Conjunctions: An Overview | Romanian Grammar

Conjunctions are the words that glue clauses together — "and", "but", "because", "that", "if". Romanian sorts them into two families that behave very differently. Coordinating conjunctions join two things of equal rank (two words, two phrases, two whole sentences): și (and), sau/ori (or), dar/iar/însă (but), deci (so), nici (nor). Subordinating conjunctions attach a dependent clause to a main one, making it answer a question like when?, why?, or what?: că (that), să (that/to), dacă (if/whether), când (when), pentru că (because), deși (although). This page maps both families and then zooms in on the single most important contrast in the whole system — că versus să — because it is not really about conjunctions at all: it is the fact-versus-not-fact decision that governs Romanian's moods.

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The master contrast to carry through this whole group: că introduces asserted facts and takes the indicative; să introduces wanted, possible, or commanded actions and takes the conjunctiv (subjunctive). Știu că vine ("I know that he's coming" — a fact) vs Vreau să vină ("I want him to come" — a wish). The same fact/non-fact decision drives the entire mood system, so once you feel it for conjunctions you can predict it everywhere.

Coordinating conjunctions: joining equals

Coordinators link items of the same grammatical weight without making one depend on the other. The core set:

Conjunction	Meaning	Note
și	and	the basic additive link
sau / ori	or	sau neutral, ori a touch more formal
dar / iar / însă	but / and-contrastively	three different "buts"; iar = contrastive "and"
deci	so, therefore	draws a conclusion
nici	nor, not even	negative; pairs as nici…nici

Vreau o cafea și un croasant.

I want a coffee and a croissant. (și joins two noun phrases)

E târziu, dar mai stăm puțin.

It's late, but we'll stay a bit longer. (dar contrasts two clauses)

Plouă, deci luăm umbrela.

It's raining, so we'll take the umbrella. (deci draws a conclusion)

The "and"s and "but"s have more internal variety than English — iar is a contrastive "and" ("whereas"), însă a more formal "but", ci a corrective "but rather". Those are sorted out on the dedicated și, iar, dar, însă, ci page; the "or"s (sau, ori, fie…fie, nici…nici) get their own treatment on disjunction.

Subordinating conjunctions: hanging one clause off another

Subordinators introduce a clause that depends on the main clause and fills a role in it — telling you what, when, why, if, or despite what. The everyday set:

Conjunction	Meaning	Introduces	Typical mood
că	that	a reported fact	indicative
să	that / to	a wished/required action	conjunctiv
dacă	if / whether	a condition or yes/no question	indicative
când	when	a time	indicative
pentru că	because	a cause	indicative
deși	although	a concession	indicative

Rămân acasă pentru că plouă.

I'm staying home because it's raining. (pentru că = cause)

Te sun când ajung.

I'll call you when I get there. (când = time)

Deși e obosit, vine cu noi.

Although he's tired, he's coming with us. (deși = concession)

Nu știu dacă vine sau nu.

I don't know whether he's coming or not. (dacă = whether, in an indirect question)

Each of these gets a full page of its own — causal, concessive, and conditional/temporal — but they all share one feature: they take the indicative, because the clause they introduce is treated as real. The one subordinator that does not is să, and that is the contrast worth dwelling on.

The master split: că (fact + indicative) vs să (non-fact + conjunctiv)

Both că and să translate the English "that", and choosing between them is the first real fork in Romanian grammar. The rule is factivity: if the embedded clause states something you assert or report as true, use că + an ordinary indicative verb. If it states something wanted, demanded, feared, or merely possible — something not yet real — use să + the conjunctiv (subjunctive).

Știu că vine cu trenul de seară.

I know that he's coming on the evening train. (fact → că + indicative 'vine')

Vreau să vină și el la petrecere.

I want him to come to the party too. (wish → să + conjunctiv 'vină')

Look at the verb itself: after că it is the plain present vine; after să it is the conjunctiv form vină. The conjunctiv exists precisely to mark actions in the realm of wishes, doubts, and possibilities rather than established reality (see the subjunctive overview). So a verb that reports reality — a ști (know), a spune (say), a crede (believe), a vedea (see) — reaches for că; a verb that points at something not-yet-real — a vrea (want), a trebui (must), a cere (ask/demand), a se teme (fear) — reaches for să.

Cred că ai dreptate.

I think you're right. (a held belief, framed as fact → că)

Trebuie să plecăm acum.

We have to leave now. (obligation, not-yet-real → să)

Spune că e bolnav.

He says (that) he's sick. (reported fact → că)

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A quick test: could you rephrase the embedded clause as "the fact that…"? Then it's că. Could you rephrase it as "for X to happen / that X should happen"? Then it's să. Știu că vine = "I know the fact that he's coming"; Vreau să vină = "I want for him to come."

This is the same decision you will make over and over — after verbs, after certain conjunctions, after expressions of doubt and emotion. The decision which connective to use, and when it shades meaning (the dual verbs like a spera, "to hope"), is laid out on the că vs să decision guide. For this overview, the takeaway is that the conjunction and the mood travel together: pick că and you have committed to a fact and the indicative; pick să and you have committed to a non-fact and the conjunctiv.

Why English speakers stumble here

English collapses the distinction into a single word: "I know that he's coming" and "I want that he come" both use that (and English has all but lost the mandative subjunctive "that he come"). Romanian forces the fact/non-fact choice into the open every single time, and it shows up in two places at once — the conjunction and the verb form. An English speaker who hasn't internalized this will reach for că everywhere, producing Vreau că vine ("I want that he comes") where Romanian demands Vreau să vină.

Common Mistakes

Using că after a verb of wanting (which needs să + conjunctiv):

❌ Vreau că vină la petrecere.

Incorrect — a vrea expresses a wish, not a fact, so it takes să: Vreau să vină.

✅ Vreau să vină la petrecere.

I want him to come to the party.

Using să after a verb of knowing/reporting (which needs că + indicative):

❌ Știu să vine cu trenul.

Incorrect — reporting a fact takes că; 'știu să' means 'I know how to'. Use: Știu că vine.

✅ Știu că vine cu trenul.

I know that he's coming by train.

Dropping că the way English drops "that":

❌ Cred ai dreptate.

Incorrect — Romanian keeps că obligatorily, even though English omits 'that': Cred că ai dreptate.

✅ Cred că ai dreptate.

I think you're right.

Using dacă for the conditional "if" but forgetting it also covers indirect-question "whether":

❌ Nu știu că vine sau nu.

Incorrect — an indirect yes/no question uses dacă (whether), not că: Nu știu dacă vine sau nu.

✅ Nu știu dacă vine sau nu.

I don't know whether he's coming or not.

Key Takeaways

Romanian conjunctions split into coordinating (join equals: și, sau/ori, dar/iar/însă, deci, nici) and subordinating (attach a dependent clause: că, să, dacă, când, pentru că, deși).
The master contrast is că vs să: că = an asserted fact + indicative; să = a wanted/possible/commanded action + conjunctiv.
This is the same factivity decision that runs the whole mood system — feel it once and you can predict it everywhere.
English uses one word ("that") for both and has lost the subjunctive, so the main learner error is over-using că (e.g. Vreau că vine).
Most other subordinators (când, pentru că, deși, dacă) take the indicative, because they introduce clauses treated as real.

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