Imperfect: Class IV (-i, -î) Verbs | Romanian Grammar

Class IV is the second-largest verb group, covering all infinitives in -i (a dormi, a citi, a vorbi) and the smaller set in -î (a coborî, a hotărî, a urî). In the imperfect they take the same -ea- theme as Classes II and III — and, just as in Class I, any present-tense infix simply disappears. This makes Class IV imperfects strikingly regular.

The pattern: -ea- theme on an -i- / -â- base

Take the stem and add -eam, -eai, -ea, -eam, -eați, -eau. For -i verbs the stem keeps its -i- before the theme vowel; for -î verbs the -î- surfaces as -a- (more on that below).

Person	a dormi (to sleep)	a citi (to read)	a vorbi (to speak)
eu	dormeam	citeam	vorbeam
tu	dormeai	citeai	vorbeai
el / ea	dormea	citea	vorbea
noi	dormeam	citeam	vorbeam
voi	dormeați	citeați	vorbeați
ei / ele	dormeau	citeau	vorbeau

Citeam în fiecare seară înainte de culcare.

I used to read every evening before going to sleep.

Copilul dormea adânc, așa că am stins lumina.

The child was sleeping deeply, so I turned off the light.

Vorbeam la telefon când a sunat la ușă.

I was on the phone when someone rang the doorbell.

The -esc- / -ăsc- infix disappears

Most Class IV verbs take the -esc- infix in the present: a citi conjugates as citesc, citești, citește, and a hotărî takes -ăsc- (hotărăsc). Exactly as with the -ez- infix of Class I, this infix is a present-tense feature only. In the imperfect it vanishes entirely, leaving the plain -ea- theme.

Person	a citi — present	a citi — imperfect
eu	citesc	citeam
tu	citești	citeai
el / ea	citește	citea
noi	citim	citeam
voi	citiți	citeați
ei / ele	citesc	citeau

So the imperfect is citeam — never citescam. The same is true of every -esc- verb: a iubi (to love) → iubeam; a primi (to receive) → primeam; a găsi (to find) → găseam.

Pe atunci iubeam muzica clasică mai mult decât orice.

Back then I loved classical music more than anything.

Nu găseam niciodată un loc de parcare în cartierul vostru.

I could never find a parking spot in your neighborhood.

Not every Class IV verb takes the infix, though. Verbs like a dormi (to sleep), a fugi (to run), a simți (to feel), and a veni (to come) conjugate the present without an infix (dorm, fug, simt, vin). For the imperfect this changes nothing: with or without an infix in the present, the imperfect is uniform — dormeam, fugeam, simțeam, veneam. This is precisely why the imperfect is easier than the present: the present forces you to track which verbs take -esc- and which do not, while the imperfect erases the whole distinction.

Simțeam că ceva nu e în regulă, dar nu știam ce.

I felt that something was wrong, but I didn't know what.

Veneam des pe la voi când locuiam în cartier.

I used to come by your place often when I lived in the neighborhood.

💡

The disappearing infix is the unifying logic of the whole imperfect. Class I drops -ez-; Class IV drops -esc- / -ăsc-. No verb in the language carries an infix in the imperfect, which is why this tense is the most regular of the past tenses — you never have to ask "infix or not?" Just attach the theme vowel and the endings.

The -î verbs: a coborî → coboram

Verbs in -î behave the same way, but the stem-final -î- surfaces as -a- before the imperfect endings, and crucially the theme contracts so you get -a- rather than -ea-. So a coborî (to descend, to get off) gives coboram, coborai, cobora, coboram, coborați, coborau — the same shape as a Class I verb. Compare a hotărî (to decide) → hotăram and a urî (to hate) → uram.

Person	a coborî (to get off/down)	a hotărî (to decide)
eu	coboram	hotăram
tu	coborai	hotărai
el / ea	cobora	hotăra
noi	coboram	hotăram
voi	coborați	hotărați
ei / ele	coborau	hotărau

Coboram din tramvai exact în stația din fața casei tale.

I used to get off the tram right at the stop in front of your house.

Pe atunci hotăram totul singur, fără să întreb pe nimeni.

Back then I used to decide everything on my own, without asking anyone.

💡

Watch the â / î rule even though the imperfect itself rarely shows them: the infinitive is spelled with î at the edge of the word (a coborî, a urî) but with â inside it (a hotărî). In the imperfect the vowel becomes a anyway (coboram, uram), so the â/î problem mostly dissolves — but you still need it right when you cite the infinitive.

The eu = noi overlap

As everywhere in the imperfect, eu and noi are identical: citeam, dormeam, coboram each cover both "I" and "we." Add the pronoun when the person would otherwise be unclear.

Eu citeam, iar noi nu vorbeam aproape deloc seara.

I would read, and we'd barely talk in the evenings.

Noi coboram la fiecare stație ca să admirăm orașul.

We used to get off at every stop to admire the city.

Common Mistakes

❌ Citescam ziarul în fiecare dimineață.

Incorrect — the -esc- infix drops in the imperfect; it's citeam.

✅ Citeam ziarul în fiecare dimineață.

I used to read the newspaper every morning.

❌ Nu găsescam niciodată cheile.

Incorrect — no infix; it's găseam.

✅ Nu găseam niciodată cheile.

I could never find my keys.

❌ Coborîam din autobuz când te-am văzut.

Incorrect — the -î base becomes -a-; it's coboram.

✅ Coboram din autobuz când te-am văzut.

I was getting off the bus when I saw you.

❌ Ieri am dormit toată după-amiaza, când ai venit.

Wrong tense — the ongoing background of 'when you came' is imperfect (dormeam).

✅ Dormeam când ai venit.

I was asleep when you came.

Key Takeaways

Class IV imperfect uses the -ea- theme (shared with II and III): dormeam, citeam, vorbeam.
The present -esc- / -ăsc- infix disappears: citesc → citeam, never citescam.
-î verbs take an -a- base: a coborî → coboram (like a Class I verb).
Across all four classes, the imperfect uses just two theme vowels (-a- for I, -ea- for II/III/IV) and never an infix — making it the most regular past tense.
eu = noi; disambiguate with the pronoun.

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