A large class of Romanian verbs does not connect to its complement directly — it reaches it through a fixed preposition that you cannot predict from meaning and cannot translate from English. To think about is a se gândi LA (literally "to think to"). To depend on is a depinde DE ("depend of"). To rely on is a conta PE ("count on"). The preposition is not chosen sentence by sentence; it is welded to the verb, and the verb+preposition behaves as a single lexical unit you memorize whole. The trap, which catches English speakers daily, is importing the English preposition: it is a se gândi LA, never *a se gândi despre, even though English says "think about."
Why the preposition is unpredictable
There is no logic to recover here, and pretending otherwise would mislead you. The same English preposition "on" maps to two different Romanian ones — a conta pe ("rely on") but a se baza pe ("base on"), both "pe," yet a depinde de ("depend on") uses "de." Conversely, one Romanian preposition, la, serves verbs that take wildly different English prepositions: a se gândi la ("think about"), a renunța la ("give up"), a participa la ("take part in"). The mapping is many-to-many and arbitrary. Accept that the verb+preposition is a vocabulary item, like the gender of a noun, and learn the two together from day one.
The core inventory
These are the highest-frequency verb+preposition locks. Almost all of them govern the accusative (Romanian's default object case after a preposition), so the noun appears in its plain form.
| Verb + preposition | English | The English preposition (the trap) |
|---|---|---|
| a se gândi la | to think about | about → la, not despre |
| a depinde de | to depend on | on → de, not pe |
| a renunța la | to give up / renounce | up → la |
| a se baza pe | to rely / be based on | on → pe |
| a conta pe | to count / rely on | on → pe |
| a se teme de | to be afraid of | of → de |
| a participa la | to take part in | in → la, not în |
| a crede în | to believe in | in → în |
| a se obișnui cu | to get used to | to → cu ("with") |
| a profita de | to take advantage of | of → de |
| a se referi la | to refer to | to → la |
| a ține la | to be fond of / care for | (no English preposition) |
la-verbs: thinking, giving up, taking part
The preposition la is the busiest of the bunch. Its verbs share nothing semantically — they're united only by the accident of governing la.
Mă gândesc la tine în fiecare zi.
I think about you every day.
A trebuit să renunțe la slujbă ca să aibă grijă de copii.
She had to give up her job to take care of the kids.
Vrei să participi la conferința de săptămâna viitoare?
Do you want to take part in next week's conference?
Nu m-am referit la tine, ci la situație în general.
I wasn't referring to you, but to the situation in general.
Note a ține la — there's no English preposition at all to calque, so the error here is the reverse: forgetting that the preposition exists. Țin la el means "I'm fond of him / I care about him," distinct from a ține + direct object ("to hold").
Țin foarte mult la prietenii mei vechi.
I care a great deal about my old friends.
de-verbs and pe-verbs: the "on/of" tangle
This is where English speakers most often misfire, because English "on" and "of" both have Romanian rivals. A depinde takes de, but a conta and a se baza take pe — all three translate the English "depend/rely on."
Totul depinde de vreme.
Everything depends on the weather. (de, not pe)
Poți să contezi pe mine oricând.
You can count on me anytime.
Nu te baza pe promisiunile lui.
Don't rely on his promises.
A profitat de ocazie ca să-și ceară scuze.
He took advantage of the moment to apologize.
When a pe-verb takes a pronoun object, the pronoun appears in its stressed accusative form: contez pe tine ("I count on you"), mă bazez pe el ("I rely on him"). And several of these are reflexive — a se baza, a se obișnui, a se referi, a se teme — so the clitic and the preposition both travel with the verb.
M-am obișnuit cu zgomotul orașului, acum nici nu-l mai aud.
I've gotten used to the city noise; now I don't even hear it anymore.
crede: "in" vs "that" vs "someone"
A crede is a useful study because its preposition changes its whole meaning. A crede *în* is "to believe in" (faith, conviction). With a direct object it's "to believe (someone)." With că it's "to think/believe that." Don't merge them.
Cred în tine, știu că poți reuși.
I believe in you, I know you can do it. (a crede în = faith)
Te cred, n-ai niciun motiv să minți.
I believe you, you have no reason to lie. (a crede + direct object)
Cred că o să plouă mai târziu.
I think it'll rain later. (a crede că = to think that)
How this differs from English
English verbs also take fixed prepositions ("depend on," "think about," "rely on"), so the concept of verb-preposition government is familiar — the problem is purely that the mappings don't line up. Your instinct will be to translate the English preposition word-for-word, and it will betray you roughly half the time. The discipline is to suppress the English preposition entirely and retrieve the Romanian one as part of the verb. A useful sanity check: if you ever find yourself reaching for despre ("about") after a se gândi, stop — a se gândi governs la, and despre belongs with verbs of speaking like a vorbi despre ("to talk about").
Common Mistakes
❌ Mă gândesc despre tine.
Incorrect — a se gândi governs la, not despre. (despre goes with a vorbi.)
✅ Mă gândesc la tine.
I'm thinking about you.
❌ Depinde pe situație.
Incorrect — a depinde governs de, not pe (despite English 'depend on').
✅ Depinde de situație.
It depends on the situation.
❌ Am participat în conferință.
Incorrect — a participa governs la, not în (despite English 'take part in').
✅ Am participat la conferință.
I took part in the conference.
❌ M-am obișnuit la programul nou.
Incorrect — a se obișnui governs cu ('with'), not la.
✅ M-am obișnuit cu programul nou.
I've gotten used to the new schedule.
❌ Renunț de planul ăsta.
Incorrect — a renunța governs la, not de.
✅ Renunț la planul ăsta.
I'm giving up on this plan.
Key Takeaways
- Many Romanian verbs lock onto one fixed, unpredictable preposition: a se gândi la, a depinde de, a renunța la, a conta/a se baza pe.
- The verb+preposition is a single lexical unit — learn them together, like a noun and its gender.
- The mapping to English is many-to-many and arbitrary: one la covers "about / up / in"; one English "on" splits into de and pe.
- The chronic error is calquing the English preposition — it's a se gândi la, never *despre.
- Several of these verbs are also reflexive (a se baza, a se obișnui, a se teme), so the clitic travels with the verb+preposition bundle.
Now practice Romanian
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