Subordinate Clauses: An Overview | Romanian Grammar

A subordinate clause is a clause that depends on another — it cannot stand alone, and it does a job (subject, object, modifier) inside the larger sentence. English builds these in two very different ways: with a finite clause ("I know that he left") or with a nonfinite one, usually an infinitive ("I want to leave", "too tired to work"). Romanian's headline fact is that it leans on the finite option far more heavily than English does: where English reaches for an infinitive, Romanian almost always uses a finite să-clause. So learning Romanian subordination is, to a surprising degree, learning a single decision — does the clause open with că (factual) or să (irrealis)? This page maps the whole system and zooms in on that choice.

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The single biggest shift from English: Romanian replaces the infinitive with a finite clause. "I want to go" is not vreau a merge but vreau să merg — literally "I want that I-go". Train yourself to convert every English "to + verb" of purpose or complement into a Romanian să-clause.

The three families of subordinate clause

Romanian subordinate clauses fall into the same three families as English: completive (noun clauses that fill a slot like subject or object), relative (adjective clauses that modify a noun), and adverbial (clauses of time, cause, condition, and so on). What differs is the machinery — which connector introduces each, and which mood the verb takes.

Family	Role	Typical connector	Example
Completive	fills subject/object slot	că, să, dacă, ce, cine	Știu că a plecat.
Relative	modifies a noun	care, ce, cine, unde	Omul care a sunat.
Adverbial	time, cause, condition…	când, pentru că, dacă, deși…	Plec când termin.

Cred că ai dreptate, dar hai să verificăm.

I think you're right, but let's check. (completive object clause 'că ai dreptate')

Băiatul care stă lângă mine învață medicina.

The boy who sits next to me is studying medicine. (relative clause modifying 'băiatul')

Te sun când ajung acasă.

I'll call you when I get home. (adverbial clause of time)

Completive clauses: the că vs să split

The completive (noun) clause is where the că/să decision lives, and it is the heart of Romanian subordination. The rule is conceptual, not arbitrary: că introduces something presented as a fact — something asserted, known, perceived, or reported as real. Să introduces something irrealis — wanted, demanded, doubted, feared, intended: an action that exists in the realm of wishes and possibilities rather than established reality.

So verbs of knowing, saying, and perceiving take că:

Mi-a spus că vine mâine.

He told me (that) he's coming tomorrow. (a reported fact → că)

Văd că ai terminat deja.

I see (that) you've already finished. (perception of a fact → că)

…while verbs of wanting, asking, and allowing take să (with the verb in the subjunctive):

Vreau să pleci acum.

I want you to leave now. (a wish about your action → să)

Te rog să nu întârzii.

Please don't be late. (a request → să)

The same verb can switch connectors when its meaning shifts between asserting and wanting. A spune normally reports a fact (spune că vine, "he says he's coming"), but as a command it takes să (spune-i să vină, "tell him to come"):

Spune-i să vină devreme.

Tell him to come early. (here a spune = give an instruction → să)

Mă bucur că ai venit.

I'm glad you came. (emotion about a real event → că, not să)

Note that last one: emotive verbs like a se bucura ("be glad") describe a reaction to something the speaker takes as real, so Romanian keeps că — unlike Spanish or French, which would use the subjunctive after an emotion verb. Romanian's să tracks irrealis meaning, not a fixed list of "trigger verbs."

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Test the meaning, not the verb: is the embedded action presented as real/known (→ că) or as wanted/possible/doubted (→ să)? Cred că vine ("I think he's coming" — I treat it as likely fact) vs vreau să vină ("I want him to come" — not yet real). The contrast is the engine of the whole system.

The infinitive gap: where English uses "to", Romanian uses să

This is the insight an English speaker most needs. Modern Romanian has a "short infinitive" (a merge, a vedea) but uses it as a complement far less than English uses "to + verb." In the great majority of cases where English strings two verbs with an infinitive — "I want to leave", "I'm trying to understand", "she decided to stay" — Romanian uses a finite să-clause whose verb is fully conjugated.

Încerc să înțeleg, dar e greu.

I'm trying to understand, but it's hard. (English infinitive 'to understand' → să înțeleg)

A decis să rămână încă o săptămână.

She decided to stay one more week. ('to stay' → să rămână)

Sper să te văd curând.

I hope to see you soon. ('to see' → să te văd)

The infinitive does survive in a few fixed niches — after a putea it is optional (pot merge = pot să merg, "I can go"), in set expressions (a avea de gând + a), and in elevated or written style. But as a learner you should default to să and treat the bare infinitive complement as the marked, bookish choice. Reaching for an infinitive where Romanian wants să is the single most common structural error English speakers make.

Pot să te ajut. / Pot să-ți dau o mână de ajutor.

I can help you. (a putea may also take the infinitive: 'pot ajuta', but the să-form is the everyday choice)

Adverbial clauses at a glance

Adverbial subordinates answer when, why, on what condition, despite what, for what purpose, with what result. Each type has its own connectors, and several force a particular mood — purpose and "before"-clauses take să (irrealis: the event hasn't happened yet), while cause and most time clauses take the indicative (factual).

Type	Connectors	Mood	Example
Time	când, după ce, înainte să, până să	indicative / să	Te sun când ajung.
Cause	pentru că, fiindcă, deoarece, căci	indicative	Stau acasă fiindcă plouă.
Condition	dacă, în caz că	indicative / conditional	Dacă vii, anunță-mă.
Concession	deși, cu toate că, chiar dacă	indicative	Deși e târziu, lucrez.
Purpose	ca să, să, pentru ca … să	să (subjunctive)	Învăț ca să trec examenul.
Result	încât, astfel încât, așa … încât	indicative	A vorbit tare, încât l-au auzit toți.

Plec înainte să înceapă ploaia.

I'm leaving before the rain starts. ('înainte să' + subjunctive — the event is still ahead)

Nu am ieșit, fiindcă eram prea obosit.

I didn't go out, because I was too tired. (causal 'fiindcă' + indicative — a stated fact)

Vorbește mai tare, ca să te audă toți.

Speak up, so that everyone can hear you. (purpose 'ca să' + subjunctive)

Deși am dormit opt ore, sunt încă obosit.

Even though I slept eight hours, I'm still tired. (concession 'deși' + indicative)

Two points worth flagging. First, causal connectors are not freely interchangeable in position: pentru că, fiindcă, deoarece, căci can all mean "because," but căci is bookish and deoarece is more formal/written, while fiindcă and pentru că dominate speech — these nuances are detailed on the causal conjunctions page. Second, purpose "so that" is the place English "to" most often hides: "I came to help" is Am venit *ca să ajut — another infinitive that becomes a *să-clause (see result and purpose).

Relative clauses in one line

Relative clauses modify a noun and are introduced by care ("which/who/that"), which inflects for case (pe care, căruia, cu care), or by ce, cine, unde, când. Because care must carry the case its role demands inside the relative clause, Romanian relatives have their own mechanics — covered fully on the relative-clause syntax page.

Filmul pe care l-am văzut aseară mi-a plăcut mult.

The film (that) I saw last night, I liked a lot. ('pe care' + resuming clitic 'l-')

Asta e colega despre care ți-am povestit.

This is the colleague I told you about. ('despre care' — preposition + care)

Common Mistakes

❌ Vreau a merge la mare.

Incorrect (stiff/bookish) — the everyday complement is a finite să-clause: 'Vreau să merg la mare.'

✅ Vreau să merg la mare.

I want to go to the seaside.

❌ Cred să ai dreptate.

Wrong connector — 'a crede' presents a belief as likely-fact, so it takes că, not să: 'Cred că ai dreptate.'

✅ Cred că ai dreptate.

I think you're right.

❌ Mă bucur să ai venit.

Wrong mood — the event is real (you came), so an emotion verb keeps că: 'Mă bucur că ai venit.' (unlike Spanish/French subjunctive)

✅ Mă bucur că ai venit.

I'm glad you came.

❌ Am venit pentru ajuta.

Incorrect — purpose 'to help' becomes a 'ca să' clause: 'Am venit ca să ajut.'

✅ Am venit ca să ajut.

I came (in order) to help.

❌ Sper a te vedea curând.

Stiff — default to the să-clause: 'Sper să te văd curând.'

✅ Sper să te văd curând.

I hope to see you soon.

Key Takeaways

Subordinate clauses come in three families — completive, relative, adverbial — just as in English.
The core decision is că (factual) vs să (irrealis): knowing/saying/perceiving → că; wanting/asking/intending → să. Test the meaning, not a fixed verb list.
Romanian replaces most English infinitives with a finite să-clause: vreau *să merg, am venit **ca să ajut*. Using the bare infinitive there is the cardinal English-transfer error.
Emotion verbs keep că because the event is real — unlike the subjunctive Spanish and French would use.
Adverbial purpose and "before" clauses take să; cause, concession, and most time clauses take the indicative.

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