Learn Hardcore Romanian: Nu pleca fără să iei pașaportul din sertar. - Do not leave without taking the passport from the drawer.

Breakdown of Nu pleca fără să iei pașaportul din sertar.

Why is it Nu pleca and not something like Nu pleci?

Because this is a negative command addressed to one person.

In Romanian, the 2nd person singular negative imperative usually uses:

So:

A form like Nu pleci usually means You are not leaving or You don’t leave, not a command.

Why does the positive command use Pleacă!, but the negative one uses Nu pleca!?

This is a very common Romanian pattern and often surprises English speakers.

For many verbs:

So:

Another example:

So the sentence follows a normal Romanian rule.