How to Use the Romanian Past Tense: Perfect Compus Explained for English Speakers

Understanding the Romanian Past Tense: Perfect Compus

The Perfect Compus is the most commonly used past tense in Romanian. It is equivalent to the English simple past (e.g., "I ate", "She went"). This tense is used to describe actions that have been completed in the past.

When to Use Perfect Compus

Use the Perfect Compus to talk about specific actions that happened and finished in the past, often with a clear time reference. For example, "I visited Bucharest yesterday" or "She finished her homework."

Forming the Perfect Compus

The Perfect Compus is formed using the present tense of the auxiliary verb a avea (to have) plus the past participle of the main verb.

The structure is:
subject + auxiliary verb (a avea) in present + past participle

Conjugation of the Auxiliary Verb <em>a avea</em> in Present Tense

• Eu am (I have)
• Tu ai (You have)
• El/Ea are (He/She has)
• Noi avem (We have)
• Voi aveți (You all have)
• Ei/Ele au (They have)

Forming the Past Participle

The past participle in Romanian is formed by adding specific endings to the verb stem, depending on the verb conjugation group:

• For verbs ending in -a (1st conjugation), replace -a with -at: a lucra → lucrat (worked)
• For verbs ending in -e (2nd conjugation), replace -e with -ut: a vedea → văzut (seen)
• For verbs ending in -i or -î (3rd conjugation), replace with -it: a dormi → dormit (slept)

Examples of Perfect Compus in Sentences

• Eu am mâncat o pizza. (I ate a pizza.)
• Tu ai citit cartea. (You read the book.)
• El a mers la școală. (He went to school.)
• Noi am vorbit cu profesorul. (We spoke with the teacher.)
• Ei au învățat limba română. (They learned Romanian.)

Negative Form of Perfect Compus

To make the Perfect Compus negative, simply add nu before the auxiliary verb am/ai/are/etc. For example:

• Eu nu am mâncat. (I did not eat.)
• Ea nu a venit. (She did not come.)

Questions in Perfect Compus

To form questions, invert the subject and auxiliary verb or use intonation in speech:

• Ai mâncat? (Did you eat?)
• A venit el? (Did he come?)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the auxiliary verb incorrectly (e.g., mixing tenses)
• Forgetting to use the past participle form of the main verb
• Confusing Perfect Compus with Imperfect tense usage