Pattern
The verb a fi (to be) is irregular across all six persons. Singular: sunt, ești, este/e. Plural: suntem, sunteți, sunt.
Explanation
A fi is foundational and unavoidable. It is irregular in every Romance language, and Romanian is no exception. The full present paradigm has one tricky overlap: the first-person singular sunt (I am) is identical to the third-person plural sunt (they are). Context disambiguates: Sunt obosit clearly means "I am tired," while Ei sunt obosiți with the plural adjective means "they are tired."
The forms suntem (we are) and sunteți (you all are) are stressed on the first syllable: SUN-tem, SUN-teți. They're the building blocks of countless sentences: "Suntem prieteni" (We are friends), "Sunteți români?" (Are you Romanian?).
In writing and formal speech, you'll also see archaic forms (îs, îi) in Moldova and older texts, but standard modern Romanian uses the forms in the table below. Master these six and you've conquered the most-used verb in the language.
Conjugation
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu (I) | sunt |
| tu (you, informal) | ești |
| el/ea (he/she) | este / e |
| noi (we) | suntem |
| voi (you pl.) | sunteți |
| ei/ele (they) | sunt |
Examples
| Romanian | English |
|---|---|
| Noi suntem din România. | We are from Romania. |
| Voi sunteți prieteni? | Are you (pl.) friends? |
| Ei sunt la școală. | They are at school. |
| Ea este obosită. | She is tired. |
| Sunt student. | I am a student. |
Common mistakes
- Confusing sunt (I am) with sunt (they are): Use the pronoun or context to clarify.
- Stressing suntem on the wrong syllable: It's SUN-tem, not sun-TEM.
- Mixing up sunteți (formal you sg. / you pl.): Same form for both — context tells you which.