There are nine
moods into which a verb can be put, with five of them being personal (having a different form for each
person) and four non-personal. As an example, the tables below show the verb
a face ("to do") at all moods, tenses, persons and numbers. Only positive forms in the active voice are given. The corresponding
personal pronouns are not included; unlike English verbs, Romanian verbs generally have different forms for each person and number, so pronouns are most often
dropped except for emphasis. The English equivalents in the tables (one for each mood and tense) are only an approximative indication of the meaning.
Usage Simple perfect highlighted'' The
simple perfect has been replaced by the compound perfect in most of the Romanian varieties; it is commonly used in the
Oltenian vernacular (
graiul oltenesc) to denote recent actions that still affect the present situation:
mâncai (
I have just eaten). In the literary standard, the simple perfect is used almost exclusively in writing, where the author refers to the characters' actions as they take place. For that reason, the second person is practically never used, whereas the first person appears only when the writer includes himself among the characters.
Imperfect In Romanian, the compound perfect is often used where other Romance languages would use the imperfect. For example, the English sentence
My father was Romanian requires the imperfect when translated into languages like French and Italian, whereas in this context in Romanian the compound perfect form
Tatăl meu a fost român is frequently used instead of the imperfect
Tatăl meu era român.
Past participle Verbs in the past participle are used in their singular masculine form when they are part of compound tenses (compound perfect, future perfect, past subjunctive, etc.) in the
active voice. As part of a verb in the
passive voice, the past participle behaves like
adjectives, and thus must agree in number and gender with the subject: • Active voice:
Am făcut curat în casă. (
I cleaned the house.) • Passive voice:
Echipa adversă a fost făcută praf. (
The opposing team was laid to waste.) ==Conjugation groups==