A sta is a high-frequency, irregular monosyllabic verb whose meaning is broader than any single English word. Its core sense is to stay and to stand, but in everyday Romanian it also covers to sit (in stai jos = "sit down"), to live / reside (in Unde stai? = "Where do you live?"), and, in the construction a sta să, to be about to (in Stă să plouă = "It's about to rain"). It is conjugated almost identically to a da, its monosyllabic sibling.
This semantic spread is the main difficulty for learners. English splits stay, stand, sit, and live into separate verbs; Romanian lets the context of a sta do the work. When in doubt, think of a sta as "to be positioned somewhere" — physically, temporarily, or as a place of residence.
Prezent indicativ
Note the diphthong au in stau (1sg, 3pl) and the bare stă in the 3rd singular — exactly the pattern of a da.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | stau |
| tu | stai |
| el / ea | stă |
| noi | stăm |
| voi | stați |
| ei / ele | stau |
Astăzi stau acasă, nu mă simt prea bine.
Today I'm staying home; I don't feel very well.
Unde stai acum, tot în centru?
Where do you live now, still downtown?
Imperfect
Unlike a da (which doubles its d), a sta has a regular stăt- stem with -eam endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | stăteam |
| tu | stăteai |
| el / ea | stătea |
| noi | stăteam |
| voi | stăteați |
| ei / ele | stăteau |
Pe vremuri stăteam cu chirie lângă parc.
Back in the day, I lived in a rental near the park.
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus participle stat.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am stat |
| tu | ai stat |
| el / ea | a stat |
| noi | am stat |
| voi | ați stat |
| ei / ele | au stat |
Am stat la coadă o oră întreagă.
I stood in line for a whole hour.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
Synthetic pluperfect on the stem stătus-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | stătusem |
| tu | stătuseși |
| el / ea | stătuse |
| noi | stătuserăm |
| voi | stătuserăți |
| ei / ele | stătuseră |
Stătuserăm degeaba la aeroport — zborul fusese anulat.
We had waited at the airport for nothing — the flight had been cancelled.
Viitor
| Person | Viitor (voi-form, formal) | Colloquial (o să) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi sta | o să stau |
| tu | vei sta | o să stai |
| el / ea | va sta | o să stea |
| noi | vom sta | o să stăm |
| voi | veți sta | o să stați |
| ei / ele | vor sta | o să stea |
O să stăm la voi peste noapte, dacă se poate.
We'll stay over at your place for the night, if that's okay.
Conjunctiv prezent
The 3rd person is the irregular (să) stea, mirroring să dea and să bea.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să stau |
| tu | să stai |
| el / ea | să stea |
| noi | să stăm |
| voi | să stați |
| ei / ele | să stea |
Mai bine stai să te odihnești puțin.
You'd better stay and rest a bit.
Condițional prezent
Conditional auxiliary plus the short infinitive sta.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș sta |
| tu | ai sta |
| el / ea | ar sta |
| noi | am sta |
| voi | ați sta |
| ei / ele | ar sta |
Aș sta mai mult, dar trebuie să prind trenul.
I'd stay longer, but I have to catch the train.
Imperativ
The singular is stai! and the plural stați! Crucially, stai! doubles as the everyday word for Wait! / Hold on! The negative singular uses the infinitive: nu sta!
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | stai! | nu sta! |
| voi (pl.) | stați! | nu stați! |
Stai jos, te rog, e o discuție mai lungă.
Sit down, please; this is a longer conversation.
Stai puțin, vin imediat!
Wait a moment, I'm coming right away!
Forme nepersonale
The gerunziu stând carries the circumflex â.
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv | (a) sta |
| Gerunziu | stând |
| Participiu | stat |
| Supin | de stat |
Usage
Cât stai în România de data asta?
How long are you staying in Romania this time?
Stă să plouă, ia-ți o umbrelă.
It's about to rain; take an umbrella.
Nu mai sta pe gânduri, sună-o!
Stop hesitating, call her!
Copiii nu stau o clipă locului.
The kids don't stay still for a second.
Source-language note for English speakers
English forces you to choose up front: do you stay, stand, sit, or live? Romanian leaves that choice to context and lets one verb cover the whole field of "being positioned somewhere." This is freeing once you trust it: Stau pe scaun can be "I'm sitting on the chair," Stau în picioare is "I'm standing" (literally "I stay on my feet"), Stau la Cluj is "I live in Cluj," and Stau aici cinci minute is "I'm staying here five minutes." The disambiguation, when you need it, comes from an adverb or phrase — jos (down), în picioare (on foot), cu chirie (in a rental) — rather than from a different verb. A second thing English speakers should internalize: the imperative Stai! is the default way to say Wait! in conversation, far more common than any verb meaning "wait" — so if someone shouts Stai! at you on the street, they want you to hold on, not to sit down.
Common Mistakes
❌ Unde locuiești tu? (when you simply want casual register)
Not wrong, but in everyday speech Romanians prefer a sta.
✅ Unde stai?
Where do you live? (natural, colloquial)
❌ Vreau să stă cu mine.
Incorrect — the 3rd person subjunctive is stea, not stă.
✅ Vreau să stea cu mine.
I want him/her to stay with me.
❌ Stand aici, am așteptat mult.
Incorrect — the gerund is stând, with a circumflex.
✅ Stând aici, am așteptat mult.
Standing here, I waited a long time.
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