A avea — "to have" — is, after a fi, the second pillar of Romanian. It expresses possession, but it also does jobs English assigns to be: stating your age (Am 20 de ani, literally "I have 20 years") and expressing need (a avea nevoie de). On top of all that, it is the auxiliary of the perfect compus, Romanian's everyday past tense — so you cannot say "I went" or "I ate" without it. The catch for learners is that the present-tense possession forms and the auxiliary forms overlap but are not identical: the third person singular is are for possession but a as the auxiliary. Below is the complete paradigm.
Present indicative (prezent)
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | am | I have |
| tu | ai | you have |
| el / ea | are | he/she/it has |
| noi | avem | we have |
| voi | aveți | you (pl.) have |
| ei / ele | au | they have |
Imperfect (imperfect)
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | aveam | I had / used to have |
| tu | aveai | you had |
| el / ea | avea | he/she/it had |
| noi | aveam | we had |
| voi | aveați | you (pl.) had |
| ei / ele | aveau | they had |
Perfect compus
The auxiliary (am, ai, a, am, ați, au) + the participle avut.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | am avut | I had / I have had |
| tu | ai avut | you had |
| el / ea | a avut | he/she/it had |
| noi | am avut | we had |
| voi | ați avut | you (pl.) had |
| ei / ele | au avut | they had |
Pluperfect (mai-mult-ca-perfectul)
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | avusesem | I had had |
| tu | avuseseși | you had had |
| el / ea | avusese | he/she/it had had |
| noi | avuseserăm | we had had |
| voi | avuseserăți | you (pl.) had had |
| ei / ele | avuseseră | they had had |
Future (viitor)
Formal voi avea; colloquial o să am.
| Person | Formal (voi avea) | Colloquial (o să am) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi avea | o să am |
| tu | vei avea | o să ai |
| el / ea | va avea | o să aibă |
| noi | vom avea | o să avem |
| voi | veți avea | o să aveți |
| ei / ele | vor avea | o să aibă |
Present subjunctive (conjunctiv prezent)
The third person is the irregular (să) aibă — a form that catches every learner.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să am |
| tu | să ai |
| el / ea | să aibă |
| noi | să avem |
| voi | să aveți |
| ei / ele | să aibă |
Present conditional (condițional prezent)
The auxiliary aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar + the infinitive avea.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | aș avea | I would have |
| tu | ai avea | you would have |
| el / ea | ar avea | he/she would have |
| noi | am avea | we would have |
| voi | ați avea | you (pl.) would have |
| ei / ele | ar avea | they would have |
Imperative (imperativ)
| Person | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | ai! | nu avea! |
| voi (pl.) | aveți! | nu aveți! |
Ai răbdare, ajungem în zece minute!
Have patience, we'll be there in ten minutes!
Non-finite forms
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Short infinitive | (a) avea |
| Long infinitive | avere (lexicalized: "wealth, estate") |
| Gerund (gerunziu) | având |
| Participle (participiu) | avut |
| Supine | de avut |
Usage
Beyond plain possession, a avea anchors a cluster of high-frequency expressions where English uses be: age, need, and physical sensations (a avea foame/sete — to be hungry/thirsty).
Am două surori și un frate mai mic.
I have two sisters and a younger brother.
Câți ani ai? — Am douăzeci de ani.
How old are you? — I'm twenty. (lit. 'I have twenty years')
Am nevoie de o pauză, sunt epuizat.
I need a break, I'm exhausted.
Copilul are febră, ar trebui să mergem la doctor.
The child has a fever, we should go to the doctor.
As the perfect-compus auxiliary, a avea sits in front of every past participle.
Am mâncat deja, mulțumesc.
I've already eaten, thanks. (auxiliary 'am')
Au plecat înainte să ajungem noi.
They left before we arrived. (auxiliary 'au')
Common mistakes
❌ Using a fi for age: „Sunt 20 de ani.”
Wrong: Romanian states age with a avea, like 'I have 20 years.'
✅ „Am 20 de ani.”
Correct: a avea + 'de ani' for age.
❌ Dropping 'de' before the noun in numbers over 20: „Am douăzeci ani.”
Wrong: numbers ending in 20 and above require 'de' before the noun.
✅ „Am douăzeci de ani.”
Correct: 'douăzeci de ani' — 'de' links the high number to the noun.
❌ Using 'are' as the perfect-compus auxiliary: „El are plecat.”
Wrong: the auxiliary third person is 'a', not the possession form 'are'.
✅ „El a plecat.”
Correct: 'a' + participle builds the perfect compus.
❌ Using the indicative 'are' after 'să': „Vreau să are timp.”
Wrong: the subjunctive third person is the irregular 'aibă'.
✅ „Vreau să aibă timp.”
Correct: 'să aibă' is the irregular subjunctive.
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- The Verb a avea (to have): PresentA1 — The present forms of a avea — the possession verb that is also the engine of the compound past, plus the idioms where Romanian 'has' what English 'is'.
- Imperfect of a avea and a vreaA2 — The imperfects aveam and voiam — used for past possession and intention — including the real-world voiam vs vroiam spelling controversy.
- a fi — to beA1 — Complete conjugation reference for a fi, Romanian's irregular, all-purpose verb 'to be' and its role as passive and presumptive auxiliary.
- The Perfect Auxiliary (am, ai, a, am, ați, au)A2 — A close look at the reduced perfect auxiliary am, ai, a, am, ați, au — how it differs from the full present of a avea and where clitics attach around it.
- a avea de + supine (have to / have something to)B1 — How Romanian uses a avea de plus the supine to express pending tasks — Am de scris un eseu — and how it differs from the pure obligation of a trebui.