When you want to link two verbs in Romanian — "I want to leave", "I'm trying to understand" — the default connector is the să-subjunctive (Vreau să plec, Încerc să înțeleg), not the infinitive that English uses. The single rule that gets you through 95% of cases: use să unless a preposition demands the infinitive. Romanian, almost alone among Romance languages, has pushed the infinitive out of ordinary speech and replaced it with să + a conjugated verb. The bare infinitive survives in only a few well-defined corners.
The default: să after want / can / must / begin / try
After verbs of wanting, being able, having to, starting, trying, knowing-how, and the like, Romanian uses să + present subjunctive. The subjunctive verb agrees in person with its subject, so să is never frozen — it carries person and number.
Vreau să plec mai devreme azi.
I want to leave earlier today.
Trebuie să termin raportul până vineri.
I have to finish the report by Friday.
Încerc să înțeleg ce vrea de la mine.
I'm trying to understand what he wants from me.
A început să plouă chiar când am ieșit.
It started to rain right as I went out.
Știu să înot, dar nu prea bine.
I know how to swim, but not very well.
In every one of these, English would use an infinitive ("to leave", "to finish", "to understand", "to rain", "to swim"). Romanian uses să + a person-marked verb instead. This is the workhorse pattern; internalize it as your reflex.
Where the infinitive survives: after prepositions
The bare ("short") infinitive — a pleca, a ști, a reuși — has retreated to a handful of contexts, and the biggest by far is after a preposition. Prepositions that take a verb take the infinitive, not să. The most common are pentru a ("in order to"), fără a ("without"), înainte de a ("before"), and în loc de a ("instead of"). This register is (formal); in everyday speech people often paraphrase, but written and careful Romanian uses the infinitive here.
Învață mult pentru a reuși la examen.
She studies a lot in order to pass the exam. (formal — pentru a + infinitive)
A plecat fără a spune un cuvânt.
He left without saying a word. (formal)
Înainte de a pleca, verifică dacă ai luat cheile.
Before leaving, check that you've taken the keys.
În loc de a te plânge, fă ceva.
Instead of complaining, do something.
Notice that English uses an -ing form after these prepositions ("without saying", "before leaving", "instead of complaining"). Romanian uses the infinitive with the linking a. The a is not optional here — it is part of the infinitive form (a spune, a pleca).
The optional zone: after a putea
There is exactly one common verb where both the infinitive and să are fully natural with no change in meaning: a putea ("to be able"). Pot merge and pot să merg both mean "I can go." The infinitive version is slightly more compact and a touch more formal; the să version is more common in speech.
Pot să te ajut mâine dacă vrei.
I can help you tomorrow if you want. (everyday)
Nu pot veni la întâlnire.
I can't come to the meeting. (infinitive — equally natural after a putea)
This optionality is special to a putea (and, in elevated style, to a few others like a ști in the sense "to be able to"). Do not generalize it — a vrea and a trebui do not accept the infinitive in modern Romanian.
Fixed expressions
A few set phrases freeze the infinitive in place. You learn these as units: a avea de + infinitive ("to have something to..."), and impersonal expressions like e greu de spus ("it's hard to say"), e ușor de făcut ("it's easy to do"). These use the "supine"-flavored infinitive and are best memorized rather than derived.
Am multe de făcut azi.
I have a lot to do today. (fixed: a avea de + verb)
E greu de spus cine are dreptate.
It's hard to say who is right. (fixed impersonal)
Decision flowchart
| Ask yourself… | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a preposition (pentru, fără, înainte de, în loc de) right before the verb? | infinitive (a + verb) | pentru a reuși |
| Is the main verb a putea? | either — să or infinitive | pot să merg / pot merge |
| Is it a fixed phrase (am de…, e greu de…)? | infinitive | am de făcut |
| Anything else (want, must, try, begin, know-how…)? | să
| vreau să plec |
The headline is the first and last rows: a preposition triggers the infinitive; everything else triggers să. If you remember nothing else, remember that.
Why Romanian abandoned the infinitive
This is one of the famous features of the Balkan Sprachbund — the area of Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Romanian, which all reduced or replaced the infinitive in favor of a subjunctive-type clause. Where Latin said volo ire ("I want to-go", infinitive), Romanian shifted to vreau să merg ("I want that I-go", a finite verb). The infinitive did not vanish — it became a noun (the "long infinitive": plecare, "departure"; see the long-infinitive page) — but as a verb-chaining device it was almost entirely supplanted by să. So when a French or Italian speaker reaches for an infinitive ("je veux partir", "voglio partire"), the Romanian instinct is to use a person-marked verb instead.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vreau a pleca acum.
Incorrect — a vrea does not take the infinitive; use să.
✅ Vreau să plec acum.
I want to leave now.
❌ Îmi place a citi seara.
Incorrect — a plăcea takes să, not the infinitive, in modern Romanian.
✅ Îmi place să citesc seara.
I like to read in the evening.
❌ Trebuie a termina până vineri.
Incorrect — a trebui takes să.
✅ Trebuie să termin până vineri.
I have to finish by Friday.
❌ Învață mult pentru să reușească.
Incorrect — a preposition (pentru) takes the infinitive (pentru a reuși), or the conjunction ca să (pentru ca să reușească is heavy; prefer ca să reușească).
✅ Învață mult pentru a reuși. / Învață mult ca să reușească.
She studies a lot in order to pass.
❌ A plecat fără să spune nimic.
Incorrect person — fără să takes the subjunctive (fără să spună); fără a takes the infinitive (fără a spune).
✅ A plecat fără a spune nimic. / A plecat fără să spună nimic.
He left without saying anything.
Key Takeaways
- The default verb-linker is să + subjunctive: vreau să plec, trebuie să termin, încerc să înțeleg.
- The infinitive survives almost only after prepositions (pentru a, fără a, înainte de a, în loc de a) — a (formal) register.
- a putea uniquely allows both (pot merge / pot să merg); a few fixed phrases keep the infinitive (am de făcut, e greu de spus).
- a vrea, a trebui, and a plăcea never take the infinitive — always să.
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- că vs să (Complementizers)A2 — The factivity test that decides between că and să — că introduces facts you assert or report (Știu că vine, with the indicative), să introduces actions you want, command, fear, or treat as uncertain (Vreau să vină, with the subjunctive).
- Conjunctiv vs Infinitive: The Balkan ChoiceB1 — When Romanian uses a să-conjunctiv where its Romance cousins use the infinitive, and the handful of constructions where the infinitive survives — the structural signature of Romanian.
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- a putea (can / be able to)A2 — Full present forms of a putea, its unique tolerance of the bare infinitive (pot merge = pot să merg), and how it expresses ability, permission, and possibility.
- The Long Infinitive as a NounB2 — How Romanian's long infinitive (-re) became a productive engine for feminine abstract nouns — mâncare, plăcere, iubire — and why recognizing them as deverbal nouns, not verb forms, unlocks a large slice of vocabulary.