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When talking about events that are on the verge of happening, Romanian uses two highly frequent periphrastic constructions built around the verb *a fi* (to be). Both require you to conjugate *a fi* to match the subject, but they connect to the upcoming action using different verb moods.

### A fi pe cale să (To be about to)

The expression *a fi pe cale să* translates to "to be about to" (literally "to be on the path to"). Because it ends with the conjunction *să*, the verb that follows must always be conjugated in the subjunctive mood.

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### A fi pe punctul de a (To be on the verge of)

For an event that is extremely close to occurring, you can use *a fi pe punctul de a* ("to be on the point of" or "on the verge of"). Unlike the previous construction, the preposition *de a* must be followed directly by a verb in the infinitive mood.

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### Discussing Urgent Threats

These expressions of imminence are particularly useful when outlining urgent scenarios, such as an impending threat (*amenințarea*) or a devastating disaster (*un dezastru devastator*).

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Notice how the grammar holds steady even in compound sentences: conjugate *a fi* for the entity facing the threat, and follow the fixed rule for the mood (*să* + subjunctive, or *de a* + infinitive).

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Expressing imminence (a fi pe cale să / a fi pe punctul de a)

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
to be about to	fi pe cale să
the ecosystem	ecosistemul
polar	polar
The bear is about to lose its polar ecosystem.	Ursul este pe cale să își piardă ecosistemul polar.
the glacier	ghețarul
massive	masiv
to be on the verge of	fi pe punctul de a
This massive glacier is on the verge of collapsing into the sea.	Acest ghețar masiv este pe punctul de a se prăbuși în mare.
the ice floe	banchiza
Elena believes that the ice floe is about to disappear completely.	Elena crede că banchiza este pe cale să dispară complet.
The boy is on the verge of finding out the truth about the glacier.	Băiatul este pe punctul de a afla adevărul despre ghețar.
Radu observes how the ice floe is about to melt.	Radu observă cum banchiza este pe cale să se topească.
to flood	inunda
the coast	coasta
The journalist warns us that the ocean is on the verge of flooding the coast.	Jurnalista ne avertizează că oceanul este pe punctul de a inunda coasta.
The hurricane is about to hit the coast.	Uraganul este pe cale să lovească coasta.
to threaten	amenința
The water level threatens the coast, and the mayor is about to announce the disaster.	Nivelul apei amenință coasta, iar primarul este pe cale să anunțe dezastrul.
Pollution threatens the environment, and nature is about to be destroyed.	Poluarea amenință mediul, iar natura este pe cale să fie distrusă.
The polar ice floe is melting, and my colleague is on the verge of photographing it.	Banchiza polară se topește, iar colega mea este pe punctul de a o fotografia.
The documentary shows how the planet is about to suffer an extremely serious disaster.	Documentarul arată cum planeta este pe cale să sufere un dezastru extrem de grav.
the threat	amenințarea
The threat is clear; the ecosystem is on the verge of giving way.	Amenințarea este clară; ecosistemul este pe punctul de a ceda.
devastating	devastator
The threat is massive, and the devastating effect is on the verge of destroying the ecosystem.	Amenințarea este masivă, iar efectul devastator este pe punctul de a distruge ecosistemul.
The ocean is about to flood the coast, a devastating disaster.	Oceanul este pe cale să inunde coasta, un dezastru devastator.