Romanian instruction manuals — for a router, a coffee machine, a piece of software — give commands in two grammatically different but equally standard ways, and they alternate between them freely. The first is the polite 2nd-person plural imperative (Apăsați butonul — "Press the button"), which addresses the user directly. The second is the impersonal se (Se apasă butonul — "The button is pressed / one presses the button"), which removes the user entirely and describes the procedure neutrally. On top of this alternation, manuals sequence their steps with connectors (mai întâi, apoi, în final), express readiness with the supine (gata de utilizat — "ready to use"), and handle problems with conditional warnings (Dacă nu funcționează... — "If it doesn't work..."). Reading both command styles fluently is the key to following any set of Romanian instructions.
This page presents an original how-to — setting up a home Wi-Fi router — then annotates the instructional grammar.
The instructions
Cum instalați routerul wireless
Mai întâi, scoateți routerul din cutie și verificați dacă aveți toate componentele.
First, take the router out of the box and check that you have all the components.
Conectați cablul de alimentare la priză și apăsați butonul de pornire din spate.
Connect the power cable to the socket and press the power button on the back.
Apoi, introduceți cablul de internet în portul galben marcat cu „WAN”.
Then insert the internet cable into the yellow port marked 'WAN'.
Se așteaptă aproximativ două minute, până când ledul verde rămâne aprins constant.
One waits about two minutes, until the green LED stays lit steadily.
După aceea, conectați-vă de pe telefon la rețeaua afișată pe eticheta din partea de jos.
After that, connect from your phone to the network shown on the label on the bottom.
Pentru configurare, se deschide aplicația și se urmează pașii afișați pe ecran.
For configuration, one opens the app and follows the steps shown on the screen.
Dacă rețeaua nu apare, reporniți routerul și încercați din nou.
If the network doesn't appear, restart the router and try again.
În final, schimbați parola implicită cu una proprie. Routerul este acum gata de utilizat.
Finally, change the default password with one of your own. The router is now ready to use.
Line by line
Apăsați / Conectați / Introduceți — the polite 2pl imperative
The direct command form in manuals is the 2nd-person plural imperative, which doubles as the polite "you" form. For most verbs it is identical to the voi present-tense form: apăsați ("press"), conectați ("connect"), introduceți ("insert"), verificați ("check"), scoateți ("take out"). It addresses the user respectfully and feels like a person walking you through the steps.
| Infinitive | 2pl imperative | English |
|---|---|---|
| a apăsa | apăsați | press |
| a conecta | conectați | connect |
| a introduce | introduceți | insert |
| a reporni | reporniți | restart |
| a schimba | schimbați | change |
Verificați conexiunea înainte de a continua.
Check the connection before continuing.
Reporniți dispozitivul și așteptați un minut.
Restart the device and wait a minute.
When a pronoun attaches, it follows the imperative with a hyphen: conectați-vă ("connect yourself," reflexive). This is the standard placement of clitics on affirmative imperatives.
Se așteaptă / se deschide / se urmează — the impersonal se
Alongside the imperative, manuals use the impersonal se to describe the procedure without addressing anyone: se așteaptă ("one waits / is waited"), se deschide aplicația ("the app is opened"), se urmează pașii ("the steps are followed"). The reflexive se makes the verb impersonal; the verb agrees with the thing acted upon, which is its grammatical subject:
Se apasă butonul timp de cinci secunde.
The button is pressed for five seconds. / One presses the button.
Se introduce cardul în slotul lateral.
The card is inserted into the side slot.
Se urmează instrucțiunile de pe ecran. (plural pași/instrucțiuni → se urmează)
One follows the instructions on the screen.
Note the agreement: se deschide aplicația (singular subject) but se urmează pașii would become se urmează with the plural subject pașii — the verb tracks the number of its grammatical subject. This is the same logic as the se-passive.
Mai întâi / apoi / după aceea / în final — sequencing
Instructions are chronological, and a small set of connectors threads the steps:
| Connector | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mai întâi / întâi | first |
| apoi | then |
| după aceea | after that |
| până când (+ verb) | until (something happens) |
| în final / la final | finally, at the end |
Mai întâi porniți dispozitivul, apoi conectați-l la rețea.
First turn on the device, then connect it to the network.
Se așteaptă până când ledul devine verde.
One waits until the LED turns green.
În final, salvați setările și închideți aplicația.
Finally, save the settings and close the app.
Notice that până când ("until") introduces a real clause with a finite verb (până când ledul rămâne aprins), whereas în final and după aceea are simple adverbs needing no clause.
Gata de utilizat / de instalat — the supine of readiness and purpose
The closing line, gata de utilizat ("ready to use"), uses the supine — a non-finite form identical to the past participle (utilizat) that follows de to express purpose or readiness. It answers "ready for what?": gata de utilizat ("ready for using"), de instalat ("to install / for installing"), de configurat ("to configure").
Aplicația este gata de descărcat din magazin.
The app is ready to download from the store.
Aveți mai mulți pași de parcurs înainte de final.
You have several steps to go through before the end.
Acest model este ușor de instalat.
This model is easy to install.
The supine also appears after ușor/greu de ("easy/hard to"): ușor de instalat ("easy to install"). English uses a plain infinitive here ("ready to use," "easy to install"), but Romanian uses the de + supine pattern — a frequent transfer error.
Dacă nu funcționează / dacă rețeaua nu apare — conditional warnings
Manuals handle problems with dacă ("if") clauses that pair a condition with a command. The typical pattern is Dacă + present indicative (the condition), followed by an imperative (the remedy):
Dacă rețeaua nu apare, reporniți routerul.
If the network doesn't appear, restart the router.
Dacă problema persistă, contactați serviciul de asistență.
If the problem persists, contact the support service.
Dacă ledul clipește roșu, verificați cablul de internet.
If the LED blinks red, check the internet cable.
Note that troubleshooting dacă clauses use the present indicative for the condition (nu apare, persistă, clipește) — these are real, likely situations, not hypotheticals, so no conditional or subjunctive is needed. The remedy is then the polite imperative.
Common Mistakes
Using the singular/familiar imperative in a manual:
❌ Apasă butonul de pornire. (in a printed manual)
Too familiar for instructions — use the polite 2pl: Apăsați butonul de pornire.
✅ Apăsați butonul de pornire.
Press the power button.
Giving the impersonal se a personal subject:
❌ Dumneavoastră se apasă butonul.
Wrong — impersonal se has no personal subject: Se apasă butonul. (or Apăsați butonul.)
✅ Se apasă butonul.
The button is pressed. / One presses the button.
Placing the clitic before an affirmative imperative:
❌ Vă conectați la rețea! (as a command)
Wrong — on an affirmative imperative the clitic follows with a hyphen: Conectați-vă la rețea.
✅ Conectați-vă la rețea.
Connect to the network.
Using the infinitive where Romanian needs the supine:
❌ Routerul este gata a utiliza.
Unnatural — use the supine: Routerul este gata de utilizat.
✅ Routerul este gata de utilizat.
The router is ready to use.
Using a conditional in a real-condition troubleshooting clause:
❌ Dacă rețeaua nu ar apărea, reporniți routerul.
Wrong register for a manual — use the present indicative: Dacă rețeaua nu apare, reporniți routerul.
✅ Dacă rețeaua nu apare, reporniți routerul.
If the network doesn't appear, restart the router.
Key Takeaways
- Manuals alternate two standard command styles: the polite 2pl imperative (Apăsați, Conectați) and the impersonal se (Se apasă, Se deschide). Both mean the same instruction.
- The se-verb agrees with the thing acted upon (se deschide aplicația vs. se urmează pașii); on affirmative imperatives the clitic attaches with a hyphen (conectați-vă).
- Sequence with mai întâi → apoi → după aceea → în final, and use până când
- a finite verb for "until."
- Express readiness/purpose with the supine after de (gata de utilizat, ușor de instalat) — never the infinitive.
- Troubleshoot with Dacă + present indicative + imperative (Dacă nu funcționează, reporniți...).
Now practice Romanian
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- Affirmative Imperative: voi (2pl) and PolitenessA2 — The plural imperative equals the present indicative 2pl (cântați!, mergeți!) — and because Romanian has no dedicated polite-singular command, this same form carries politeness with dumneavoastră.
- The Impersonal se (one/you/they)B1 — How Romanian uses se for fully generic statements with no specific subject — the natural rendering of English 'one', 'you', 'they', and 'people'.
- The Supine (de + participle)B1 — Romanian's distinctively fourth non-finite form — identical in shape to the participle but invariable and preposition-governing — covering 'something to do', purpose after motion verbs, and after certain adjectives and nouns.
- Softening Commands and Polite RequestsB1 — How Romanians soften bare imperatives with vă rog, the conditional, and question intonation — and why politeness lives outside the imperative paradigm.
- Choosing the Passive: se vs a fiB2 — A decision guide for Romanian's two passives — the se-passive for generic, agentless, habitual statements, and a fi + participle for a specific completed event with a nameable agent.
- Spoken vs Written RomanianB2 — Medium (spoken vs written) and formality (informal vs formal) are two independent axes. Spoken Romanian favors the o-să future, ăsta/asta, dropped final -l, clitic fusion, fillers, repair, and dislocation (Cartea, am citit-o); written Romanian favors the voi-future, acesta, full forms, dense subordination, and — in narrative — the perfectul simplu. Crucially, even a formal SPEECH keeps some spoken features that a formal LETTER would not, so 'spoken vs written' is not the same cut as 'informal vs formal'.