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### The preposition belongs to the verb

Many Romanian verbs come with a fixed preposition, just as English says *think about*, *depend on* and *believe in*. Learn the verb and its preposition as one unit, because Romanian often picks a different one from English: you think **la** (at) someone, and you are afraid **de** (of) something. The preposition cannot be swapped for another one: *mă gândesc la tine*, never *mă gândesc de tine*.

| verb | preposition | example |
|---|---|---|
| a se gândi | **la** | mă gândesc la tine |
| a se uita | **la** | mă uit la televizor |
| a depinde | **de** | depinde de vreme |
| a se teme | **de** | mă tem de câini |
| a se ocupa | **de** | mă ocup de bilete |
| a se bucura | **de** | ne bucurăm de vacanță |
| a vorbi | **despre** | vorbim despre film |
| a crede | **în** | cred în tine |
| a conta | **pe** | contez pe tine |
| a se baza | **pe** | mă bazez pe tine |

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### After a preposition: mine, tine

A pronoun that follows a preposition takes its full form: **la mine**, **de tine**, **pe el**, **despre ea**, **în noi**. The short forms *mă* and *te* never come after a preposition.

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### In questions, the preposition goes first

English leaves the preposition at the end of a question: *What are you thinking about?* Romanian cannot do that. The preposition moves to the front of the question, together with **ce** (what) or **cine** (who).

| statement | question |
|---|---|
| mă gândesc la vacanță | **La ce** te gândești? |
| vorbim despre film | **Despre ce** vorbiți? |
| mă tem de câini | **De cine** te temi? |
| contez pe tine | **Pe cine** contezi? |

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On its own, **de ce** means *why*. After a verb that takes *de*, the same two words simply mean *on what* or *of what*:

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### Another preposition, another meaning

**Crede** with a direct object means *to believe someone*: *te cred* (I believe you). **Crede în** means *to believe in*. **Vorbi cu** is *to talk to someone*, **vorbi despre** is *to talk about something*, and both can appear in one sentence. Keep **se uita la** (to look at) apart from **uita** (to forget): without *se*, the verb means *to forget*.

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Verbs and their prepositions (se gândi la, depinde de, se teme de)

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
I'm thinking about you.	Mă gândesc la tine.
What are you thinking about?	La ce te gândești?
Everything depends on you.	Totul depinde de tine.
What does the price depend on?	De ce depinde prețul?
Our plan depends on the weather.	Planul nostru depinde de vreme.
What are you talking about?	Despre ce vorbiți?
I don't want to talk about it.	Nu vreau să vorbesc despre asta.
I'm talking to Mom about the vacation.	Vorbesc cu mama despre vacanță.
The child is afraid of dogs.	Copilul se teme de câini.
Who are you afraid of?	De cine te temi?
I'm not afraid of anything.	Nu mă tem de nimic.
I'll take care of the tickets.	Mă ocup eu de bilete.
Who's looking after the kids today?	Cine se ocupă de copii azi?
We're enjoying the vacation.	Ne bucurăm de vacanță.
Enjoy life!	Bucură-te de viață!
What are you looking at?	La ce vă uitați?
Look at me!	Uită-te la mine!
I believe in you.	Cred în tine.
I don't believe in luck.	Nu cred în noroc.
I believe you, but I don't believe in your plan.	Te cred, dar nu cred în planul tău.
Who are you counting on?	Pe cine contezi?
You can count on me.	Poți să contezi pe mine.
I rely on my friends.	Mă bazez pe prietenii mei.

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