissPadfoot

Further back in this thread there is an enormous list of verbs, like "to read", "to sing"....I was wondering if there is some kind of easy to follow rule to change them into "I read" "You read" etc(present) , then "I read" "you read" etc (past)? Or do I just have to learn them all seperately because there isn't set rule to work out the endings?

Thanks in advance (again!)

Hi i found something will help you whit the verbs in romana.
http://www.dictionare.com/
Look here you must enter in "dictionare" and write the verb and the site will conjugate for you .
I hope that i don't blow your mind whit this.

Originally Posted by NNA for life

Hi i found something will help you whit the verbs in romana.
http://www.dictionare.com/
Look here you must enter in "dictionare" and write the verb and the site will conjugate for you .
I hope that i don't blow your mind whit this.

You are awesome! Thank you!!

Okay, I'm so sorry for all the questions, I am hpping that soon it will sink in!

I'm looking at the dictionary thing and I see:

Future I
eu voi invita
tu vei invita
el/ea va invita
noi vom invita
voi veţi invita
ei/ele vor invita

and

Future II
eu voi fi invitat
tu vei fi invitat
el/ea va fi invitat
noi vom fi invitat
voi veţi fi invitat
ei/ele vor fi invitat

are they the same thing?

Then:

Imperfect
eu invitam
tu invitai
el/ea invita
noi invitam
voi invitaţi
ei/ele invitau

and

Past Perfect
eu invitasem
tu invitaseşi
el/ea invitase
noi invitaserăm
voi invitaserăţi
ei/ele invitaseră

This is where I start to get confused!

Future I (popular)
o să invit (eu)
o să inviţi (tu)
o să invite (el/ea)
o să invităm (noi)
o să invitaţi (voi)
o să invite (ei/ele)

and

am să fi invitat (eu)
ai să fi invitat (tu)
are să fi invitat (el/ea)
avem să fi invitat (noi)
aveţi să fi invitat (voi)
au să fi invitat (ei/ele)

Are they the same thing also?

Once I have all this worked out, I should be okay! *lol* Thanks!

Originally Posted by IMissPadfoot

Okay, I'm so sorry for all the questions, I am hpping that soon it will sink in!

I'm looking at the dictionary thing and I see:

Future I
eu voi invita
tu vei invita
el/ea va invita
noi vom invita
voi veţi invita
ei/ele vor invita

and

Future II
eu voi fi invitat
tu vei fi invitat
el/ea va fi invitat
noi vom fi invitat
voi veţi fi invitat
ei/ele vor fi invitat

are they the same thing?

No, they are not the same thing. The first is SIMPLE FUTURE, the other is FUTURE PERFECT:

Eu voi invita = I will invite (simple future) - it expresses an action that will be happening at a certain moment in the future.

Eu voi fi invitat = I will have invited (future perfect simple) OR I will have been inviting (future perfect continous) - it expresses an action that will end at a certain moment in the future.

In Romanian, the second one is called "viitor anterior".

Originally Posted by IMissPadfoot

Then:

Imperfect
eu invitam
tu invitai
el/ea invita
noi invitam
voi invitaţi
ei/ele invitau

and

Past Perfect
eu invitasem
tu invitaseşi
el/ea invitase
noi invitaserăm
voi invitaserăţi
ei/ele invitaseră

This is where I start to get confused!

The Imperfect is translated in English with the PAST CONTINUOUS:

Eu invitam = I was inviting OR I used to invite

The second one, called in Romanian "more than perfect tense" (pluperfect) is translated in English with the PAST PERFECT and it is used to refer to an event that has been completed before another past action:

Eu invitasem = I had invited

Originally Posted by IMissPadfoot

Future I (popular)
o să invit (eu)
o să inviţi (tu)
o să invite (el/ea)
o să invităm (noi)
o să invitaţi (voi)
o să invite (ei/ele)

and

am să fi invitat (eu)
ai să fi invitat (tu)
are să fi invitat (el/ea)
avem să fi invitat (noi)
aveţi să fi invitat (voi)
au să fi invitat (ei/ele)

Are they the same thing also?

The difference between the two types is the same I have explained in the first post.

Ah ha! Okay, I get it now - I just need to memorise it! *lol*

Thank you so much!!

Yes, basically, you have to get used to each verb. There are rules, but considering the amount of exeptions, I think it's harder to memorize which verb is an exeption and which is according to the rule, instead of learning verbs as you "meet" them

There are 4 conjugations in Romanian, therefore 4 catyegories of "endings" accoring to how the verb ends in the infinitive.

The 1st: verbs ended in -a: a lucra, a asculta, a manca, etc
The 2nd: verbs ended in -ea: a vedea, a părea, etc
The 3rd: verbs ended in -e: a scrie, a duce, etc
The 4th: verbs ended in -i & -î: a veni, a urî, etc

Let's take the Present Tense for each:

I. Eu lucrez
Tu lucrezi
El lucrează
Noi lucrăm
Voi lucrați
Ei lucrează

II:Eu văd
Tu vezi
El vede
Noi vedem
Voi vedeți
Ei văd

III. Eu scriu
Tu scrii
El scrie
Noi scriem
Voi scrieți
Ei scriu

IV: Eu vin
Tu vii
El vine
Noi venim
Voi veniți
Ei vin

&

Eu urăsc
Tu urăști
El urăște
Noi urâm
Voi urâți
Ei urăsc

The endings you see in bold are the ones most likely to fit to most verbs from the same category.

The hardest thing to do by yourself is to decide which is the stem(root) of the verb. The stem is the part you're actually working with. Sometimes, the stem can be just the first letter, or the first two letters, other times it can be almost the entire word (minus the last letter(s) from the infinitive).

Now, let me give you some exceptions, so you can see that, although some parts may seems to have a connection to the rule, it's almost impossible to apply any rule in learning them.

So, again with the four conjugations, but this time with verbs that behave differently from the first examples I gave you:

I. ( a mânca) Eu mănânc
Tu mănânci
El mănâncă
Noi mâncăm
Voi mâncați
Ei mănâncă

II. (a vrea) Eu vreau
Tu vrei
El vrea
Noi vrem
Voi vreți
Ei vor

III. (a coase- to sew) Eu cos
Tu coși
El coase
Noi coasem
Voi coaseți
Ei cos

IV. (a iubi) Eu iubesc
Tu iubețti
El iubește
Noi iubim
Voi iubiți
Ei iubesc

&

(a coborî) Eu cobor
Tu cobori
El coboară
Noi coborâm
oi coborâți
Ei coboară

If you think this could be of any help, I could conjugate each of these verbs in all the tenses, so you can have a starting point. Just let me know