A termina means to finish or to complete. It is a high-frequency A1 verb and a fully regular plain first conjugation (-a) verb — no -ez infix, no vowel alternation: the stem stays termin- in the singular and 3pl and adds ă only in terminăm, terminați. Morphologically it is as easy as a Romanian verb gets.
The one thing you must drill is its phase construction. A termina is the completive counterpart to the ingressive a începe, and where a începe takes să + conjunctiv, a termina takes de + supine: Am terminat de mâncat ("I've finished eating"). Saying am terminat să mănânc is the single most common error English and Spanish speakers make with this verb — it is wrong, and this page exists to stop it.
Prezent indicativ
Regular Class I. The vowel is i in the singular/3pl stem (termin-) and ă appears in the plural ending forms terminăm, terminați. The 3sg and 3pl share termină.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | termin |
| tu | termini |
| el / ea | termină |
| noi | terminăm |
| voi | terminați |
| ei / ele | termină |
Când termini cu raportul? E nevoie de el azi.
When do you finish with the report? It's needed today.
Termin în cinci minute și sunt la tine.
I'll finish in five minutes and I'm at your place.
Imperfect
Plain stem termin- plus the Class I ending -am → terminam.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | terminam |
| tu | terminai |
| el / ea | termina |
| noi | terminam |
| voi | terminați |
| ei / ele | terminau |
Tocmai terminam de spălat vasele când a venit.
I was just finishing washing the dishes when he came.
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the regular participle terminat.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am terminat |
| tu | ai terminat |
| el / ea | a terminat |
| noi | am terminat |
| voi | ați terminat |
| ei / ele | au terminat |
Am terminat treaba mai devreme și am plecat acasă.
I finished the work early and went home.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
Synthetic pluperfect on the participle stem terminas-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | terminasem |
| tu | terminaseși |
| el / ea | terminase |
| noi | terminaserăm |
| voi | terminaserăți |
| ei / ele | terminaseră |
Terminaseră deja de mâncat când am ajuns eu.
They had already finished eating by the time I got there.
Viitor
| Person | Viitor (voi-form, formal) | Colloquial (o să) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi termina | o să termin |
| tu | vei termina | o să termini |
| el / ea | va termina | o să termine |
| noi | vom termina | o să terminăm |
| voi | veți termina | o să terminați |
| ei / ele | vor termina | o să termine |
O să termin facultatea anul viitor.
I'll finish university next year.
Conjunctiv prezent
Identical to the indicative except the 3rd person, which is (să) termine rather than termină. Note: this să is the subjunctive that follows vrea, trebuie, etc. — it is not the way you attach a finished action (that is de + supine).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să termin |
| tu | să termini |
| el / ea | să termine |
| noi | să terminăm |
| voi | să terminați |
| ei / ele | să termine |
Trebuie să termin proiectul până vineri.
I have to finish the project by Friday.
Condițional prezent
Conditional auxiliary plus the short infinitive termina.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș termina |
| tu | ai termina |
| el / ea | ar termina |
| noi | am termina |
| voi | ați termina |
| ei / ele | ar termina |
Aș termina mai repede dacă m-ar ajuta cineva.
I'd finish faster if someone helped me.
Imperativ
The affirmative singular termină! matches the 3sg present; the plural is terminați! The negative singular uses the infinitive: nu termina!
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | termină! | nu termina! |
| voi (pl.) | terminați! | nu terminați! |
Termină odată, ne-ai obosit cu cearta asta!
Stop it already, you've worn us out with this argument!
Forme nepersonale
The gerund terminând carries the â. The supine de terminat is exactly the form that drives the phase construction (am de terminat — "I have something to finish").
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv | (a) termina |
| Gerunziu | terminând |
| Participiu | terminat |
| Supin | de terminat |
Usage
A termina works three ways. (1) With a direct object: a termina treaba, a termina cartea ("to finish the work / the book"). (2) As a completive phase verb with de + supine: a termina de citit, de mâncat, de scris — the action you've finished doing. (3) Intransitively with cu: a termina cu ceva ("to be done with something") and the colloquial a termina facultatea / liceul ("to finish/graduate university / high school"). The imperative Termină! on its own means "Stop it! / Cut it out!"
Am terminat de citit cartea aseară.
I finished reading the book last night.
Mai am puțin de terminat și venim la voi.
I have a little left to finish and then we'll come over.
A terminat liceul cu note foarte bune.
She finished high school with very good grades.
Terminând repede temele, a avut timp de joacă.
Having finished his homework quickly, he had time to play.
Gata, am terminat cu el, nu-l mai sun.
That's it, I'm done with him, I'm not calling him anymore.
Source-language note for English speakers
English "finish" takes a gerund — "finish eating, finish reading" — and never an infinitive (finish to eat is ungrammatical). That gerund instinct is actually helpful: Romanian's de + supine (de mâncat, de citit) lines up with the English -ing form far better than the subjunctive să does. The mistake comes from over-generalizing the subjunctive — because so many Romanian verbs take să, learners assume a termina does too. It doesn't. Map the English gerund straight onto de + supine and you'll be right: "finished eating" = terminat de mâncat.
Common Mistakes
❌ Am terminat să mănânc.
Incorrect — a termina takes de + supine, not să.
✅ Am terminat de mâncat.
I've finished eating.
❌ Noi terminam tema acum. (meaning: we finish now)
Incorrect for present — terminam is the imperfect; the present is terminăm.
✅ Noi terminăm tema acum.
We're finishing the homework now.
❌ Am terminat de scrie scrisoarea.
Incorrect — after de you need the supine (= participle form): de scris.
✅ Am terminat de scris scrisoarea.
I finished writing the letter.
❌ Eu termină repede de obicei.
Incorrect — termină is 3rd person; for eu use termin.
✅ Eu termin repede de obicei.
I usually finish quickly.
Now practice Romanian
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- Class I Present: Regular -a VerbsA1 — How to conjugate plain Class I (-a) verbs in the present indicative, including the bare-stem first person and the 3sg = 3pl syncretism.
- The Supine (de + participle)B1 — Romanian's distinctively fourth non-finite form — identical in shape to the participle but invariable and preposition-governing — covering 'something to do', purpose after motion verbs, and after certain adjectives and nouns.
- Inchoative and Completive AspectB2 — How Romanian marks the START of an action with phase verbs (a începe să, a se apuca să, a se pune pe) and its COMPLETION with a termina de + supine (am terminat de mâncat), plus the inchoative în- prefix that lexicalizes 'become X' in a closed set of verbs.
- a începe — to beginA2 — Full conjugation of a începe (to begin), a third-conjugation verb with the e→ea alternation in the subjunctive (să înceapă), the phase pattern a începe să + conjunctiv, and început doubling as participle and noun.
- a mânca — to eatA1 — Full conjugation of a mânca (to eat), a first-conjugation verb famous for its nasal stem and the â/ă vowel alternation between mănânc and mâncăm.