← hub

Group I present, and the obligatory article

Two systems, and U05 closes with them. The -a verbs in the present — one set of six endings — and the places where Romanian puts the and Ukrainian puts nothing. Plus 14 verbs you can build sentences with today.

i the ending — the part that changes by person ț a change inside the stem, caused by that ending ? stated, not attested — see Sources

Unit 5 of 30, part 2 — the unit closes here. Part 1 gave you the definite article's forms and 14 words for a city. This page gives you your first regular verb class, so you can say what you do rather than only what things are called, and the rule for when that article is obligatory. After this you can write a plain present-tense sentence and put its nouns in the right state. You still cannot handle the other three verb groups, the past, or the article inside the genitive-dative.

Field	The verb half	The article half
Topic	The present tense — 4 conjugation groups	The definite article — 3 aspects
This section	Group I (-a): complete — all 6 endings, both patterns	When it is obligatory: partial (3 environments)
Coverage	1 of 4	2 of 3
Deferred	groups -ea / -e / -i → U06 · reflexives → U06 · the past → U09	genitive-dative forms → U12 · pe-marked objects → U13 · body parts → U14
Serves	R · W · S	R · W · S
Runs on	The plural's stem rewrites (taught 2026-08-10) and the definite article's forms (taught 2026-08-15). Both are load-bearing here.

1 The whole system — six endings

A group I verb is one whose infinitive ends in -a: a întreba (to ask), a vizita (to visit). Drop that final -a and what is left is the stem.

	Person	Plain	With -ez-
întreb. vizitez. I ask. I visit.	eu I	— nothing	-ez
întrebi. vizitezi. you ask. you visit.	tu you	-i	-ezi
întreabă. vizitează. he asks. he visits.	el / ea he / she	-ă	-ează
întrebăm. vizităm. we ask. we visit.	noi we	-ăm	-ăm
întrebați. vizitați. you ask. you visit.	voi you, several	-ați	-ați
întreabă. vizitează. they ask. they visit.	ei / ele they	-ă	-ează

Two things to read off that table before anything else. The last two rows of the plain column are the same as the third row — -ă serves both he/she and they. And noi and voi are identical in both columns: the -ez- never appears there.

-ează is not a seventh ending. It is -ez- followed by the ordinary -ă, opened by a rule you already run on nouns and adjectives: e becomes ea before a or ă.

vizit + ez + ă → vizitează

vizitează

he visits

The same two verbs, written out whole

	Person	a asculta to listen		a vizita to visit
ascult I listen	eu	ascult	vizitez I visit	vizitez
asculți you listen	tu	asculți	vizitezi you visit	vizitezi
ascultă he listens	el / ea	ascultă	vizitează he visits	vizitează
ascultăm we listen	noi	ascultăm	vizităm we visit	vizităm
ascultați you listen	voi	ascultați	vizitați you visit	vizitați
ascultă they listen	ei / ele	ascultă	vizitează they visit	vizitează

The stem rewrites — all three are already yours

Nothing here is new. These are the same operations that build a plural and agree an adjective.

Environment	What moves	On a verb	You already run it on
before -i	t → ț, d → z, s → ș	ascult → asculți	student → studenți
before -ă	e → ea, o → oa	plec → pleacă	frumos → frumoasă
stem ends in a consonant + r	eu adds -u	intr → intru	— nothing yet; one verb today does it

The third line is a bet on the shape, not a law of the language: it is stated for the verbs in today's set, where a intra is the only member. A stem ending in two consonants does not generally take it — ascult ends in lt and adds nothing.

2 The load

Six endings, once — and one yes-or-no per verb.
Six endings that cover five distinct forms, because he/she and they share one. Then, per verb, a single stored bit: does -ez- go in front of them? That bit is to a verb what gender is to a noun — stored with the word rather than computed, though section 2b gives you a test that gets it right on every verb here — and you are already storing it: every verb in your ledger carries its eu form, and the eu form is the bit.

What that buys: 14 new verbs on this page cost 14 facts, not 84 forms. The stem rewrites are old. Three verbs shift their stem vowel, and section 5 shows that this is three rules — two of which you already run — over one stored fact, not a list to memorise.

Stored does not mean unguessable. The next section gives the test — it is right on every verb here.

2b Which path — how to tell before you look it up

The bit is lexical, so the dictionary is the authority. It is not a coin flip either. One question separates the two columns of this page perfectly.

Is this the same word you already know in English or French, with a Romanian ending glued on?

	Answer	Path	The verbs on this page
vizitez. dansez. telefonez. semnez. desenez. I visit. I dance. I phone. I sign. I draw.	Yes	-ez	a vizita visit · a dansa dance · a telefona telephone · a semna sign · a desena dessiner
întreb. aștept. plec. intru. cumpăr. ascult. ajut. caut. uit. I ask. I wait. I leave. I enter. I buy. I listen. I help. I search. I forget.	No	bare	a întreba · a aștepta · a pleca · a intra · a cumpăra · a asculta · a ajuta · a căuta · a uita — words you learn as new Romanian

14 of 14 on this page. The test splits the two groups exactly, with nothing left over.

Two named breakers, and one is already in your ledger. a lucra (to work) → lucrez: short, everyday, looks nothing like an English word, and takes -ez anyway. That is the one you will get wrong. The other way round, a repara (to repair) → repar: looks completely international and stays bare.

Lucrez. Repar.

I work. I repair.

When the guess and the dictionary disagree, the dictionary wins. That is what the eu form on every verb row of your ledger is for — the guess gets you through a sentence, the stored form is what you check against. The wider version of this test, covering the -i class and its -esc-, is on the verb machine sheet.

3 The delta

The concept transfers whole. Ukrainian verbs already agree with the person, and Ukrainian already has two conjugation classes whose membership you simply know per verb (перша / друга дієвідміна). Romanian is asking for something you have done since childhood.

One thing does not transfer. Ukrainian keeps he and they apart in the verb — читає against читають. Romanian does not. And Romanian drops the pronoun as freely as Ukrainian does, so the sentence has to carry the subject some other way.

The trap: el întreabă and ei întreabă are the same word. One form, two meanings, and the ending will not save you. This is the single cell of the paradigm where dropping the pronoun costs you the sentence.

El întreabă. Ei întreabă.

He asks. They ask.

4 Worked examples — run it forwards

1 · drop the -a → the stem 2 · does it take -ez-? 3 · attach the person's ending 4 · run the stem rewrite

a asculta (to listen) · tu

asculta → ascult → no -ez- → ascult + i → asculți

you listen — step 4 fired: t before i.

Tu asculți muzica.

You listen to the music.

a vizita (to visit) · ei / ele

vizita → vizit → takes -ez- → vizit + ez + ă → vizitează

they visit — two steps at once, and both are old rules.

Ei vizitează un muzeu.

They visit a museum.

a vizita · noi

vizit → the -ez- is not in noi → vizit + ăm → vizităm

we visit — the same verb, and the stored bit does nothing here.

Noi vizităm orașul.

We visit the city.

a pleca (to leave, to depart) · el / ea

pleca → plec → no -ez- → plec + ă → pleacă

he leaves — the same opening that gives you frumoasă.

Ea pleacă acum.

She leaves now.

5 The stem vowel — three rules, not a list ?

Three verbs on this page move their stem vowel. That is not memorisation, and two of the three rules behind it are already yours. Read this section before you decide these verbs are irregular — they are not.

Rule 1 · The opening before -ă — with a third row

Section 1 gave you e → ea and o → oa. There is a third member of the same rule, in the same environment, under the same condition: it fires only when the vowel is stressed.

	Opening	On a verb	Where you already have it
plec. pleacă. I leave. He leaves.	e → ea	plec → pleacă	taught 2026-08-10
frumos. frumoasă. handsome. beautiful.	o → oa	frumos → frumoasă	taught 2026-08-12
învăț. învață. I learn. He learns.	ă → a	învăț → învață	new — the third row

This is why cumpăr gives cumpără and not cumpara. The ă in cumpăr is not the stressed vowel — the stress sits on CUM. The rule is correctly not firing, which is the opposite of an exception.

Rule 2 · Before the tu ending, ă becomes e

One genuinely new rule, and it is short. A stem ă in front of the -i of tu comes out as e.

învăț → înveți · cumpăr → cumperi

înveți. cumperi.

you learn. you buy.

Rule 3 · ă is what a vowel becomes when it loses the stress

In noi and voi the stress moves off the stem and onto the ending. The stem vowel falls back to ă.

caut → căutăm, căutați

Russian does exactly this to an unstressed о — «молоко» [məlɐˈko]. It is the same reduction, and it is the anchor you were given for the sound itself in your first week. The other two verbs need no change here: their vowel was already ă.

caut. căutăm.

I look for. We look for.

The eighteen cells, generated

	Person	a învăța to learn	a cumpăra to buy	a căuta to look for
învăț. cumpăr. caut. I learn. I buy. I look for.	eu	învăț	cumpăr	caut
înveți. cumperi. cauți. you learn. you buy. you look for.	tu rule 2	înveți	cumperi	cauți
învață. cumpără. caută. he learns. he buys. he looks for.	el / ea rule 1	învață	cumpără	caută
învățăm. cumpărăm. căutăm. we learn. we buy. we look for.	noi rule 3	învățăm	cumpărăm	căutăm
învățați. cumpărați. căutați. you learn. you buy. you look for.	voi rule 3	învățați	cumpărați	căutați
învață. cumpără. caută. they learn. they buy. they look for.	ei / ele rule 1	învață	cumpără	caută

What is left to store is one fact per verb: which syllable of the stem carries the stress — and the eu form shows it to you. în-VĂȚ · CUM-păr · CAUT. The same stored fact as the -ez bit, read off the same place in your ledger.

6 Named, not taught

a mânca (to eat) and a da (to give) are group I and do not take these endings cleanly — they rebuild their stem. Deferred.
a se uita means to watch — the same verb as a uita (to forget) with a little word in front that changes it completely. Reflexives arrive in U06.
The other three groups — -ea (a vedea, to see), -e (a merge, to go), -i (a vorbi, to speak — already yours) — U06.
Everything above is the present only. The past is U09.

7 Your turn — the verbs

Four verbs that appear nowhere else on this page. Run the four steps.

a cânta — to sing · el / ea

cântă — he/she sings. No -ez-, and nothing to open: â is not e or o, so step 4 does nothing.

a înota — to swim · tu

înoți — you swim. Step 4 fired on the stem's final t, the same move as studenți.

a fuma — to smoke, and it is an -ez- verb · ei / ele

fumează — they smoke. The bit was given to you, so this is only steps 3 and 4.

a nota — to note down, an -ez- verb · noi

notăm — we note down. The stored bit is real and it still does nothing, because noi never takes the infix.

8 Carry away — the verb

Group I has one set of six endings — — · -i · -ă · -ăm · -ați · -ă — and one stored bit per verb: whether -ez- stands in front of them, which it never does in noi and voi. The stem then rewrites exactly as it does in a plural.

9 When the article is obligatory ?

Part 1 taught the article's forms. This is the other half: when Romanian makes you use one. Run these three questions in order, on any noun about to go into a sentence. The first one that answers, wins.

1 · Straight after a preposition, with nothing added → no article

	Romanian	English	The preposition
în oraș in town	în oraș	in town	în in
pe stradă on the street	pe stradă	on the street	pe on
din centru from the centre	din centru	from the centre	din from
fără bani without money	fără bani	without money (bani = money)	fără without

Two things put the article back.

Something is added to the noun. la magazin (to the shop) but la magazinul meu (to my shop) — and the possessive you learned yesterday needs that article to stand on.
cu meaning by or with a thing. cu mașina — by car. With a person it stays bare: cu un prieten, with a friend.

la magazin. la magazinul meu. cu mașina.

to the shop. to my shop. by car.

2 · A whole class, a title, or a time → article, where Ukrainian has nothing

	Case	Romanian	English	Ukrainian marks
Timpul trece. Time passes.	a whole class or an abstraction	Timpul trece.	Time passes.	nothing — Час минає
domnul Popescu Mr Popescu	a title in front of a name	domnul Popescu	Mr Popescu (domn = gentleman)	nothing — пан Попеску
dimineața. seara. lunea. in the morning. in the evening. on Mondays.	a noun used to say when	dimineața · seara · lunea	in the morning · in the evening · on Mondays	an adverb, not a noun — вранці

3 · Otherwise it behaves like English

	Romanian	English	Why
Aștept autobuzul. I am waiting for the bus.	Aștept autobuzul.	I am waiting for the bus. (autobuz = bus)	that one, identified
Caut un hotel. I am looking for a hotel.	Caut un hotel.	I am looking for a hotel.	any one, new

10 The load — the article

Two environments to memorise. Not a feel.
Step 1 says take it off, step 2 says put it on, and step 3 is the English instinct you already have, which is right here. Nothing new is stored per word — this rule runs on the gender and plural you already carry.

Step 1 is the one with volume behind it: every în, la, pe, din, cu, fără in every sentence you write, and there are several per sentence.

11 The delta — the article

Ukrainian has no articles at all, so steps 1 and 2 are both invisible from Ukrainian — but invisible in opposite directions, which is exactly why they cannot share one habit. In step 1 the two languages agree by accident: в місті and în oraș are both bare. In step 2 they do not: Час минає has nothing where Timpul trece has -ul.

The mechanism underneath: where Ukrainian uses a case ending, Romanian uses preposition plus article. автобусом is one word in the instrumental; Romanian has no instrumental, so cu autobuzul spends three pieces on the same job.

German, for this one cell only. German builds it the same way and you can copy the shape whole: mit dem Bus is cu autobuzul, piece for piece — preposition, article, noun.

Merg cu autobuzul.

I go by bus.

The trap: you have just spent a session learning to attach the article. After a preposition you take it off again. Merg la gară — never la gara. The reflex you built last session is the wrong one here, and it is strongest exactly where step 1 has the most work to do.

12 Worked examples — the article

	Romanian	English	Which step, and why
Merg la magazin. I go to the shop.	Merg la magazin.	I go to the shop.	1 — straight after la, nothing added
Merg la magazinul meu. I go to my shop.	Merg la magazinul meu.	I go to my shop.	1, exception — something was added
Ascult muzica. I listen to music.	Ascult muzica.	I listen to music. (muzică = music)	2 — a whole class; English drops it, Romanian does not
Seara, învăț română. In the evening, I study Romanian.	Seara, învăț română.	In the evening, I study Romanian.	2 — the time word carries it

13 Named, not taught — the article

The article changes shape again inside the genitive-dative — cartea (the book) becomes cărții (of the book). U12.
A definite object that is a person takes pe in front of it. U13.
Body parts use a pronoun where English uses my — mă doare capul, my head hurts. U14.
Names of countries and cities take no article of their own: în România, la Cluj.

14 Your turn — the article

Three nouns that appear in no worked example above. Decide the step first, then write the form.

gară (railway station) after la — I am waiting at the station.

Aștept la gară. Step 1 — straight after the preposition, nothing added, so the article comes off.

cafea (coffee) as the subject of Coffee is good.

Cafeaua este bună. Step 2 — a whole class. Ukrainian and English both leave it bare here; Romanian does not.

tren (train) after cu — I go by train.

Merg cu trenul. Step 1's exception — cu meaning by keeps the article, and this is the cell German hands you whole.

15 Carry away — the article

After a preposition, strip the article — unless something was added to the noun, or the preposition is cu meaning by. Everywhere else, Romanian marks the whole class, the title and the time word that Ukrainian leaves bare. The rest behaves like English the and a.

16 The 14 verbs

Browse first. Then hide one side and work down the column. The eu form is the stored bit — it conceals with the answer, because it is the half you have to produce.

	Romanian	English	eu	Anchor
a întreba to ask a întreba. eu întreb. to ask. I ask.	a întreba•••	to ask•••	întreb•••	Latin interrogare — the root of English interrogate. No Ukrainian form.•••
a aștepta to wait for a aștepta. eu aștept. to wait. I wait.	a aștepta•••	to wait for•••	aștept•••	Takes the thing directly, no little word: aștept autobuzul. English says wait for, Ukrainian чекати на — Romanian says neither.•••
a pleca to leave, to depart a pleca. eu plec. to depart. I depart.	a pleca•••	to leave, to depart•••	plec•••	No hook anywhere. Stored cold. The stem opens before -ă: pleacă.•••
a intra to enter, to go in a intra. eu intru. to enter. I enter.	a intra•••	to enter, to go in•••	intru•••	English enter, the same Latin root. The one verb here whose eu form adds -u.•••
a cumpăra to buy a cumpăra. eu cumpăr. to buy. I buy.	a cumpăra•••	to buy•••	cumpăr•••	No hook. Stem vowel moves in one cell — section 5 prints the table.•••
a asculta to listen to a asculta. eu ascult. to listen to. I listen to.	a asculta•••	to listen to•••	ascult•••	Latin auscultare, English auscultate. Takes the thing directly: ascult muzica.•••
a ajuta to help a ajuta. eu ajut. to help. I help.	a ajuta•••	to help•••	ajut•••	Latin adiutare — English adjutant is the same word.•••
a căuta to look for, to search a căuta. eu caut. to search. I search.	a căuta•••	to look for, to search•••	caut•••	No hook. Takes the thing directly, with no for. Stem vowel moves — section 5 prints the table.•••
a uita to forget a uita. eu uit. to forget. I forget.	a uita•••	to forget•••	uit•••	With a little word in front it becomes a se uita, to watch — a different verb wearing the same body. U06.•••
a vizita to visit a vizita. eu vizitez. to visit. I visit.	a vizita•••	to visit•••	vizitez•••	English visit; Ukrainian has the noun візит but not this verb. Takes -ez-.•••
a dansa to dance a dansa. eu dansez. to dance. I dance.	a dansa•••	to dance•••	dansez•••	English dance, French danser. Ukrainian танцювати is a different root. Takes -ez-.•••
a telefona to phone a telefona. eu telefonez. to phone. I phone.	a telefona•••	to phone•••	telefonez•••	Ukrainian телефонувати — the same word, the same job. Takes -ez-.•••
a semna to sign a semna. eu semnez. to sign. I sign.	a semna•••	to sign•••	semnez•••	Latin signum, English sign. The Writing section asks you to sign forms. Takes -ez-.•••
a desena to draw a desena. eu desenez. to draw. I draw.	a desena•••	to draw•••	desenez•••	French dessiner, English design. Takes -ez-.•••

Sources. Every verb form asserted on this page was checked against dexonline on 2026-08-17. The eu form of all 14 words in section 16 and of the four attempt verbs in section 7 came from node scripts/dex.mjs; the four full present tables — a întreba, a vizita, a cumpăra, a căuta — and a învăța were read off dexonline's paradigm pages, all six cells each.

Sections 9 to 15 carry a ? and here is what it means. When Romanian requires the article is a usage rule, not a word fact, and dexonline attests no such thing. These three steps are stated from standard descriptive grammar and are unverified in this workspace's sense — no dictionary and no human confirmed them. The individual forms inside the examples (timpul, autobuzul, cafeaua) are ordinary definite forms built by the rule taught 2026-08-15 and are safe; what is unattested is the claim about when you must use them. The marker comes off when a tutor confirms it.

Section 5 carries the same marker, for the same reason. All eighteen forms in its table are attested — a învăța, a cumpăra and a căuta were read off dexonline's paradigm pages, cell by cell. What is stated and not attested is the account underneath them: that ă → a is the third row of the same opening rule as e → ea and o → oa, and that the noi/voi vowel is stress reduction. The forms are safe to learn; the unification is this workspace's reading of them.