High-Frequency Irregular Commands
When giving urgent instructions to a single person (the informal tu), a few common Romanian verbs use short, irregular forms for the affirmative command.
Here are three essential, punchy commands:
| Verb | Command | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a veni | vino | Come! |
| a duce | du | Take! / Lead! |
| a face | fă | Do! / Make! |
To attach an object pronoun (like "do your" or "do for me"), add it to the end of the verb with a hyphen (fă-ți, fă-mi).
| Come here, if you want to help me! | Vino încoace, dacă vrei să mă ajuți! |
| Come here and do your work! | Vino aici și fă-ți treaba! |
| Take the chair aside, please. | Du scaunul deoparte, te rog. |
| Do me a favor, not him! | Fă-mi mie o favoare, nu lui! |
Zi and Stai
Two more crucial short commands:
| Verb | Command | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a zice | zi | Say! / Tell! |
| a sta | stai | Stay! / Sit! / Wait! |
| Tell me, why don't you come here? | Zi-mi, de ce nu vii încoace? |
| Be good there, if you have to wait. | Stai cuminte acolo, dacă trebuie să aștepți. |
Negative Commands
Negative commands to a single person are completely regular: just use nu followed by the infinitive (dropping the "a").
For example, "don't stay" is nu sta, and "don't say" is nu zice. The irregular short forms are only used for positive commands.
| Don't sit idly, do something! | Nu sta degeaba, fă ceva! |
| Tell the truth, don't talk nonsense! | Zi adevărul, nu zice prostii! |
| Stay calm and don't say anything! | Stai liniștit și nu zice nimic! |
Plural Commands
When addressing a group (the plural voi), commands are also regular. Just use the standard present tense form.
So, stai becomes stați, and fă becomes faceți. Attached pronouns still use a hyphen (faceți-vă for "do your"). Negative group commands simply add nu in front of the verb.
| Don't sit in the shade for nothing! | Nu stați la umbră degeaba! |
| Leave the nonsense aside and do your work! | Lăsați prostiile deoparte și faceți-vă treaba! |
