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### Expressing "Ago" with "Acum"

In English, the word "ago" is placed *after* the time period ("ten years ago"). In Romanian, the word for "ago" goes *before* the time period.

The most common way to express this is with **acum**. While **acum** usually means "now", when followed by a measure of time, it means "ago".

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### The Alternative "În urmă cu"

Another common way to express "ago" is the phrase **în urmă cu**. It functions exactly like **acum**, placed directly before the amount of time. It sounds slightly more formal, making it perfect for discussing major milestones or longer periods.

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### Linking Memories with "De"

To describe a noun using a past time period—such as "the moments *from* ten years ago"—use the preposition **de** directly before **acum** or **în urmă cu**.

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Expressing 'ago' (acum / în urmă cu)

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 adolescence	adolescența
ago (before a time period)	acum
My adolescence ended ten years ago.	Adolescența mea s-a terminat acum zece ani.
the nostalgia	nostalgia
the moment (brief, instant)	clipa
I feel like crying out of nostalgia for the moments from ten years ago.	Îmi vine să plâng de nostalgie pentru clipele de acum zece ani.
memorable	memorabil
Those moments from a month ago were memorable.	Acele clipe de acum o lună au fost memorabile.
the anniversary	aniversarea
What a memorable anniversary we had two weeks ago!	Ce aniversare memorabilă am avut acum două săptămâni!
to get engaged	se logodi
We celebrated the anniversary of the day we got engaged five years ago.	Am sărbătorit aniversarea zilei în care ne-am logodit în urmă cu cinci ani.
the engagement	logodna
Our engagement took place exactly three years ago.	Logodna noastră a avut loc exact acum trei ani.
to found	întemeia
They got engaged and founded a family ten years ago.	Ei s-au logodit și au întemeiat o familie în urmă cu zece ani.
the century	secolul
This hospital was founded a century ago.	Acest spital s-a întemeiat în urmă cu un secol.
This castle seems to have been built a century ago.	Acest castel pare să fi fost construit acum un secol.
to relive	retrăi
I relive that memorable moment from ten years ago.	Retrăiesc acea clipă memorabilă de acum zece ani.
I would like to relive our engagement from three years ago.	Aș vrea să retrăiesc logodna noastră de acum trei ani.
What nostalgia I feel when I think about the adolescence of twenty years ago!	Ce nostalgie simt când mă gândesc la adolescența de acum douăzeci de ani!