The theme-vowel flip handles the regular conjunctiv beautifully — but a small set of verbs refuses to play along. These are the irregulars: a fi → să fie, a avea → să aibă, a da → să dea, a sta → să stea, a ști → să știe, a lua → să ia, a bea → să bea, a vrea → să vrea. There is no derivation rule that produces these from the infinitive; you simply have to learn them.
Here is the catch that makes them worth a whole page: these are not obscure verbs. They are the most frequent verbs in Romanian. A fi (to be) and a avea (to have) are the two most common verbs in the language, and their conjunctives appear constantly — inside the o să future, after trebuie, after vreau, after pot. You will say să fie and să aibă hundreds of times a day. So although the textbook files them under "exceptions," functionally they are core vocabulary that should be drilled before the regular paradigm, not after.
The reference table
For each irregular verb, the 3rd-person conjunctiv (which, as always, serves both singular and plural) is given below. The other persons reuse the indicative with să, exactly as for regular verbs.
| Infinitive | Meaning | Indicative (el) | Conjunctiv 3rd (să) |
|---|---|---|---|
| a fi | to be | este / e | să fie |
| a avea | to have | are | să aibă |
| a da | to give | dă | să dea |
| a sta | to stay/stand | stă | să stea |
| a ști | to know | știe | să știe |
| a lua | to take | ia | să ia |
| a bea | to drink | bea | să bea |
| a vrea | to want | vrea | să vrea |
A few of these (a ști → să știe, a lua → să ia, a bea → să bea, a vrea → să vrea) actually look like their indicative 3rd person, so the "irregularity" is mild — but because their stems are unpredictable, they are listed here so you have the full set in one place.
A fi — the most important conjunctiv in the language
The full să-paradigm of a fi is worth memorizing as a unit, because it appears everywhere:
| Person | Conjunctiv |
|---|---|
| eu | să fiu |
| tu | să fii |
| el / ea | să fie |
| noi | să fim |
| voi | să fiți |
| ei / ele | să fie |
Vreau să fiu sincer cu tine.
I want to be honest with you.
Trebuie să fie aici undeva, am văzut-o adineauri.
It must be here somewhere, I just saw it.
O să fie bine, nu-ți face griji.
It'll be fine, don't worry. (o să + conjunctiv future)
A avea — să aibă
Sper să ai o călătorie plăcută.
I hope you have a pleasant trip.
Vreau ca toți să aibă șanse egale.
I want everyone to have equal chances.
Trebuie să aibă cel puțin optsprezece ani.
He has to be at least eighteen years old.
A da and a sta — the rhyming pair
These two pattern alike: să dea and să stea, both with the -ea ending. It helps to drill them together.
Să dea Dumnezeu să reușești!
May God grant that you succeed!
Mai bine să stea acasă dacă e răcit.
Better that he stay home if he has a cold.
Poți să-mi dai un pix?
Can you give me a pen? (1st/2nd person reuses indicative dai)
A ști, a lua, a bea, a vrea
E bine să știe adevărul.
It's good that he knows the truth.
Vrea să ia trenul de dimineață.
She wants to take the morning train.
Trebuie să bea mai multă apă.
He needs to drink more water.
A note on a vrea: as a main verb it keeps vrea, and its conjunctiv is regular-looking — să vreau, să vrei, să vrea.... It is rare to put a vrea itself under a să-trigger, but it does happen:
Important e ca el să vrea să se schimbe.
What matters is that he wants to change.
The two errors everyone makes
The irregulars attract two specific mistakes. The first is regularizing a avea to să avă or să are — both wrong; the form is să aibă, with that distinctive -ib-. The second is confusing the persons of a fi: learners reach for să fii (the 2nd-person tu form) when they need the 3rd-person să fie. Remember: fii is "you", fie is "he/she/it/they".
Common Mistakes
❌ Trebuie să avă răbdare.
Incorrect — a avea is irregular; the form is aibă, not *avă.
✅ Trebuie să aibă răbdare.
He has to be patient.
❌ Vreau ca el să fii fericit.
Incorrect — fii is the 'you' form; for 'he' use fie.
✅ Vreau ca el să fie fericit.
I want him to be happy.
❌ Sper să da rezultate.
Incorrect — a da flips to dea in the 3rd person.
✅ Sper să dea rezultate.
I hope it gives results.
❌ Mai bine să sta acasă.
Incorrect — a sta flips to stea in the 3rd person.
✅ Mai bine să stea acasă.
Better that he stay home.
❌ Trebuie să iea pastila dimineața.
Incorrect — a lua's 3rd-person conjunctiv is ia, not *iea.
✅ Trebuie să ia pastila dimineața.
He has to take the pill in the morning.
Key Takeaways
- Eight high-frequency verbs have irregular conjunctives: fie, aibă, dea, stea, știe, ia, bea, vrea.
- They are not rare exceptions — they are the most common verbs in the language and appear in the o să future, after trebuie, vreau, pot, and in wishes.
- Drill să fie and să aibă first; they unlock huge amounts of everyday Romanian.
- Watch the two classic errors: să avă (should be să aibă) and să fii for the 3rd person (should be să fie).
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- Conjunctiv Present: FormationA2 — How to form the present conjunctiv — identical to the indicative except for the 3rd person, which flips the theme vowel.
- The Conjunctiv (să-Subjunctive): OverviewA2 — An introduction to Romanian's most important feature — the să + verb construction that replaces the infinitive after want, can, and must.
- Conjunctiv Forms: Reference TableA2 — A consolidated lookup of every conjunctiv form: present across all conjugation classes plus key irregulars, the perfect (invariable să fi + participle), the negative (să nu), and the reflexive (să mă duc) — with a quick map of where each is used. The time-saver to remember: the conjunctiv has only TWO tenses, and the perfect's să fi + participle is one invariable form for every person.
- The Auxiliary Verbs: a fi, a avea, a vreaA2 — How Romanian's three auxiliary verbs — a fi, a avea, and a vrea — build the compound tenses, and why their auxiliary forms differ from the full verbs.
- The Colloquial Future (o să + conjunctiv)A2 — How to form and use the everyday spoken future with invariable 'o' plus 'să' and the conjunctive — the default future of conversational Romanian.