We all have clumsy moments. To describe an action that almost happened but was narrowly avoided—like dropping a glass or tripping on the stairs—Romanian uses a special structure built around the verb a fi (to be).
The Invariable "era să"
To say "I almost [did something]" or "something almost [happened]", use the imperfect form era followed by the subjunctive (să + verb).
The most important rule for this structure is that era is completely invariable. It translates literally to "it was that..." and never changes, no matter who the subject is. You show who almost did the action by conjugating the verb after "să".
- era să cad (I almost fell)
- era să cadă (he/she almost fell)
Reflexive Verbs and Near-Misses
Many verbs related to clumsiness, like losing our balance (a se dezechilibra) or scalding ourselves (a se opări), are reflexive.
When using a reflexive verb with era să, the reflexive pronoun goes right after să and must match the person experiencing the near-miss.
Close Calls from External Forces
You can also use this structure to talk about accidents caused by other things, like the weather, heavy traffic, or sudden shocks. In these cases, the subject of the subjunctive verb is the external force.
When something almost hits you, the object pronoun (e.g., te for "you") sits between să and the verb.
