Pattern
Imperfect = ongoing, habitual, or background past ("I was doing," "I used to do"). Perfect compus = completed past action ("I did," "I have done"). They often appear in the same sentence.
Explanation
Romanian, like French and Spanish, distinguishes between two past tenses based on aspect. The perfect compus describes a discrete, completed event: Ieri am mers la cinema (Yesterday I went to the cinema — done, finished). The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated state: În copilărie mergeam des la cinema (In my childhood I often went to the cinema — habitual).
They frequently combine in a single sentence: a background ongoing state (imperfect) interrupted by a discrete event (perfect compus). Mergeam pe stradă când am văzut un accident (I was walking on the street when I saw an accident). The walking is ongoing background; the seeing is the punctual event.
Use imperfect for:
- Habitual past: În copilărie locuiam la țară
- Ongoing past: Vorbeam la telefon
- Background descriptions: Era cald și soarele strălucea
- Time, age, and weather in past: Era ora opt, eram obosit
Use perfect compus for:
- Discrete events: Am citit cartea
- Completed actions in a sequence: Am ajuns, am mâncat, am plecat
Examples
| Romanian | English |
|---|---|
| Mergeam când m-a sunat. | I was walking when he called me. |
| În copilărie citeam mult; ieri am citit o carte întreagă. | As a child I used to read a lot; yesterday I read a whole book. |
| Era frumos afară când am ieșit. | It was beautiful outside when I went out. |
| Bunica gătea mereu duminica; duminica trecută a făcut sarmale. | Grandma always cooked on Sundays; last Sunday she made sarmale. |
| Vorbeam în liniște când a intrat șeful. | We were speaking quietly when the boss came in. |
Common mistakes
- Using perfect compus for habitual past: Am mers la școală zilnic sounds wrong; use mergeam zilnic.
- Using imperfect for discrete events: Ieri mergeam la cinema is wrong if it was a single completed trip; say Ieri am mers la cinema.
- Translating English progressive literally: "I was eating" = mâncam (one word, imperfect), not eram mâncând.