A oferi means to offer — to present something to someone, whether a physical gift, help, an opinion, or a price. It belongs to the fourth conjugation in -i, but it is one of the comparatively rare Class IV verbs that conjugate plain, without the -esc- infix: you say ofer, not oferesc. This single fact trips up most learners, because the great majority of -i verbs (folosesc, citesc, vorbesc) do take the infix, and the brain wants to extend the pattern.
The verb's syntax is its other defining feature: it builds a dative recipient plus an accusative thing. Îi ofer flori ("I offer her flowers") puts the person in the dative (the clitic îi) and the gift in the accusative. This is exactly the ditransitive frame of a da ("to give"), and the two verbs overlap, but a oferi sits a register higher — it is the verb of gifts, services, condolences, and formal proposals, where a da is the plain, everyday "hand over."
Prezent indicativ
The stem is ofer-, with no -esc- infix. Note that the r triggers the regular ă→e you also see elsewhere, but here the forms are simply ofer / oferi / oferă.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | ofer |
| tu | oferi |
| el / ea | oferă |
| noi | oferim |
| voi | oferiți |
| ei / ele | oferă |
Magazinul oferă reduceri de până la cincizeci la sută în această săptămână.
The shop is offering discounts of up to fifty percent this week.
Îți ofer un sfat, dar decizia rămâne a ta.
I'm offering you a piece of advice, but the decision stays yours.
Imperfect
Built on the stem ofer- plus the Class IV imperfect endings: ofeream.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | ofeream |
| tu | ofereai |
| el / ea | oferea |
| noi | ofeream |
| voi | ofereați |
| ei / ele | ofereau |
Pe vremuri, firma oferea cazare gratuită angajaților noi.
Back in the day, the company offered free accommodation to new employees.
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the invariable participle oferit.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am oferit |
| tu | ai oferit |
| el / ea | a oferit |
| noi | am oferit |
| voi | ați oferit |
| ei / ele | au oferit |
I-am oferit un cadou de ziua ei și s-a bucurat enorm.
I gave her a present for her birthday and she was thrilled.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
The synthetic pluperfect, built on the stem oferise-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | oferisem |
| tu | oferiseși |
| el / ea | oferise |
| noi | oferiserăm |
| voi | oferiserăți |
| ei / ele | oferiseră |
Le oferise deja un preț bun, așa că nu s-au mai târguit.
He had already offered them a good price, so they didn't haggle anymore.
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 oferi | o să ofer |
| tu | vei oferi | o să oferi |
| el / ea | va oferi | o să ofere |
| noi | vom oferi | o să oferim |
| voi | veți oferi | o să oferiți |
| ei / ele | vor oferi | o să ofere |
O să le oferim transport gratuit tuturor invitaților.
We'll offer free transport to all the guests.
Conjunctiv prezent
Identical to the indicative except in the 3rd person, where oferă becomes (să) ofere.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să ofer |
| tu | să oferi |
| el / ea | să ofere |
| noi | să oferim |
| voi | să oferiți |
| ei / ele | să ofere |
Vrem să oferim ceva special clienților fideli.
We want to offer something special to loyal customers.
Condițional prezent
Conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar) plus the short infinitive oferi.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș oferi |
| tu | ai oferi |
| el / ea | ar oferi |
| noi | am oferi |
| voi | ați oferi |
| ei / ele | ar oferi |
Ți-aș oferi mai mult, dar bugetul nu-mi permite.
I'd offer you more, but the budget won't allow it.
Imperativ
The singular imperative is oferă! (identical to the 3sg present); the plural is oferiți! The negative singular uses the bare infinitive: nu oferi! Object clitics attach to the affirmative: oferă-i! ("offer him/her!").
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | oferă! | nu oferi! |
| voi (pl.) | oferiți! | nu oferiți! |
Oferă-i un pahar cu apă, pare obosit.
Offer him a glass of water, he looks tired.
Forme nepersonale
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv | (a) oferi |
| Gerunziu | oferind |
| Participiu | oferit |
| Supin | de oferit |
Usage
The core frame is a oferi cuiva ceva — to offer someone something — with the recipient in the dative and the thing in the accusative. The dative recipient is usually doubled by a clitic: I-am oferit un cadou ("I offered her a gift"), where i- anticipates the dative person.
A oferit ajutor fără să i-l ceară nimeni.
He offered help without anyone asking him for it.
Restaurantul oferă o cafea din partea casei la fiecare desert.
The restaurant offers a complimentary coffee with every dessert.
The reflexive a se oferi să + subjunctive means to volunteer / offer to do something — the subject puts himself forward. The clitic here is the accusative-reflexive series (mă, te, se…).
S-a oferit să ne ajute la mutare, deși nu i-am cerut.
He volunteered to help us move, even though we didn't ask him.
Mă ofer să țin eu prezentarea, dacă nimeni altcineva nu vrea.
I'll volunteer to give the presentation, if no one else wants to.
Source-language note for English speakers
English "offer" maps cleanly onto the transitive a oferi ceva cuiva, so the meaning is rarely the problem. Two structures need attention. First, the recipient is dative, not a "to"-phrase: "I offered it to her" is I-am oferit-o, with a dative clitic, not am oferit-o la ea. Second, "to offer to do X" — the volunteering sense — is the reflexive a se oferi să face X, not the plain verb: "I offered to help" is M-am oferit să ajut, never Am oferit să ajut.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu oferesc cafea musafirilor.
Incorrect — a oferi is plain Class IV; there is no -esc- infix.
✅ Eu ofer cafea musafirilor.
I offer coffee to the guests.
❌ Ea oferește o soluție bună.
Incorrect — the 3rd person is oferă, not oferește.
✅ Ea oferă o soluție bună.
She offers a good solution.
❌ Am oferit să ajut la organizare.
Incorrect — 'offer to do' is the reflexive a se oferi să.
✅ M-am oferit să ajut la organizare.
I offered to help with the organizing.
❌ Am oferit un cadou la ea.
Incorrect — the recipient is dative (îi), not la + accusative.
✅ I-am oferit un cadou.
I gave her a present.
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