A trece ("to pass") is an extremely common third-conjugation verb (short infinitive in -e) that fans out across many of the same senses as English "pass": time passing, crossing a street, passing an exam, passing by someone's place, even passing through a phase. Its present is regular for class III, with the participle trecut (the -ut type, fully predictable here) used for the perfect compus.
The one form to watch is the third-person subjunctive să treacă, where the stem vowel e breaks into the diphthong ea before the back ending -ă — the same vowel break you see in a merge → să meargă. This e→ea alternation is a regular feature of the language, not a quirk of this verb, but it surprises learners every time.
Prezent indicativ
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | trec |
| tu | treci |
| el / ea | trece |
| noi | trecem |
| voi | treceți |
| ei / ele | trec |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | treceam |
| tu | treceai |
| el / ea | trecea |
| noi | treceam |
| voi | treceați |
| ei / ele | treceau |
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the participle trecut.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am trecut |
| tu | ai trecut |
| el / ea | a trecut |
| noi | am trecut |
| voi | ați trecut |
| ei / ele | au trecut |
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul (pluperfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | trecusem |
| tu | trecuseși |
| el / ea | trecuse |
| noi | trecuserăm |
| voi | trecuserăți |
| ei / ele | trecuseră |
Viitor (future)
| Person | voi-future (formal) | o să-future (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi trece | o să trec |
| tu | vei trece | o să treci |
| el / ea | va trece | o să treacă |
| noi | vom trece | o să trecem |
| voi | veți trece | o să treceți |
| ei / ele | vor trece | o să treacă |
Conjunctiv prezent
The third person breaks the stem vowel to ea: să treacă.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să trec |
| tu | să treci |
| el / ea | să treacă |
| noi | să trecem |
| voi | să treceți |
| ei / ele | să treacă |
Condițional prezent
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș trece |
| tu | ai trece |
| el / ea | ar trece |
| noi | am trece |
| voi | ați trece |
| ei / ele | ar trece |
Imperativ
The singular is treci! (identical to the 2sg present), the plural treceți! The negative singular uses the infinitive: nu trece!
| Type | Singular (tu) | Plural (voi) |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | treci! | treceți! |
| Negative | nu trece! | nu treceți! |
Non-finite forms
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitive (short / long) | (a) trece / trecere |
| Gerunziu | trecând |
| Participiu | trecut |
| Supin | de trecut |
Usage
Time passing — one of the most frequent uses:
Timpul trece repede când te distrezi.
Time goes by fast when you're having fun.
Au trecut deja zece ani de când ne-am cunoscut.
It's already been ten years since we met.
Crossing a street or a space, often with strada / prin:
Ai grijă când treci strada, mașinile vin repede.
Be careful when you cross the street, the cars come fast.
Passing an exam (note: no preposition, unlike English "pass in"):
Am trecut examenul de conducere din prima.
I passed the driving test on the first try.
"To drop by / stop by", with pe la:
Treci pe la mine după serviciu?
Will you drop by my place after work?
The figurative "to get through / to come through" a hard time:
Sper să-ți treacă durerea de cap până diseară.
I hope your headache goes away by tonight.
Common Mistakes
❌ Sper să trece repede.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person subjunctive breaks the vowel to ea: să treacă.
✅ Sper să treacă repede.
I hope it passes quickly.
❌ Am trecut la examen.
Incorrect — 'to pass an exam' takes a direct object with no preposition.
✅ Am trecut examenul.
I passed the exam.
❌ Am trecut zece ani.
Incorrect — for time elapsing this is impersonal with the time as subject: au trecut.
✅ Au trecut zece ani.
Ten years have passed.
❌ Treci pe mine mâine.
Incorrect — 'drop by someone's place' uses pe la, not bare pe.
✅ Treci pe la mine mâine.
Drop by my place tomorrow.
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