Class I Present: The -ez Infix | Romanian Grammar

Not every Class I (-a) verb behaves like a cânta. A huge slice of them — including almost every word Romanian has borrowed in the last two centuries — inserts a little chunk -ez- between the stem and the ending in four of the six persons. A lucra (to work) does not give lucr for "I work"; it gives lucrez. This page covers that subtype: where the -ez appears, where it vanishes, and why it is the safe default for any modern -a verb you have never seen before.

How it works

The -ez subtype takes the same stem as a plain Class I verb, but in the first, second, and third person singular, plus the third person plural, it wedges in -ez- before the ending. In the first and second person plural (noi, voi) the infix simply disappears, and the verb looks exactly like a plain -a verb again.

The pattern is best learned as a shape: infix in the singular and 3pl, no infix in 1pl/2pl. That is the identical distribution as the -esc infix in Class IV — the two are parallel tools doing the same job in different classes.

Person	Form of a lucra	Infix?
eu	lucrez	yes
tu	lucrezi	yes
el / ea	lucrează	yes
noi	lucrăm	no
voi	lucrați	no
ei / ele	lucrează	yes

Notice that lucrăm and lucrați are exactly what a plain Class I verb would produce — the -ez type only diverges from the plain type in the four "infix" persons.

Lucrez de acasă de când s-a născut copilul.

I've been working from home since the baby was born.

Tu lucrezi prea mult, ia-ți o pauză.

You work too much — take a break.

Lucrăm la același proiect de o lună.

We've been working on the same project for a month.

The 3sg = 3pl syncretism returns — as -ează

Just as plain cântă serves both "he sings" and "they sing," the -ez type collapses the third person singular and plural into one form: lucrează is both "he/she works" and "they work." The full ending in the third person is -ează, not just -ez; the -a of the singular ending fuses onto the infix.

Sora mea lucrează la spital.

My sister works at the hospital. (singular subject)

Părinții mei lucrează la spital.

My parents work at the hospital. (plural subject — identical verb form)

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Watch the spelling: the third person is -ează (lucrează, dansează, formează), with the ă. Learners often write lucreaza with a plain a — that is an orthographic error, the same mistake as dropping any other diacritic.

Modeling more -ez verbs

Every verb below conjugates exactly like lucra. Learn the shape once and the list comes free.

Infinitive	Meaning	eu	el / ea / ei / ele
a dansa	to dance	dansez	dansează
a forma	to form, to dial	formez	formează
a nota	to note, to grade	notez	notează
a telefona	to phone	telefonez	telefonează
a programa	to program, to schedule	programez	programează
a fixa	to fix, to set	fixez	fixează

Dansez salsa de doi ani, dar tot greșesc pașii.

I've been dancing salsa for two years and I still mess up the steps.

Telefonez mai târziu, acum sunt în ședință.

I'll call later, I'm in a meeting right now.

Mă programez la dentist pentru săptămâna viitoare.

I'm booking a dentist appointment for next week.

Why -ez is the modern default

Here is the insight that makes this subtype manageable. Romanian splits Class I into two branches — plain (cântă) and -ez (lucrează) — and there is no audible difference in the infinitive to tell you which branch a verb belongs to. But the distribution is far from random: almost every recently borrowed or coined verb takes -ez. When Romanian absorbs an international verb, it slots it into Class I and hands it the -ez infix automatically.

Source / type	Romanian verb	eu form
to program	a programa	programez
to update / to actualize	a actualiza	actualizez
to download / to descarca	a descărca*	descarc (plain!)
to organize	a organiza	organizez
to memorize	a memora	memorez
to analyze	a analiza	analizez

* A descărca is an old native verb pressed into the "download" meaning, so it keeps its plain conjugation (descarc, descarci, descarcă). The abstract, Latinate, or international loans around it — organiza, analiza, memora — all take -ez. This is the mirror image of the Class IV -esc situation: there, the -esc infix is the default and you memorize the few plain exceptions; here, you default a brand-new -a verb to -ez unless you have specific evidence it is plain.

Organizez o petrecere surpriză, nu spune nimănui.

I'm organizing a surprise party — don't tell anyone.

Analizăm datele și revenim cu un răspuns.

We're analyzing the data and we'll get back to you with an answer.

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When you meet a new abstract or borrowed -a verb (anything ending in -iza, -ona, -ifica, or an obvious loan), assume it takes -ez until proven otherwise. You will be right the overwhelming majority of the time.

Plain vs -ez side by side

The two Class I subtypes share noi and voi but split everywhere else. Seeing them aligned makes the difference concrete.

Person	a cânta (plain)	a lucra (-ez)
eu	cânt	lucrez
tu	cânți	lucrezi
el / ea	cântă	lucrează
noi	cântăm	lucrăm
voi	cântați	lucrați
ei / ele	cântă	lucrează

The plain type has a bare stem in the eu form (cânt); the -ez type fills that slot with the infix (lucrez). That single contrast — bare stem versus -ez — is the heart of the distinction.

Common Mistakes

❌ Luc la birou până la cinci.

Incorrect — a lucra is an -ez verb; the eu form is not the bare stem.

✅ Lucrez la birou până la cinci.

I work at the office until five.

❌ El lucră mult.

Incorrect — that's the plain Class I ending; an -ez verb takes -ează in the third person.

✅ El lucrează mult.

He works a lot.

❌ Noi lucrezem mâine.

Incorrect — the infix drops in noi/voi; never *lucrezem.

✅ Noi lucrăm mâine.

We're working tomorrow.

❌ Ea dansaza foarte bine.

Incorrect — the third person is dansează, with -ă-, not -aza.

✅ Ea dansează foarte bine.

She dances very well.

❌ Voi telefonezați diseară?

Incorrect — the voi form drops the infix: telefonați.

✅ Voi telefonați diseară?

Are you (all) calling tonight?

Key Takeaways

The -ez subtype inserts -ez- in the singular and 3pl, and drops it in noi/voi (lucrăm, lucrați).
The third person ending is -ează (note the ă), and 3sg = 3pl as always.
The infix is never kept in noi/voi: lucrezem and lucrezați do not exist.
Default any new, abstract, or borrowed -a verb to -ez — the reverse of the per-verb guesswork you do with Class IV's -esc.

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