A alege means to choose, to pick out, to select — and, in the political sense, to elect. It is a third-conjugation verb (short infinitive in -e) and one of the most useful decision-making verbs in the language: anything from picking a dish off a menu to electing a president runs through a alege. Three things make it worth its own page: the irregular short participle ales (with -s, like dus, condus), the e → ea diphthong that surfaces in the third-person subjunctive (să) aleagă, and the rich family of derived words — above all the plural noun alegeri, which is simply the elections.
The participle ales also lives a second life as an adjective meaning chosen, select, distinguished, refined (un vin ales, "a fine wine"; cu un gust ales, "with refined taste"). That double duty is worth noticing early, because you will meet ales far more often than the bare infinitive.
Prezent indicativ
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aleg |
| tu | alegi |
| el / ea | alege |
| noi | alegem |
| voi | alegeți |
| ei / ele | aleg |
Aleg întotdeauna locul de la geam în avion.
I always pick the window seat on a plane.
Tu alegi filmul, eu fac popcornul.
You choose the film, I'll make the popcorn.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | alegeam |
| tu | alegeai |
| el / ea | alegea |
| noi | alegeam |
| voi | alegeați |
| ei / ele | alegeau |
Când eram mică, mama alegea hainele în locul meu.
When I was little, my mum used to choose my clothes for me.
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the short -s participle ales.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am ales |
| tu | ai ales |
| el / ea | a ales |
| noi | am ales |
| voi | ați ales |
| ei / ele | au ales |
Am ales meniul de degustare, ca să gustăm de toate.
We chose the tasting menu so we could try a bit of everything.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
Built on the participle stem alese-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | alesesem |
| tu | aleseseși |
| el / ea | alesese |
| noi | aleseserăm |
| voi | aleseserăți |
| ei / ele | aleseseră |
Viitor
The formal voi + infinitive future alongside the colloquial o să + conjunctiv.
| Person | voi-future (formal) | o să-future (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi alege | o să aleg |
| tu | vei alege | o să alegi |
| el / ea | va alege | o să aleagă |
| noi | vom alege | o să alegem |
| voi | veți alege | o să alegeți |
| ei / ele | vor alege | o să aleagă |
O să aleg eu vinul, tu te ocupi de desert.
I'll pick the wine, you handle dessert.
Conjunctiv prezent
The third person is irregular in two ways: the -ă ending and the e → ea diphthong, giving (să) aleagă.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să aleg |
| tu | să alegi |
| el / ea | să aleagă |
| noi | să alegem |
| voi | să alegeți |
| ei / ele | să aleagă |
E greu să aleagă între cele două oferte de muncă.
It's hard for her to choose between the two job offers.
Condițional prezent
The conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar) plus the short infinitive alege.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș alege |
| tu | ai alege |
| el / ea | ar alege |
| noi | am alege |
| voi | ați alege |
| ei / ele | ar alege |
Dacă ar fi după mine, aș alege muntele, nu marea.
If it were up to me, I'd choose the mountains, not the sea.
Imperativ
The singular imperative is alege! (identical to the 3rd-person present), the plural alegeți!
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | alege! | nu alege! |
| voi (pl.) | alegeți! | nu alegeți! |
Alege tu, mie îmi e indiferent.
You choose, I don't mind either way.
Forme nepersonale
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv (scurt / lung) | (a) alege / alegere |
| Gerunziu | alegând |
| Participiu | ales |
| Supin | de ales |
Usage
The plain "choose / pick" sense — the thing chosen is a direct object, and a choice between options uses între:
Nu mă pot hotărî, alege tu între roșu și albastru.
I can't make up my mind, you pick between red and blue.
The construction a alege ceva drept / ca ("to choose something as"):
L-au ales drept reprezentant al clasei.
They chose him as class representative.
The political sense to elect — note the same verb covers both casual picking and formal elections:
Românii își aleg președintele o dată la cinci ani.
Romanians elect their president once every five years.
The derived noun alegeri (always plural in the electoral sense) — the elections:
Alegerile locale au loc duminica viitoare.
The local elections take place next Sunday.
The supine de ales in the very common "have to choose" frame:
Au rămas trei candidați de ales, niciunul perfect.
There are three candidates left to choose from, none of them perfect.
The adjective ales ("select, refined"), built straight from the participle:
A fost o seară cu mâncare aleasă și companie plăcută.
It was an evening of fine food and pleasant company.
Common Mistakes
❌ Am alegut deja.
Incorrect — the participle is the short ales, not *alegut.
✅ Am ales deja.
I've already chosen.
❌ Vreau să aleg el.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person subjunctive is aleagă, with the e→ea diphthong, not aleg.
✅ Vreau să aleagă el.
I want him to choose.
❌ Trebuie să alegem un nou președinte la alegere.
Incorrect — the electoral event is alegeri (plural); the singular alegere means an abstract 'choice'.
✅ Trebuie să alegem un nou președinte la alegeri.
We have to elect a new president at the elections.
❌ Alege între roșu sau albastru.
Incorrect — 'choose between X and Y' takes și, not sau; the idiom is alege între ... și ...
✅ Alege între roșu și albastru.
Choose between red and blue.
❌ Un vin alesă.
Incorrect agreement — for a masculine noun (vin), the adjective is ales; aleasă is feminine.
✅ Un vin ales.
A fine wine.
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