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Getting ready for university exams can be intense. Sometimes you memorize everything perfectly, sometimes your late-night efforts feel useless, and sometimes you resort to sneaky study tactics. To describe *how* you perform these actions, Romanian uses adverbial locutions of manner—fixed, multi-word phrases that function as adverbs.

Let's learn three essential phrases for navigating student life.

### Memorizing: "Pe de rost"

When you need to memorize a text word-for-word, you learn it **pe de rost** (by heart).

Let's apply this to a common study task: learning **definiția** (the definition).

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### Futile Efforts: "În zadar"

Unfortunately, sometimes your hard work doesn't pay off. If you do something **în zadar**, you do it in vain.

Let's see this in the context of the verb **a recapitula** (to review) and the noun **sesiunea**. *Sesiunea* translates to "the exam session" and refers to the famously stressful finals period at the end of a Romanian university semester.

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### Hidden Actions: "Pe ascuns"

When an action is done secretly, quietly, or behind closed doors, use **pe ascuns** (in secret).

Before looking at an example, let's learn a very common, handy sentence structure. To emphasize multiple items at once, Romanian often repeats conjunctions in pairs:

- **și..., și...** (both... and...)
- **sau..., sau...** (either... or...)

Let's apply **și..., și...** to writing **eseul** (the essay) in secret.

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What about **restanța**? This is the dreaded "retake exam" for a previously failed class. If you pass it, you might want to keep that success under the radar to avoid having to explain the initial failure!

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### Bringing It Together

Now let's look at the alternative paired conjunction, **sau..., sau...** (either... or...), along with a crucial piece of academic writing: **teza** (the thesis).

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And finally, a great student will combine all their skills, writing their thesis and making sure they know it inside and out.

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Adverbs of manner (pe de rost, în zadar)

adjective

adverb

adverbial phrase

auxiliary

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The verb to be and definite articles (a fi, -ul, -le)

Feminine definite articles (-a, -ua)

Indefinite articles (un, o)

Negative sentences (nu)

Question words (ce, unde, cine)

The verb to have (a avea)

Masculine plural nouns (-i, -ii)

Feminine plural nouns (-e, -i, -le)

Neuter plural nouns (-uri, -e, -le)

Adjectives and agreement

Present tense of regular -a verbs

Present tense of -a verbs with suffix (-ez)

Present tense of regular -i and -î verbs

Present tense of -i and -î verbs with suffix (-esc / -ăsc)

Present tense of -ea and -e verbs

Reflexive pronouns (mă, te, se, ne, vă)

Accusative prepositions (în, la, pe, din, cu)

Likes and dislikes (îmi place)

Possessive adjectives (meu, tău, său)

Third-person possessives (lui, ei, lor)

Possessive articles (al, a, ai, ale)

Formal politeness (dumneavoastră)

Demonstrative adjectives (acest, acel)

Numbers 1 to 10

The number two (doi, două)

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Quantifying large numbers (de)

The subjunctive (să)

Third-person subjunctive (să)

Direct object pronouns (îl, o, îi, le)

Personal direct objects (pe)

Days of the week

Telling time (e ora...)

Months of the Year (January to June)

Months of the Year (July to December)

The Four Seasons

Weather Conditions

Rooms in a House

Basic Body Parts: Upper Body

Basic Body Parts: Limbs

Everyday Clothing

Basic Foods: Groceries

Fruits and Vegetables

Around Town

Getting Around

Setting the Table

A Colorful World

Common Animals

In the Wild

Jobs and Careers

Everyday Tech

Describing people (tânăr, bătrân, înalt)

Asking when and why (când, de ce, care)

Hello and goodbye (bună ziua, la revedere)

Coming and going (intra, sta, trece)

Where is it? (sub, lângă, între)

Knowing and thinking (știu că, cred că)

Sorry, welcome, congratulations (îmi pare rău, la mulți ani)

Introducing yourself (mă numesc, sunt din România)

How much and how many (puțin, prea, doar)

Can and may (pot merge, pot să merg)

If and whether (dacă)

At school and university

Irregular verbs in the present (vrea, lua, da, bea, sta)

Free time and sport

How much is it? (cât costă, câți, câte)

Before and after (înainte, după, până)

At the doctor (mă doare)

Meals of the day (micul dejun, prânzul, cina)

At the restaurant

Ability and permission (a putea să)

Obligation and necessity (trebuie să)

Desires and intentions (a vrea să)

Impersonal statements (se)

Adverbs of frequency (adesea, uneori)

Conjunctions for reasons and links (pentru că, deci)

Stressed accusative pronouns (pe mine, pe tine)

Indefinite pronouns (cineva, ceva)

Negative pronouns and double negation (nimeni, nimic)

The past tense auxiliary (am, ai, a)

The past tense (am, ai, a)

Regular past participles (-at, -it)

Regular past participles (-ut, -s, -t)

Negative past tense (nu am)

Question	Answer
the definition	definiția
by heart	pe de rost
He learns the definition by heart.	El învață definiția pe de rost.
We recite two definitions at a time by heart.	Spunem câte două definiții pe de rost.
to review	recapitula
in vain	în zadar
She reviewed the chapter, but in vain.	Ea a recapitulat capitolul, dar în zadar.
the exam session	sesiunea
I will read all night during the exam session, but in vain.	Am să citesc toată noaptea în timpul sesiunii, dar în zadar.
in secret	pe ascuns
the essay	eseul
The student writes both the essay and the summary in secret.	Studentul scrie pe ascuns și eseul, și rezumatul.
the retake exam	restanța
The retake exam? I passed it in secret.	Restanța? Am trecut-o pe ascuns.
the thesis	teza
I wrote the thesis and I learned it by heart.	Am scris teza și am învățat-o pe de rost.
the bibliography	bibliografia
I will review the bibliography during the exam session.	Am să recapitulez bibliografia în timpul sesiunii.
You must read either the essay or the thesis.	Trebuie să citești sau eseul, sau teza.
The girls borrow two books at a time from the professor's bibliography in secret.	Fetele împrumută pe ascuns câte două cărți din bibliografia profesorului.
Both the retake exam and the thesis are important.	Și restanța, și teza sunt importante.
The definition is important; the student repeated it by heart.	Definiția este importantă; studenta a repetat-o pe de rost.
He sent the thesis, but he wrote it in vain.	El a trimis teza, dar a scris-o în zadar.