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Dealing with government offices and red tape can be incredibly frustrating.

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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?!'

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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.

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### 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.

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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!

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The exclamatory subjunctive (să)

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 bureaucracy	birocrația
I am terrified of the bureaucracy here!	Îmi este groază de birocrația de aici!
We should accept this bureaucracy?!	Noi să acceptăm această birocrație?!
the clerk, the civil servant	funcționara
The female clerk behaves as if I were a suspect.	Funcționara se comportă de parcă aș fi un suspect.
That female clerk should reject the file?!	Funcționara aia să respingă dosarul?!
to submit	depune
Should I submit the document again?!	Eu să depun documentul din nou?!
You submitted the file, but they lost it.	Dosarul l-ai depus, dar ei l-au pierdut.
the certificate	adeverința
Should Maria bring another certificate?!	Maria să aducă altă adeverință?!
The certificate I brought it yesterday.	Adeverința am adus-o ieri.
the stamp	ștampila
Should we wait for the stamp two hours?!	Noi să așteptăm ștampila două ore?!
The female clerk hasn't applied the stamp yet.	Funcționara nu a pus ștampila încă.
the photocopy	fotocopia
I should leave them a photocopy?!	Eu să le las o fotocopie?!
You must submit a photocopy of the passport.	Trebuie să depui o fotocopie a pașaportului.
the original	originalul
Should he keep the original?!	El să păstreze originalul?!
You need the original, not just a photocopy.	Ai nevoie de original, nu doar de o fotocopie.
notarized	legalizat
I should bring a notarized photocopy?!	Eu să aduc o fotocopie legalizată?!
The original was lost, so I submitted a notarized document.	Originalul s-a pierdut, așa că am depus un document legalizat.
to issue	emite
Should the clerk issue the document next year?!	Funcționarul să emită documentul anul viitor?!
They refused to issue the certificate today.	Ei au refuzat să emită adeverința astăzi.
expired	expirat
My passport is expired, as if I didn't know!	Pașaportul meu este expirat, de parcă nu aș ști!
I should pay a tax for an expired document?!	Să plătesc o taxă pentru un document expirat?!
the document (official paper)	actul
I should bring all the papers again?!	Eu să aduc toate actele din nou?!
The clerk asked me for the car's papers.	Funcționara mi-a cerut actele mașinii.
Without this document, the file isn't complete.	Fără acest act, dosarul nu este complet.

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