The Gerund for Simultaneous Actions
To describe two actions happening at the exact same time—like walking while whistling, or cooking while listening to the radio—Romanian uses the gerund (gerunziu). This acts similarly to the English "-ing" form when expressing simultaneous actions.
Forming the gerund is simple. Drop the infinitive ending and add one of two suffixes:
- -ând: Used for most verbs (those ending in -a, -ea, -e, or -î).
- -ind: Used for verbs ending in -i.
| Infinitive | Gerund | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a fluiera | fluierând | whistling |
| a tasta | tastând | typing |
| a zâmbi | zâmbind | smiling |
| The boy walks on the street whistling. | Băiatul merge pe stradă fluierând. |
| Typing a message, the student listens to the professor. | Tastând un mesaj, studentul îl ascultă pe profesor. |
| My colleague answers the phone smiling. | Colega mea răspunde la telefon zâmbind. |
Attaching Pronouns to the Gerund
Usually, object and reflexive pronouns are placed before the verb. However, the gerund is a major exception! If a gerund requires a pronoun, the pronoun attaches directly to the end of the word using a hyphen.
To make pronunciation smooth, the linking vowel -u- is almost always added between the gerund and the pronoun:
- gândind
- se (oneself) = gândindu-se
- ascultând
- l (him) = ascultându-l
| Thinking about the problem, the girl watches the rain. | Gândindu-se la problemă, fata privește ploaia. |
| Listening to the professor, the boy writes the information. | Ascultându-l pe profesor, băiatul scrie informația. |
Everyday Multitasking
You can place the gerund phrase either before or after the main action in the sentence, depending on what you want to emphasize. Here are a few more examples of everyday multitasking in action:
| The student reads the book chewing gum. | Studentul citește cartea mestecând gumă. |
| He reads the letter sighing. | El citește scrisoarea oftând. |
| The dog waits outside shivering. | Câinele așteaptă afară tremurând. |
| The boy sweeps the room listening to music. | Băiatul mătură camera ascultând muzică. |
