Breakdown of O să plecăm la oraș când avem timp.
a avea
to have
la
to
orașul
the city
când
when
timpul
the time
o să plecăm
to be going to leave
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Questions & Answers about O să plecăm la oraș când avem timp.
What is the function of O să in this sentence?
O să is the periphrastic future marker in Romanian. It is followed by the subjunctive form of the verb (here plecăm) to indicate a simple future action. You can think of it as equivalent to English “will” or “going to.”
Why is plecăm used after o să even though it looks like the present tense?
After să (in o să), Romanian uses the subjunctive mood. For the verb a pleca, the 1st person plural subjunctive happens to be plecăm, which is identical in form to the present indicative. The presence of o să signals that it’s subjunctive/future, not present.
How does o să plecăm differ from using the synthetic future vom pleca?
Both express future meaning, but:
- o să plecăm is the periphrastic future, more common in everyday speech;
- vom pleca is the synthetic future (a single inflected verb form), somewhat more formal or literary.
Why do we use avem (present tense) in the clause introduced by când instead of a future tense like vom avea?
In Romanian, subordinate clauses of time introduced by conjunctions such as când, până când, or de îndată ce use the present tense even for future events. So când avem timp (“when we have time”) correctly refers to a future moment without switching to a future form.
Why is the preposition la used with oraș here instead of în?
The phrase a merge/pleca la oraș is idiomatic for “to go to town/the city.” Using în oraș would stress being inside the city rather than the destination. La oraș simply indicates the act of going out to the city.
Can we omit o să and still express the future (e.g., Plecăm la oraș când avem timp)?
Yes. Romanian often uses the present indicative to talk about planned future events (Plecăm la oraș când avem timp). Without o să, though, it can sound more like a habitual action or a general statement. Adding o să makes it a clear future intention.
Could we substitute plecăm with mergem in this sentence?
Yes. You can say O să mergem la oraș. Plecăm highlights departure, while mergem emphasizes the act of going. Both are correct, but plecăm la oraș is slightly more natural when referring to leaving your current place to go into town.
How do we pronounce O să, and does the vowel reduce?
O să is pronounced roughly as clear o, then a schwa-like ă in să. It sounds like “oh suh.”