Dealing with government offices and red tape can be incredibly frustrating.
When faced with absurd bureaucratic demands, you might find yourself in disbelief. In Romanian, there is a specific grammatical structure perfect for this exact emotion: the exclamatory subjunctive.
The Exclamatory Subjunctive
Normally, the subjunctive mood (using the connector să) follows a main verb (like vreau să - I want to). However, you can use a subjunctive clause completely on its own as an indignant question or exclamation to express outrage, shock, or disbelief.
To form this, simply start with a subject, followed by să and the verb. Including a subject pronoun (like eu or noi) strongly emphasizes your disbelief, as if saying, 'Wait, I have to do this?!'
You can also use this structure to express disbelief about what other people are doing—such as a clerk rejecting a file, or someone asking for yet another certificate.
Endless Requirements
This structure is highly versatile. Use it to complain about endless wait times for a stamp, or unreasonable demands for copies and originals.
You can drop the subject pronoun entirely if it is obvious from the verb ending. Use the standalone subjunctive to vent your frustration about any absurd situation, from needing notarized papers to paying taxes on an expired document!
