A vrea ("to want") is one of the first verbs you will need and one of the most irregular high-frequency verbs in Romanian. It belongs to the second conjugation (infinitives in -ea), but its stem shifts unpredictably between vrea-, vre-, and vr-, so it cannot be conjugated by any regular rule. It also carries an extra historical weight: the modern future auxiliary (voi, vei, va, vom, veți, vor) is a worn-down form of this very verb, which is why the third-person plural present vor ("they want") is spelled exactly like the future auxiliary vor ("[they] will"). Context tells the two apart.
For English speakers the biggest hurdle is not the irregular forms but the syntax: Romanian never says "want to do" with an infinitive. It uses a subjunctive clause — vreau să fac (literally "I want that I do"). Keep that in mind from your very first sentence.
Prezent indicativ
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vreau |
| tu | vrei |
| el / ea | vrea |
| noi | vrem |
| voi | vreți |
| ei / ele | vor |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | voiam |
| tu | voiai |
| el / ea | voia |
| noi | voiam |
| voi | voiați |
| ei / ele | voiau |
Perfect compus
Formed with the auxiliary a avea plus the past participle vrut.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am vrut |
| tu | ai vrut |
| el / ea | a vrut |
| noi | am vrut |
| voi | ați vrut |
| ei / ele | au vrut |
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul (pluperfect)
A synthetic (single-word) tense built on the participle stem vrus-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vrusesem |
| tu | vruseseși |
| el / ea | vrusese |
| noi | vruseserăm |
| voi | vruseserăți |
| ei / ele | vruseseră |
Viitor (future)
Two everyday options. The voi-future is neutral-to-formal; the o să-future is the dominant spoken form.
| Person | voi-future (formal) | o să-future (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi vrea | o să vreau |
| tu | vei vrea | o să vrei |
| el / ea | va vrea | o să vrea |
| noi | vom vrea | o să vrem |
| voi | veți vrea | o să vreți |
| ei / ele | vor vrea | o să vrea |
Conjunctiv prezent
Identical to the indicative except in the third person, where it becomes vrea introduced by să (no separate special form — a vrea is exceptional in not changing its 3rd-person subjunctive).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să vreau |
| tu | să vrei |
| el / ea | să vrea |
| noi | să vrem |
| voi | să vreți |
| ei / ele | să vrea |
Condițional prezent
Built with the conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar…) plus the short infinitive vrea. This is the polite "I would like" you will use constantly.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș vrea |
| tu | ai vrea |
| el / ea | ar vrea |
| noi | am vrea |
| voi | ați vrea |
| ei / ele | ar vrea |
Imperativ
A verb of desire has no everyday imperative — you do not normally order someone to want something. The slot is filled, when needed, by the subjunctive (să vrei!) or simply not used. There is no standard vrei! command.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitive (short / long) | (a) vrea / vrere (rare) |
| Gerunziu | vrând |
| Participiu | vrut |
| Supin | de vrut (rare) |
Usage
For a simple object, a vrea behaves like English "want": subject, verb, noun.
Vreau o cafea, te rog.
I want a coffee, please.
Copiii vor înghețată, ca de obicei.
The kids want ice cream, as usual.
To want to do something, use să plus a conjugated verb — never a bare infinitive.
Vreau să plec mai devreme azi.
I want to leave earlier today.
Nu vrea să recunoască că a greșit.
He doesn't want to admit that he was wrong.
The conditional aș vrea is the standard polite request, much softer than the blunt vreau.
Aș vrea să rezerv o masă pentru două persoane.
I'd like to reserve a table for two.
Ce-ai vrea să bei?
What would you like to drink?
The set phrase fără să vreau / vrând-nevrând shows the gerund and subjunctive in idioms worth knowing.
Te-am lovit fără să vreau, îmi pare rău.
I bumped into you without meaning to, I'm sorry.
Vrând-nevrând, a trebuit să accepte.
Like it or not, he had to accept.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vreau a pleca acum.
Incorrect — a vrea cannot take a bare infinitive.
✅ Vreau să plec acum.
I want to leave now.
❌ Eu vrea o bere.
Incorrect — the 'eu' form is vreau, not vrea.
✅ Eu vreau o bere.
I want a beer.
❌ Noi vrem să mergeam la mare.
Incorrect — after vrem you need the subjunctive, not the imperfect.
✅ Noi vrem să mergem la mare.
We want to go to the seaside.
❌ Ce vrei mânca?
Incorrect — missing 'să'; the verb cannot stay bare.
✅ Ce vrei să mănânci?
What do you want to eat?
Related Topics
- The Verb a vrea (to want): PresentA2 — The present forms of a vrea, its reduced future-auxiliary forms, and why 'want to' becomes a 'să' clause rather than an infinitive in Romanian.
- a vrea / a dori (want / wish)A2 — The register split between a vrea (neutral 'want') and a dori (polite/formal 'wish'), the conditional politeness forms aș vrea / aș dori, and how to make courteous requests.
- The Auxiliary Verbs: a fi, a avea, a vreaA2 — How Romanian's three auxiliary verbs — a fi, a avea, and a vrea — build the compound tenses, and why their auxiliary forms differ from the full verbs.
- The Conditional for PolitenessA2 — The high-frequency polite formulas built on the conditional — aș vrea, aș dori, ați putea, mi-ar plăcea — that beginners need early for requests in restaurants, shops, and service situations.
- Conjunctiv After Modals: a putea, a trebui, a vreaA2 — How modal and control verbs (a vrea, a putea, a trebui, a încerca, a reuși, a spera) force a să-clause where English uses an infinitive, and the one verb that still tolerates the infinitive.