A explica ("to explain") is a completely regular first-conjugation verb (infinitive in -a) — no stem changes, no surprises in the paradigm. The only thing worth pausing on is its argument structure: like English "explain," it takes the thing explained as a direct object, but the person you explain it to goes in the dative: îți explic = "I explain to you," profesorul ne explică = "the teacher explains to us." English speakers reach for "I explain you," which is wrong in both languages, but the Romanian dative makes the correct structure transparent: you explain something to someone.
One small spelling point to notice rather than worry about: the c of the stem stays a hard [k] sound throughout the indicative, but in the 2nd singular explici the sequence ci is read with the soft Romanian ci [t͡ʃ] — exactly as in aici or bici — so explici sounds like "ex-PLEECH." There is no extra letter to add; you spell it simply explici, the regular class I 2sg ending. The genuinely useful extra is the reflexive a-și explica, which means "to figure out, to make sense of, to account for (to oneself)": Nu-mi explic cum s-a întâmplat = "I can't figure out how it happened."
Prezent indicativ
A plain class I paradigm: stem explic- plus -, -i, -ă, -ăm, -ați, -ă. The 3sg and 3pl are identical (explică).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | explic |
| tu | explici |
| el / ea | explică |
| noi | explicăm |
| voi | explicați |
| ei / ele | explică |
Îți explic mai târziu, acum sunt în mijlocul unei ședințe.
I'll explain to you later, right now I'm in the middle of a meeting.
Profesorul ne explică lecția de două ori dacă e nevoie.
The teacher explains the lesson to us twice if needed.
Imperfect
First-conjugation imperfect: stem explica- plus -m, -i, —, -m, -ți, -u (the familiar -am, -ai, -a, -am, -ați, -au).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | explicam |
| tu | explicai |
| el / ea | explica |
| noi | explicam |
| voi | explicați |
| ei / ele | explicau |
Bunicul îmi explica mereu de ce e important să fii cinstit.
Grandpa always explained to me why it's important to be honest.
Perfect compus
The everyday past: auxiliary a avea plus the participle explicat.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am explicat |
| tu | ai explicat |
| el / ea | a explicat |
| noi | am explicat |
| voi | ați explicat |
| ei / ele | au explicat |
Ți-am explicat deja de trei ori cum se ajunge acolo.
I've already explained to you three times how to get there.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
The synthetic pluperfect, built on the participle stem explicase-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | explicasem |
| tu | explicaseși |
| el / ea | explicase |
| noi | explicaserăm |
| voi | explicaserăți |
| ei / ele | explicaseră |
Le explicasem regulile, așa că nimeni n-avea scuze.
I had explained the rules to them, so nobody had any excuse.
Viitor
Romanian has a formal future with voi + infinitive and a colloquial everyday future with o să + conjunctiv.
| Person | Viitor (voi-form, formal) | Colloquial (o să) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi explica | o să explic |
| tu | vei explica | o să explici |
| el / ea | va explica | o să explice |
| noi | vom explica | o să explicăm |
| voi | veți explica | o să explicați |
| ei / ele | vor explica | o să explice |
O să-ți explic tot la o cafea, e o poveste mai lungă.
I'll explain everything to you over a coffee, it's a longer story.
Conjunctiv prezent
The 3rd-person form is să explice — note the -e, not -ă, because the stem ends in c (the front-vowel ending keeps the spelling regular).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să explic |
| tu | să explici |
| el / ea | să explice |
| noi | să explicăm |
| voi | să explicați |
| ei / ele | să explice |
Poți să-mi explici, te rog, ce înseamnă cuvântul ăsta?
Can you explain to me, please, what this word means?
Condițional prezent
Formed with the conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar) plus the short infinitive explica.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș explica |
| tu | ai explica |
| el / ea | ar explica |
| noi | am explica |
| voi | ați explica |
| ei / ele | ar explica |
Ți-aș explica, dar nici eu nu înțeleg prea bine.
I'd explain it to you, but I don't really understand it either.
Imperativ
The singular is explică! (identical to the 3sg present); the plural is explicați! The negative singular uses the bare infinitive: nu explica! With a dative clitic the singular attaches it: explică-mi! ("explain to me!").
| Type | Singular (tu) | Plural (voi) |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | explică! | explicați! |
| Negative | nu explica! | nu explicați! |
Explică-mi, te rog, de la început — n-am înțeles nimic.
Explain it to me from the beginning, please — I didn't get any of it.
Forme nepersonale
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv (scurt / lung) | (a) explica / explicare |
| Gerunziu | explicând |
| Participiu | explicat |
| Supin | de explicat |
Usage
The person you explain to is in the dative, usually a clitic before the verb: îmi explică, îți explic, ne explică, le explic. The thing explained is the direct object (a noun, or a cum/de ce/ce clause):
Ne-a explicat cum funcționează noul sistem.
He explained to us how the new system works.
You can explain to someone with a full dative noun:
Trebuie să le explic studenților de ce contează gramatica.
I have to explain to the students why grammar matters.
The reflexive a-și explica = "to figure out / make sense of / account for (to oneself)" — a dative reflexive clitic agrees with the subject:
Nu-mi explic cum de a dispărut cheia din buzunar.
I can't figure out how the key vanished from my pocket.
The same reflexive often appears in the negative to express bafflement:
Nu ne explicăm de ce a plecat fără să spună nimic.
We can't account for why he left without saying anything.
The verb can also stand alone, with the recipient left implicit when it's obvious from context:
Stai să explic — nu e ceea ce pare.
Wait, let me explain — it's not what it looks like.
The participle/adjective explicat and the noun explicație ("explanation") round out the family:
Tot ce a spus mi se pare perfect explicat acum.
Everything he said seems perfectly explained to me now.
Common Mistakes
Don't put the recipient in the accusative — you explain to someone (dative):
❌ Te explic mai târziu.
Incorrect — the recipient is dative: îți, not te.
✅ Îți explic mai târziu.
I'll explain to you later.
Don't drop the -i of the 2nd singular — the c stays hard but the ending is still there:
❌ Poți să-mi explic ce înseamnă?
Incorrect — the 2sg subjunctive is explici, not explic.
✅ Poți să-mi explici ce înseamnă?
Can you explain to me what it means?
Don't use -ă in the subjunctive 3rd person — the c-stem takes -e:
❌ Lasă-l să explică ce s-a întâmplat.
Incorrect — the subjunctive 3rd person is explice.
✅ Lasă-l să explice ce s-a întâmplat.
Let him explain what happened.
Don't use the active for "figure out" — that meaning needs the reflexive a-și explica:
❌ Nu explic cum s-a întâmplat.
Incorrect — 'I can't figure out' is the reflexive: nu-mi explic.
✅ Nu-mi explic cum s-a întâmplat.
I can't figure out how it happened.
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