a uita — to forget | Romanian Grammar

A uita ("to forget") is a plain first-conjugation verb (infinitive in -a, stem uit-) — fully regular, with a regular participle uitat. Conceptually it is simple, but it sits at the centre of one of Romanian's neatest minimal pairs: drop nothing, and you have uit "I forget"; add a reflexive clitic, and mă uit means "I look (at)." The two verbs share every single form. The clitic — present or absent — is the only thing that tells them apart. (For the looking verb in full, see a se uita.)

In its basic transitive use, a uita takes a direct object: am uitat cheile ("I forgot the keys"). It also appears with de for "to forget about / lose track of" something (am uitat de întâlnire, "I forgot about the meeting"), and with a dative reflexive clitic when the forgotten thing belongs to the subject — mi-am uitat umbrela ("I forgot my umbrella," literally "I forgot myself the umbrella"). Do not confuse this dative mi-am with the accusative reflexive of a se uita: here the meaning is still "forget."

Prezent indicativ

Person	Form
eu	uit
tu	uiți
el / ea	uită
noi	uităm
voi	uitați
ei / ele	uită

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These are exactly the forms of a se uita "to look" — but with no clitic. Bare uit = "I forget"; mă uit = "I look." Third-person singular and plural are both uită, as in every class I verb.

Imperfect

Person	Form
eu	uitam
tu	uitai
el / ea	uita
noi	uitam
voi	uitați
ei / ele	uitau

Perfect compus

Auxiliary a avea plus the regular participle uitat.

Person	Form
eu	am uitat
tu	ai uitat
el / ea	a uitat
noi	am uitat
voi	ați uitat
ei / ele	au uitat

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Compare with "to look": a uita has the bare am uitat ("I forgot"), whereas a se uita fuses a clitic in — m-am uitat ("I looked / watched"). Same participle uitat; the clitic is the only difference.

Mai-mult-ca-perfectul (pluperfect)

Person	Form
eu	uitasem
tu	uitaseși
el / ea	uitase
noi	uitaserăm
voi	uitaserăți
ei / ele	uitaseră

Viitor (future)

Person	voi-future (formal)	o să-future (informal)
eu	voi uita	o să uit
tu	vei uita	o să uiți
el / ea	va uita	o să uite
noi	vom uita	o să uităm
voi	veți uita	o să uitați
ei / ele	vor uita	o să uite

Conjunctiv prezent

The third person is să uite (not să uită).

Person	Form
eu	să uit
tu	să uiți
el / ea	să uite
noi	să uităm
voi	să uitați
ei / ele	să uite

Condițional prezent

Person	Form
eu	aș uita
tu	ai uita
el / ea	ar uita
noi	am uita
voi	ați uita
ei / ele	ar uita

Imperativ

Type	Singular (tu)	Plural (voi)
Affirmative	uită!	uitați!
Negative	nu uita!	nu uitați!

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Nu uita! ("Don't forget!") is one of the most common phrases you will hear in Romanian — a parting reminder, a sticky-note staple. Note the contrast: the negative singular is nu uita (infinitive, final -a), while the affirmative is uită! (final -ă). And remember that the bare uită! here is "forget (it)!", whereas the looking verb's command attaches a clitic: uită-te! "look!"

Non-finite forms

Form	Romanian
Infinitive (short / long)	(a) uita / uitare
Gerunziu	uitând
Participiu	uitat
Supin	de uitat

Usage

The basic transitive "forget something":

Am uitat cheile în casă și ușa s-a închis.

I forgot the keys inside and the door locked itself.

Uit mereu numele oamenilor imediat după ce mi le spun.

I always forget people's names right after they tell me.

The indispensable reminder Nu uita!:

Nu uita să iei umbrela, se anunță ploaie.

Don't forget to take the umbrella, rain is forecast.

The construction with de for "forget about":

Am uitat complet de întâlnirea de la trei.

I completely forgot about the three o'clock meeting.

The dative-reflexive a-și uita for forgetting one's own thing:

Mi-am uitat telefonul la birou.

I left my phone at the office (forgot it there).

The conditional and a touch of the figurative:

Aș uita tot dacă aș putea, dar nu merge așa.

I'd forget everything if I could, but it doesn't work like that.

Common Mistakes

❌ Mă uit cheile în casă.

Incorrect — adding the clitic turns this into 'I look at the keys'; 'forget' is the non-reflexive a uita.

✅ Am uitat cheile în casă.

I forgot the keys inside.

❌ Nu uită să suni!

Incorrect — the negative singular imperative uses the infinitive uita, not uită.

✅ Nu uita să suni!

Don't forget to call!

❌ Am uitat de mea umbrelă acasă.

Incorrect — for forgetting your own possession, use the dative reflexive: mi-am uitat umbrela.

✅ Mi-am uitat umbrela acasă.

I left my umbrella at home.

❌ Vreau să nu uită nimeni.

Incorrect — the 3rd-person subjunctive is să uite, not să uită.

✅ Vreau să nu uite nimeni.

I want no one to forget.

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