Class IV Present: Plain -i Verbs | Romanian Grammar

Class IV — the verbs whose infinitive ends in -i — splits into two camps. The large majority insert an -esc infix (a citi → citesc), covered on the next page. This page is about the other camp: the plain -i verbs, which add the endings directly to the stem with no infix at all. A dormi gives dorm for "I sleep," not dormesc. The plain group is small and closed-ish, but it contains some of the most everyday verbs in the language — sleep, come, hear, feel, run, die — so it is worth learning as a list.

The endings

Drop the infinitive -i and attach the present endings directly to the stem.

Person	Ending
eu	— (bare stem)
tu	-i
el / ea	-e
noi	-im
voi	-iți
ei / ele	— (bare stem, = eu)

The familiar pattern holds: the eu form equals the ei/ele form (both bare stem), and the noi/voi endings carry the class vowel -i- (-im, -iți). The third-person singular ends in -e, which is the trait that visually separates plain Class IV from the -esc type (whose 3sg ends in -ește).

a dormi — to sleep, and the o → oa change

A dormi is the model, and it shows off the most important sound change in the class: the stem o diphthongizes to oa when it falls under stress in the third-person singular. Dorm- becomes doarme in el/ea. This is not optional and not irregular — it is a regular Romanian rule (stressed o before a syllable with e becomes oa), but it surprises learners who expect dorme.

Person	Form	Meaning
eu	dorm	I sleep
tu	dormi	you sleep
el / ea	doarme	he / she sleeps
noi	dormim	we sleep
voi	dormiți	you (pl.) sleep
ei / ele	dorm	they sleep

Notice the oa appears only in doarme, where the stem vowel is stressed; everywhere else the stress falls on the ending and the o stays put (dorMIM, dorMIȚI).

Dorm prost când e prea cald în cameră.

I sleep badly when it's too hot in the room.

Copilul doarme, vorbește mai încet.

The baby's sleeping, talk more quietly.

Dormim la hotel în weekend.

We're staying at a hotel over the weekend.

a muri — the same o → oa change

A muri (to die) behaves identically: the stem o surfaces as oa under stress in the third person singular — moare.

Person	Form
eu	mor
tu	mori
el / ea	moare
noi	murim
voi	muriți
ei / ele	mor

Mor de foame, hai să mâncăm ceva.

I'm starving, let's get something to eat. (literally: I'm dying of hunger)

Bateria moare repede pe frig.

The battery dies quickly in the cold.

a veni — to come (a frequent irregular)

A veni is the highest-frequency plain -i verb and slightly irregular: the tu form is vii (doubled i, like scrii), and the third person singular is vine, not the expected *viene. It is so common that you should memorize it whole.

Person	Form	Meaning
eu	vin	I come
tu	vii	you come
el / ea	vine	he / she comes
noi	venim	we come
voi	veniți	you (pl.) come
ei / ele	vin	they come

Vin imediat, dă-mi un minut.

I'm coming right away, give me a minute.

Vii la petrecere diseară?

Are you coming to the party tonight?

Vin musafiri, fă curat puțin.

Guests are coming, tidy up a bit.

💡

Don't confuse vin "I/they come" with the noun vin "wine" — they're spelled and pronounced the same, and context does all the disambiguating.

a auzi and a simți — the consonant before -i

A auzi (to hear) already has z in its stem, so no change occurs before the tu -i (auzi). A simți (to feel) ends in ț, which simply stays (simți); its third person is simte (the ț relaxes to t before the -e of 3sg).

Person	a auzi (hear)	a simți (feel)
eu	aud	simt
tu	auzi	simți
el / ea	aude	simte
noi	auzim	simțim
voi	auziți	simțiți
ei / ele	aud	simt

Note that a auzi's eu form is aud (with d), but the tu form is auzi (with z) — the d → z alternation before -i again, the same one you met in a vedea (vezi) and a crede (crezi).

Nu te aud, e prea multă gălăgie.

I can't hear you, it's too noisy.

Simt că ceva nu e în regulă.

I feel that something's not right.

Auzi? A sunat cineva la ușă.

Hear that? Someone rang the doorbell.

The plain -i verbs as a list

Because the -esc infix is the default in Class IV, the plain verbs are the marked exceptions, and the practical move is to memorize them. The core everyday set:

Infinitive	Meaning	eu	el / ea
a dormi	to sleep	dorm	doarme
a veni	to come	vin	vine
a fugi	to run, to flee	fug	fuge
a auzi	to hear	aud	aude
a simți	to feel	simt	simte
a muri	to die	mor	moare
a sui	to climb, to go up	sui	suie

Fug la magazin și mă întorc în cinci minute.

I'll dash to the shop and be back in five minutes.

Suie pe scaun ca să ajungă la raft.

He climbs on the chair to reach the shelf.

💡

Roughly: sleep, come, run, hear, feel, die (and a few more) are plain; nearly everything else in Class IV takes -esc. Learn this short list, and default any other -i verb to the -esc pattern.

Common Mistakes

❌ Dormesc opt ore pe noapte.

Incorrect — a dormi is a plain -i verb; the eu form is dorm, with no -esc.

✅ Dorm opt ore pe noapte.

I sleep eight hours a night.

❌ Copilul dorme deja.

Incorrect — the stressed o diphthongizes in 3sg: doarme.

✅ Copilul doarme deja.

The child is already asleep.

❌ Tu vini mâine?

Incorrect — a veni's tu form is the doubled vii.

✅ Tu vii mâine?

Are you coming tomorrow?

❌ Eu auzesc muzică.

Incorrect — a auzi is plain; the eu form is aud.

✅ Aud muzică.

I hear music.

❌ Noi dorm la bunici.

Incorrect — dorm is eu/ei; the noi form takes -im: dormim.

✅ Noi dormim la bunici.

We sleep at our grandparents'.

Key Takeaways

Plain Class IV (-i) verbs add endings directly to the stem — no -esc infix.
Endings: — / -i / -e / -im / -iți / —, with eu = ei/ele (bare stem).
Stem o → oa under stress in 3sg: dorm → doarme, mor → moare.
A veni is a frequent irregular (vin, vii, vine) — memorize it whole.
The plain set is a closed list of everyday verbs; default everything else in Class IV to -esc.

Now practice Romanian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Romanian→