Breakdown of Trebuie să plecăm acum, altfel ajungem târziu la ședință.
acum
now
la
to
a pleca
to leave
târziu
late
a trebui
must
ședința
the meeting
a ajunge
to arrive
altfel
otherwise
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Questions & Answers about Trebuie să plecăm acum, altfel ajungem târziu la ședință.
Why do we use trebuie să instead of just trebuie here?
In Romanian, trebuie (must/have to) always combines with să plus the subjunctive to express necessity. You cannot say trebuie plecăm; you need trebuie să plecăm (“we have to leave”).
Is plecăm indicative or subjunctive? It looks like the present tense.
After să, Romanian uses the present-tense form of the subjunctive, which for most verbs matches the present indicative. Here plecăm is subjunctive (triggered by să), even though it’s spelled like the indicative.
Why is there a comma before altfel?
altfel means “otherwise” and links two clauses. In writing, you separate the first clause from altfel with a comma, just as you would in English:
Trebuie să plecăm acum, altfel ajungem târziu…
Could we use dacă nu instead of altfel? What’s the difference?
Yes, you could say Trebuie să plecăm acum, dacă nu ajungem târziu la ședință, but note:
- altfel is a single adverb meaning “otherwise,” more concise.
- dacă nu (“if not”) makes it a full conditional clause. Both are correct, but altfel is more idiomatic for quick warnings.
Why is ajungem in the present tense when we talk about a future meeting?
Romanian often uses the present indicative for future events, especially in “if… then…” contexts. So ajungem târziu literally “we arrive late” but contextually “we will arrive late.” You could add vom ajunge, but it’s less natural here.
Why do we say la ședință? Could it be în ședință?
la + noun expresses destination or attending an event: “to the meeting.”
în ședință means “in the middle of the meeting.” So
- ajungem la ședință = we arrive at the meeting,
- suntem în ședință = we are in a meeting.
How do you pronounce ședință, and what are those little marks under ș and ț?
- ș is like English “sh” in ship.
- ț is like “ts” in cats.
The little commas (called diacritics) distinguish them from plain s and t and must be used in correct spelling.
Can we move acum (“now”) to the beginning? Any change in meaning?
You can say Acum trebuie să plecăm, altfel ajungem târziu la ședință. The meaning stays the same. Placing acum up front simply shifts emphasis to “right now.” Both word orders are perfectly acceptable.