Romanian's Class II verbs end in -ea (a vedea, a putea) and Class III verbs end in -e (a merge, a face, a scrie). In the present tense these two classes behave differently, but in the imperfect they merge completely: both use the theme vowel -ea-. Learn that one theme and the class distinction stops mattering for this tense.
The shared -ea- theme
For both Class II and Class III, take the stem and add the imperfect endings -eam, -eai, -ea, -eam, -eați, -eau. The theme vowel -ea- sits between the stem and the personal ending in every form.
| Person | a vedea (II, to see) | a putea (II, to be able) | a merge (III, to go) |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | vedeam | puteam | mergeam |
| tu | vedeai | puteai | mergeai |
| el / ea | vedea | putea | mergea |
| noi | vedeam | puteam | mergeam |
| voi | vedeați | puteați | mergeați |
| ei / ele | vedeau | puteau | mergeau |
Vedeam marea de la fereastra dormitorului.
I could see the sea from the bedroom window.
Nu puteam să dorm din cauza zgomotului de afară.
I couldn't sleep because of the noise outside.
More Class III verbs: a face, a crede
Class III is large and includes many high-frequency verbs. They all follow the same -ea- pattern. Note that a face (to do, to make) shows the stem alternation fac- → făc- before the theme vowel, exactly as it does elsewhere in the verb.
| Person | a face (to do/make) | a crede (to believe) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | făceam | credeam |
| tu | făceai | credeai |
| el / ea | făcea | credea |
| noi | făceam | credeam |
| voi | făceați | credeați |
| ei / ele | făceau | credeau |
Ce făceai aseară pe la ora opt? Te-am sunat și n-ai răspuns.
What were you doing around eight last night? I called you and you didn't pick up.
Credeam că glumești, dar vorbeai serios.
I thought you were joking, but you were being serious.
Other common Class III verbs follow suit without surprises: a spune (to say) → spuneam, a trece (to pass) → treceam, a începe (to begin) → începeam, a rămâne (to stay) → rămâneam. Notice that even verbs with a stem-internal â keep it (rămâneam), and that the verbs of saying and believing — spuneam, credeam, ziceam — are workhorses of reported speech in the past, where the framing verb is naturally ongoing rather than a one-off event.
Spunea mereu că o să se mute la țară, dar n-a făcut-o niciodată.
He was always saying he'd move to the countryside, but he never did.
Pe vremea aceea încă rămâneam la birou până seara târziu.
Back in those days I'd still stay at the office until late in the evening.
The spelling trap: a scrie → scriam
A handful of Class III verbs have stems ending in -i (a scrie — to write, a ști — to know, though a ști is sometimes grouped with Class IV). When the -ea- theme meets this stem-final -i-, the two vowels contract: the e of -ea- is absorbed and you write -ia-, not -iea-. So the imperfect of a scrie is scriam, scriai, scria, scriam, scriați, scriau — never scrieam. Likewise a ști gives știam, not știeam.
| Person | a scrie (to write) | a ști (to know) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | scriam | știam |
| tu | scriai | știai |
| el / ea | scria | știa |
| noi | scriam | știam |
| voi | scriați | știați |
| ei / ele | scriau | știau |
Îi scriam o scrisoare bunicii în fiecare lună.
I used to write my grandmother a letter every month.
Nu știam că locuiești atât de aproape.
I didn't know you lived so close by.
The eu = noi overlap
As in every class, the eu and noi forms are identical here: vedeam, mergeam, credeam, scriam each serve both "I" and "we." Use the subject pronoun when the context would not otherwise tell them apart.
Eu credeam una, noi hotărâserăm alta.
I believed one thing; we had decided another.
Noi mergeam des la teatru pe vremea studenției.
We used to go to the theater often in our student days.
Common Mistakes
❌ Îi scrieam un mesaj când a intrat în cameră.
Incorrect spelling — the i+ea contract to -ia-; it's scriam.
✅ Îi scriam un mesaj când a intrat în cameră.
I was writing him a message when she walked into the room.
❌ Nu știeam ce să spun.
Incorrect — știam, never știeam.
✅ Nu știam ce să spun.
I didn't know what to say.
❌ Eu vedea filmul când a sunat telefonul.
Incorrect person — 'vedea' is el/ea; 'I was watching' is vedeam.
✅ Eu vedeam filmul când a sunat telefonul.
I was watching the movie when the phone rang.
❌ Aseară am făcut temele timp de două ore, când m-ai sunat.
Wrong tense for the interrupted background — it should be the imperfect (făceam).
✅ Făceam temele când m-ai sunat.
I was doing my homework when you called me.
Key Takeaways
- Class II (-ea) and Class III (-e) share one imperfect theme: -ea-.
- Endings: -eam, -eai, -ea, -eam, -eați, -eau → vedeam, mergeam, credeam.
- Stems in -i contract: a scrie → scriam, a ști → știam (never scrieam, știeam).
- eu = noi; disambiguate with the pronoun.
- The class distinction is irrelevant in the imperfect once you know the theme vowel.
Related Topics
- The Imperfect: OverviewA2 — An introduction to the Romanian imperfect — the past tense for ongoing, habitual, and background actions — and how it contrasts with the completed-event perfect compus.
- Imperfect: Class I (-a) VerbsA2 — How to form the imperfect of Class I verbs ending in -a, including why present-tense -ez infixes disappear entirely in this tense.
- Imperfect: Class IV (-i, -î) VerbsA2 — How to form the imperfect of Class IV verbs in -i and -î, where the -esc/-ăsc present infix disappears and the -ea- theme takes over.
- Imperfect of a fi (eram)A2 — The irregular imperfect of a fi — eram, erai, era — the single most frequent imperfect form in Romanian and the engine of all past description.
- Perfect Compus vs ImperfectB1 — How to choose between the perfect compus and the imperfect for the Romanian past — completed events vs background, plus the verbs that change meaning.