Class IV Present: -esc Verbs | Romanian Grammar

If you learn one present-tense pattern thoroughly, make it this one. The -esc subtype of Class IV is the most common verb pattern in the entire language: the default home for -i verbs, the slot for countless everyday words (a citi, a vorbi, a iubi, a găsi), and a productive pattern that keeps absorbing new verbs. It inserts an -esc- infix between the stem and the ending in four persons and drops it in the other two — the exact same distribution as the Class I -ez infix, just with a different infix.

How it works

Drop the infinitive -i. In the first, second, and third person singular, plus the third person plural, insert -esc- before the ending. In the first and second person plural (noi, voi), drop the infix entirely — and the verb looks like a plain Class IV verb again (citim, citiți).

Person	Form of a citi	Infix?
eu	citesc	yes
tu	citești	yes
el / ea	citește	yes
noi	citim	no
voi	citiți	no
ei / ele	citesc	yes

The full infix-bearing endings are -esc / -ești / -ește / ... / -esc. Note the tu form citești (the -esc- infix softens to -eșt- before the -i) and the 3sg citește.

Citesc înainte de culcare în fiecare seară.

I read before bed every evening.

Ce citești acolo, pare interesant.

What are you reading there? It looks interesting.

Citim aceeași carte pentru cerc.

We're reading the same book for the club.

The model in full: a citi and a vorbi

Two paradigms side by side cement the pattern. They are identical in shape; only the stem differs.

Person	a citi (to read)	a vorbi (to speak)
eu	citesc	vorbesc
tu	citești	vorbești
el / ea	citește	vorbește
noi	citim	vorbim
voi	citiți	vorbiți
ei / ele	citesc	vorbesc

Vorbesc puțin italiană, dar o înțeleg bine.

I speak a little Italian, but I understand it well.

Vorbește mai tare, nu te aud.

Speak up, I can't hear you.

Vorbim mâine, acum sunt ocupat.

We'll talk tomorrow, I'm busy right now.

The 1sg = 3pl identity is a feature, not a bug

The most disorienting thing for an English speaker is that citesc is both "I read" and "they read," and vorbesc is both "I speak" and "they speak." There is no separate third-person plural form; the infix-ending -esc serves both. This is expected behavior, not an error to fix. Romanian leans on the subject — pronoun, noun, or context — to tell the two apart.

Eu citesc ziarul dimineața.

I read the newspaper in the morning. (eu → 1sg)

Ei citesc ziarul dimineața.

They read the newspaper in the morning. (ei → 3pl, identical verb)

💡

Don't try to "fix" the citesc / citesc overlap by inventing a separate plural — there isn't one and never was. If the subject is clear from context, Romanian leaves the pronoun out entirely; if it could be ambiguous, the pronoun (eu vs ei) or a noun resolves it.

The -ăsc back-vowel variant

When the stem's last vowel is a back vowel — typically with the -î verbs of Class IV — the infix surfaces as -ăsc instead of -esc, by vowel harmony. The two most important examples are a hotărî (to decide) and a urî (to hate). Their noi/voi forms also carry the circumflex â of the -î infinitive.

Person	a hotărî (to decide)	a urî (to hate)
eu	hotărăsc	urăsc
tu	hotărăști	urăști
el / ea	hotărăște	urăște
noi	hotărâm	urâm
voi	hotărâți	urâți
ei / ele	hotărăsc	urăsc

So -ăsc / -ăști / -ăște mirrors -esc / -ești / -ește one back-vowel step over. The distribution (infix in the singular and 3pl, gone in noi/voi) is exactly the same.

Hotărăsc mâine dacă accept oferta.

I'll decide tomorrow whether to accept the offer.

Urăsc să aștept la coadă.

I hate waiting in line.

Hotărâm împreună, nu decid eu singur.

We'll decide together, I won't decide alone.

Frequent -esc verbs

A high-yield list. Every one follows a citi (or, where marked, the -ăsc variant).

Infinitive	Meaning	eu / ei
a iubi	to love	iubesc
a găsi	to find	găsesc
a primi	to receive	primesc
a sfârși	to end, to finish	sfârșesc
a folosi	to use	folosesc
a privi	to look at, to watch	privesc

Te iubesc, să știi asta.

I love you — know that.

Nu găsesc cheile nicăieri.

I can't find the keys anywhere.

Primesc multe mailuri pe zi.

I get a lot of emails a day.

💡

Because -esc is the productive default, a new or borrowed -i verb almost certainly takes it. Pair this with the Class I -ez rule: in modern Romanian, fresh verbs land in Class I as -ez or in Class IV as -esc. The few plain -i verbs (sleep, come, hear...) are the memorized exceptions, not the rule.

Common Mistakes

❌ Noi citescem o carte.

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

✅ Noi citim o carte.

We're reading a book.

❌ Voi citesciți des?

Incorrect — the voi form drops the infix: citiți.

✅ Voi citiți des?

Do you (all) read often?

❌ Eu citi în pat.

Incorrect — the eu form takes the full -esc infix: citesc.

✅ Eu citesc în pat.

I read in bed.

❌ Eu hotăresc azi.

Incorrect — a hotărî has a back vowel, so the infix is -ăsc: hotărăsc.

✅ Eu hotărăsc azi.

I'm deciding today.

❌ El vorbesc trei limbi. (meaning 'he speaks')

Incorrect — vorbesc is 1sg/3pl; the 3sg is vorbește.

✅ El vorbește trei limbi.

He speaks three languages.

Key Takeaways

The -esc infix sits in the singular and 3pl, and drops in noi/voi (citim, citiți).
The infix-endings are -esc / -ești / -ește / ... / -esc.
1sg = 3pl (citesc / citesc) — expected, disambiguated by the subject, not an error.
Never keep the infix in noi/voi: citescem and citesciți don't exist.
Back-vowel stems take the -ăsc variant (hotărăsc, urăsc).
This is the default, most common present pattern — assume it for any new -i verb.

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