A conta is a single verb that pulls double duty, and keeping the two jobs apart is the whole battle. In the sense to matter, to count (as in "to be of importance"), it is impersonal: it lives almost entirely in the 3rd person, with the thing that matters as its subject — Nu contează ("It doesn't matter"). In the sense to count on, to rely on someone, it is fully personal and takes the preposition pe — Contez pe tine ("I'm counting on you"). Morphologically it is one verb, a first-conjugation -ez infix verb (like a lucra), but semantically and syntactically these are two separate machines.
The infix -ez-/-eaz- appears in the singular and 3rd plural of the present (contez, contezi, contează) and drops out in contăm, contați and throughout the imperfect (contam). The full personal paradigm below is what you use for the "count on" sense; for the "matter" sense you will only ever need the 3rd-person contează.
Prezent indicativ
The infix is present in contez, contezi, contează, contează and absent in contăm, contați. As with every -ez verb, the 3sg and 3pl are identical: contează.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | contez |
| tu | contezi |
| el / ea | contează |
| noi | contăm |
| voi | contați |
| ei / ele | contează |
Contez pe tine, nu mă lăsa baltă.
I'm counting on you, don't let me down.
Nu contează ce zic alții, contează ce simți tu.
It doesn't matter what others say, what matters is how you feel.
Imperfect
No infix anywhere. Built on the plain stem cont- with the Class I ending -am.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | contam |
| tu | contai |
| el / ea | conta |
| noi | contam |
| voi | contați |
| ei / ele | contau |
Pe vremea aceea contam pe ajutorul părinților.
Back then I relied on my parents' help.
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the regular Class I participle contat.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am contat |
| tu | ai contat |
| el / ea | a contat |
| noi | am contat |
| voi | ați contat |
| ei / ele | au contat |
Sprijinul tău a contat enorm pentru mine.
Your support mattered enormously to me.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
Synthetic pluperfect on the participle stem contas-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | contasem |
| tu | contaseși |
| el / ea | contase |
| noi | contaserăm |
| voi | contaserăți |
| ei / ele | contaseră |
Contase mereu pe fratele lui, dar de data asta a fost singur.
He had always counted on his brother, but this time he was alone.
Viitor
| Person | Viitor (voi-form, formal) | Colloquial (o să) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi conta | o să contez |
| tu | vei conta | o să contezi |
| el / ea | va conta | o să conteze |
| noi | vom conta | o să contăm |
| voi | veți conta | o să contați |
| ei / ele | vor conta | o să conteze |
O să contez pe tine să mă trezești la șase.
I'll be counting on you to wake me up at six.
Conjunctiv prezent
The infix returns, and the 3rd-person shape is (să) conteze — distinct from the indicative contează. This -eze form is the -ez class's subjunctive signature, and it is the one you meet most for the "matter" sense.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să contez |
| tu | să contezi |
| el / ea | să conteze |
| noi | să contăm |
| voi | să contați |
| ei / ele | să conteze |
Vreau să conteze și părerea mea, nu doar a lor.
I want my opinion to count too, not just theirs.
Condițional prezent
Conditional auxiliary plus the short infinitive conta.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș conta |
| tu | ai conta |
| el / ea | ar conta |
| noi | am conta |
| voi | ați conta |
| ei / ele | ar conta |
Ar conta mult pentru noi dacă ai veni și tu.
It would mean a lot to us if you came too.
Imperativ
Only the "count on" sense supports an imperative, and even that is uncommon. The affirmative singular contează! (borrowed from the 3sg present) means "rely on it / count on it"; the negative singular uses the infinitive: nu conta! ("don't count on it"). The "matter" sense, being impersonal, has no imperative.
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | contează! | nu conta! |
| voi (pl.) | contați! | nu contați! |
Nu conta pe el, întârzie mereu.
Don't count on him, he's always late.
Forme nepersonale
The gerund contând carries the â; everything outside the present and subjunctive is infix-free.
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv | (a) conta |
| Gerunziu | contând |
| Participiu | contat |
| Supin | de contat |
Usage
The two senses are worth drilling separately. The impersonal "matter" sense is overwhelmingly the negative Nu contează and the cleft Ce contează e... ("What matters is..."):
— Am uitat să cumpăr pâine. — Nu contează, mâncăm orez.
— I forgot to buy bread. — It doesn't matter, we'll have rice.
Ce contează cu adevărat e ca tu să fii fericit.
What truly matters is that you be happy.
The personal "count on" sense always pairs with pe plus a person (or, by extension, a thing you rely on):
Poți conta pe mine oricând, știi bine.
You can count on me any time, you know that.
Nu te baza pe vreme — contează mai bine pe o umbrelă.
Don't rely on the weather — better count on an umbrella.
Source-language note for English speakers
English neatly separates these meanings into two phrasings — "it matters" versus "count on" — so the conceptual split is familiar. The trap is the preposition: English says "count on someone," and learners reach for pe correctly here, but then over-apply pe to the "matter" sense, producing things like contează pe asta where they mean "this matters." It does not; "this matters" is simply asta contează, no preposition. Use the presence of pe as your signal that you are in the "rely on" verb, not the "matter" verb.
Common Mistakes
❌ El conta pe mine, dar eu nu pe el.
Incorrect for the present — conta is the imperfect/infinitive; the present 3sg is contează.
✅ El contează pe mine, dar eu nu pe el.
He counts on me, but I don't on him.
❌ Noi contezăm pe ajutorul vostru.
Incorrect — the infix drops in the plural; the form is contăm.
✅ Noi contăm pe ajutorul vostru.
We're counting on your help.
❌ Asta nu contează pe nimic.
Incorrect — the matter sense takes no preposition; drop pe nimic.
✅ Asta nu contează.
This doesn't matter.
❌ Vreau ca părerea mea să contează.
Incorrect — the subjunctive 3sg is conteze, not the indicative contează.
✅ Vreau ca părerea mea să conteze.
I want my opinion to count.
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