A conditional sentence has two halves: the if-clause (the protasis, introduced by dacă) and the result clause (the apodosis). The whole art of Romanian conditionals is knowing which verb form goes in each half — and the answer depends on how real the situation is. Romanian sorts conditionals into three types: real/open ("if it rains, I stay home"), hypothetical ("if I had time, I'd come"), and past counterfactual ("if I'd known, I'd have come"). This page lays out all three and pins down the single most counter-intuitive rule for English speakers: in a real conditional, Romanian puts the plain indicative, not the conditional, after dacă.
The big picture
| Type | If-clause (dacă...) | Result clause | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Real / open | indicative (present/future) | indicative (present/future) or imperative | Dacă plouă, rămân acasă. |
| 2 — Hypothetical (present) | conditional (or colloquial imperfect) | conditional (or colloquial imperfect) | Dacă aș avea timp, aș veni. |
| 3 — Past counterfactual | past conditional (or colloquial imperfect) | past conditional (or colloquial imperfect) | Dacă aș fi știut, aș fi venit. |
The crucial thing to read off this table: the conditional mood appears in types 2 and 3 only, and when it does, it appears in both clauses. Type 1 has no conditional anywhere.
Type 1: real / open conditions
This is for situations that genuinely might happen. The condition is plausible; you're not speculating. Both clauses stay in the indicative — present or future. No conditional, no special "if" form.
Dacă plouă, rămân acasă.
If it rains, I'll stay home.
Notice both verbs are plain present indicative (plouă, rămân), even though English uses "will" in the result. You can also make the result explicitly future:
Dacă termini la timp, mergem la film.
If you finish on time, we'll go to the cinema.
Dacă vine și el, o să fie mai distractiv.
If he comes too, it'll be more fun.
The result clause can even be a command:
Dacă vezi că întârzii, sună-mă.
If you see that you're running late, call me.
The rule English speakers get wrong
English allows — even prefers — "would" creeping toward the if-clause in some constructions, and learners overcorrect by reaching for the conditional inside dacă. Do not put the conditional after dacă in a type-1 (real) conditional. Romanian keeps the if-clause in the plain indicative.
Type 2: hypothetical present
This is for unlikely or purely imaginary present situations — "if I had time" (but I don't), "if I were you" (but I'm not). Here the conditional appears in both clauses: dacă + conditional in the if-clause, conditional in the result.
Dacă aș avea timp, aș veni cu voi.
If I had time, I'd come with you.
This is the construction where Romanian and English diverge most clearly in structure. English uses a past tense in the if-clause ("if I had") and "would" only in the result. Romanian uses the conditional in both halves (aș avea... aș veni) — it does not borrow a past tense for the if-clause.
Dacă ai fi în locul meu, ce ai face?
If you were in my place, what would you do?
The colloquial double imperfect
In everyday speech, Romanians very often replace the type-2 conditional with the imperfect indicative in both clauses — the double imperfect. It is fully standard in conversation.
Dacă aveam timp, veneam cu voi.
If I had time, I'd come with you. (colloquial double imperfect)
| Register | "If I had time, I'd come" |
|---|---|
| Standard / written | Dacă aș avea timp, aș veni. |
| Colloquial / spoken | Dacă aveam timp, veneam. |
Type 3: past counterfactual
This is for a past that didn't happen — "if I'd known" (but I didn't). The formal version stacks two past conditionals: dacă aș fi... aș fi.... See the past conditional page for the formation.
Dacă aș fi știut, aș fi venit mai devreme.
If I'd known, I'd have come earlier.
Dacă ne-am fi grăbit, am fi prins trenul.
If we'd hurried, we'd have caught the train.
And again, conversation collapses this to the double imperfect:
Dacă știam, veneam mai devreme.
If I'd known, I'd have come earlier. (colloquial)
So the double imperfect (dacă știam, veneam) is ambiguous between type 2 ("if I knew, I'd come") and type 3 ("if I'd known, I'd have come") — context resolves which. That ambiguity is part of why it's a spoken-only convenience: writing demands the precision of the full conditional forms.
Why the double imperfect matters so much
Word order and the comma
Either clause can come first. When the dacă-clause leads, a comma separates the two halves; when the result leads, the comma is usually dropped.
Aș veni cu voi dacă aș avea timp.
I'd come with you if I had time. (result first, no comma)
Dacă aș avea timp, aș veni cu voi.
If I had time, I'd come with you. (if-clause first, comma)
Common Mistakes
❌ Dacă aș ploua, rămân acasă.
Incorrect — type-1 real conditions take the plain indicative after 'dacă', not the conditional (and 'a ploua' wouldn't take 'aș' here anyway).
✅ Dacă plouă, rămân acasă.
If it rains, I'll stay home.
❌ Dacă aveam timp, aș veni. (mismatched halves, formal intent)
Inconsistent — in a hypothetical, keep both clauses in the same form: either both conditional or both imperfect.
✅ Dacă aș avea timp, aș veni.
If I had time, I'd come.
❌ Dacă aș terminat la timp, mergem la film.
Incorrect — for a real condition use the present indicative 'termini', not a conditional.
✅ Dacă termini la timp, mergem la film.
If you finish on time, we'll go to the cinema.
❌ Dacă ar fi în locul meu, ce vei face?
Incorrect — the result of a hypothetical takes the conditional 'ai face', not the future 'vei face'.
✅ Dacă ai fi în locul meu, ce ai face?
If you were in my place, what would you do?
Key Takeaways
- Type 1 (real): plain indicative in both clauses — Dacă plouă, rămân acasă. No conditional after dacă.
- Type 2 (hypothetical present): conditional in both clauses — Dacă aș avea timp, aș veni — or the colloquial double imperfect.
- Type 3 (past counterfactual): past conditional in both clauses — Dacă aș fi știut, aș fi venit — or, colloquially, the double imperfect.
- The conditional mood appears in types 2 and 3 only, and always in both halves of the sentence.
- The colloquial double imperfect (dacă știam, veneam) has no English analogue — learn to hear it as "would."
Now practice Romanian
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- The Conditional-Optative: OverviewB1 — An introduction to condițional-optativul, Romanian's 'would' mood — built from the dedicated auxiliary aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar plus the bare short infinitive — covering polite requests, hypotheticals, and wishes, with the homograph traps spelled out.
- Present Conditional: FormationB1 — How to build the present conditional across all four verb classes — the auxiliary aș/ai/ar/am/ați/ar plus the bare short infinitive — including a fi and a avea, and where clitic pronouns attach.
- Past Conditional: aș fi + participleB2 — How to form the past conditional — conditional auxiliary plus invariable 'fi' plus the participle — for unrealized past hypotheticals, and how everyday speech replaces it with the double imperfect.
- Imperfect in Conditional SentencesB1 — How everyday spoken Romanian uses the imperfect in both clauses of a counterfactual conditional (Dacă știam, veneam) as a colloquial alternative to the formal aș-conditional.
- Counterfactual Conditionals: Formal and ColloquialB2 — A practice page on past counterfactuals in two registers — the full conditional (Dacă aș fi știut, aș fi venit) for careful/written Romanian and the colloquial double imperfect (Dacă știam, veneam) for everyday speech — with drills on choosing the register and keeping both halves consistent.