You already know the conjunctiv as the dependent clause that follows a trigger — vreau să plec (I want to leave), trebuie să mănânc (I have to eat). But Romanian also lets să stand completely on its own, with no verb in front of it, and when it does, it stops being a complement and becomes a command, an exhortation, or a wish: Să vină! (Let him come!), Să mergem! (Let's go!), Să nu uiți! (Don't forget!), Să trăiești! (Cheers! / Long life!). This standalone să is one of the most useful things in the language, because — as you will see — it is the only way to give a command to anyone other than the person standing in front of you.
Why standalone să exists: the imperative is defective
Romanian has a true imperative (imperativul), but it is defective: it has only two genuine forms — the singular tu (Vino! — Come!) and the plural/polite voi (Veniți! — Come!). There is no dedicated imperative for "let's", none for "let him/her", none for "let them". Spanish has vamos, venga, vengan; English has the periphrastic "let's", "let him", "let them". Romanian fills every one of those missing slots with standalone să + conjunctiv.
So the conjunctiv is not a side device here — it is the backbone of the command system. The true imperative covers only second person; the conjunctiv covers everything else.
| Whom you command | Device used | Example |
|---|---|---|
| you (sg., familiar) | true imperative | Vino! — Come! |
| you (pl./polite) | true imperative | Veniți! — Come! |
| let's (we) | standalone conjunctiv | Să venim! — Let's come! |
| let him/her | standalone conjunctiv | Să vină! — Let him come! |
| let them | standalone conjunctiv | Să vină! — Let them come! |
The hortative: "let's" (1st person plural)
To say "let's do something", drop any trigger and lead straight with să + the noi (1pl) conjunctiv form. Since the 1pl conjunctiv is identical to the indicative, this is mechanically easy — you already know mergem, mâncăm, plecăm.
Să mergem, e deja opt și jumătate.
Let's go, it's already half past eight.
Hai să mâncăm ceva, mor de foame.
Let's eat something, I'm starving.
Să nu mai vorbim despre asta, te rog.
Let's not talk about this anymore, please.
In conversation, native speakers very often add hai ("come on") in front — hai să mergem, hai să mâncăm — which softens and energizes the suggestion. The hai is optional; the să-clause carries the actual meaning.
The jussive: "let him / let them" (3rd person)
This is where standalone să truly shines, because English and Spanish need a whole construction here and Romanian needs one word. Use să + the 3rd-person conjunctiv (remember: 3sg and 3pl are always identical).
Să vină când vrea, nu-l aștept.
Let him come whenever he wants, I'm not waiting for him.
Să plece dacă așa vrea.
Let him leave if that's what he wants.
Nu-mi pasă ce zic — să creadă ce vor.
I don't care what they say — let them believe what they want.
The tone ranges from neutral instruction (Să intre următorul! — Let the next person come in!) to dismissive resignation (Să facă ce vrea — Let him do whatever he wants). Context and intonation decide.
Următorul, vă rog — să intre!
Next, please — let them come in!
Benedictions and curses: wishes about the future
Standalone să is also the natural vehicle for wishes — both warm and hostile. Here the să-clause expresses something the speaker hopes (or hopes will not) come true. This overlaps with the optative, but the everyday set-phrases are pure standalone conjunctiv.
Să trăiești o sută de ani!
May you live a hundred years!
Să dea Dumnezeu să fie bine.
God grant that all goes well.
Să-ți fie de bine!
May it do you good! (said after a meal or a gift)
Să nu te mai văd niciodată pe-aici!
Don't ever let me see you around here again!
The single most common one you will hear is Să trăiești! — literally "may you live!" — used as a toast (the rough equivalent of "cheers"), as a birthday wish, and as a warm thank-you. La mulți ani covers the birthday/new-year sense, but Să trăiești! is the toast and the blessing.
Standalone să as a gentle command to "you"
Even for second person — where a real imperative exists — speakers often prefer să + 2sg/2pl when they want a softer, more anxious, or more conditional tone. Să nu uiți să cumperi pâine feels like a worried reminder; the blunt imperative Nu uita să cumperi pâine feels like an order. Both are correct; they differ in warmth, not grammar.
Să ai grijă de tine, da?
Take care of yourself, okay?
Să nu întârzii, te așteptăm la șapte.
Don't be late, we're expecting you at seven.
Don't confuse it with the true imperative
The standalone conjunctiv and the true imperative are two different command devices, and learners blur them. The true imperative (covered on its own pages) is a single bare verb form — Vino!, Stai!, Mergeți! — with no să. The standalone conjunctiv always has să. Use the imperative for direct second-person orders; use standalone să for "let's", "let him/them", and wishes.
| Meaning | True imperative | Standalone conjunctiv |
|---|---|---|
| Come! (to you) | Vino! | Să vii! (softer / anxious) |
| Let him come! | — | Să vină! |
| Let's go! | — | Să mergem! |
| Don't forget! (to you) | Nu uita! | Să nu uiți! |
Common Mistakes
❌ Lasă-l să vine.
Incorrect — after 'să' the verb must take the conjunctiv ('vină'), not the indicative 'vine'.
✅ Lasă-l să vină. / Să vină.
Let him come.
❌ Mergem! (meaning 'Let's go!')
Incorrect — the bare indicative is a statement ('we go'), not an exhortation.
✅ Să mergem!
Let's go!
❌ Să merge acasă!
Incorrect — the 3rd person needs the special conjunctiv form, not the indicative 'merge'.
✅ Să meargă acasă!
Let him go home!
❌ Nu să uiți!
Incorrect — in standalone wishes, 'nu' goes after 'să', not before it.
✅ Să nu uiți!
Don't forget! / May you not forget!
❌ Trăiește mult! (as a toast)
Incorrect — the imperative sounds like a blunt order, not a blessing.
✅ Să trăiești!
Cheers! / Long life to you!
Key Takeaways
- Standalone să
- conjunctiv works with no governing verb and turns into a command or a wish.
- It exists because the true imperative is defective (only 2sg and 2pl), so să supplies "let's" (să mergem), "let him/them" (să vină), and wishes (să trăiești).
- 3sg and 3pl share one conjunctiv form, so Să vină! means both "Let him come!" and "Let them come!".
- Put nu after să for negative commands and wishes: Să nu uiți!
- Don't confuse it with the bare-verb true imperative (Vino!); the standalone device always carries să.
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- 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.
- The Imperative: OverviewA2 — An introduction to the Romanian imperative — its two genuine forms (2sg familiar and 2pl/polite), and why everything else falls to the conjunctiv.
- Let's and Third-Person Commands (Hortative)B1 — How Romanian fills the missing imperative slots with the conjunctiv (să mergem, să vină) and the everyday particle hai.
- The Conjunctiv in Blessings, Curses, and WishesB2 — How Romanian launches blessings, toasts, well-wishes, and curses with a standalone optative să — Să trăiești!, Să ai noroc!, Să-ți fie rușine! — fixed formulas where the subjunctive alone carries the 'may it be so' force.
- Conjunctiv in Questions and Deliberation (Să plec?)B1 — The standalone să-conjunctiv used as a question — Să plec? (Should I leave?), Ce să fac?, Să comand eu? — to deliberate, ask for instructions, or offer, where English must add 'should' or 'shall'.