The present tense, complete — groups II, III, IV — and the reflexive verbs

U06, prima parte. The three conjugation groups you did not have, and the verbs that carry a pronoun.

Unit 6 of 30 — Rutina zilnică, the daily routine. Group I (the -a verbs) closed on 2026-08-17. This page closes the other three groups and adds the reflexive verbs — the ones that carry a pronoun in front of them, mă trezesc (I wake up). After this you can conjugate any Romanian verb in the present from its dictionary form, and describe a whole day. You still cannot say when anything happens: the clock, the days and the months are the second half of this unit and are not here.

Topic	The present tense — 4 conjugation groups
This page	Groups II, III, IV — complete, all 4 of 4 groups now covered · reflexive pronouns complete, all 6 forms
Deferred	the clock, days, months → U06 part 2 · the `-î` sub-type → named in §8, taught later · imperative → U07 · să + verb → U08 · past tense → U09
Serves	R · W · L · S

1 Where the group is written: on the infinitive

Romanian sorts every verb into four groups. You do not memorise which group a verb is in — the last letters of the infinitive are the group. That is the whole rule, and it is why the dictionary form is worth storing.

Infinitive ends in	Group	Infinitive	el / ea	English
`-a`	I	a lucra	lucrează	to work	already yours
`-ea`	II	a vedea	vede	to see	new
`-e`	III	a merge	merge	to go	new
`-i`	IV	a dormi	doarme	to sleep	new
`-î`	IV	a coborî	coboară	to go down	§8 — named, not taught

II and III are told apart by the stress, not by the letters. Both end in an e-sound. In group II the stress lands on the ending — a ve·dEA. In group III it stays on the stem — a mER·ge. This matters far less than it looks: groups II and III conjugate identically in the present. You only need the difference for tenses you have not met.

2 The whole system — every present-tense ending in the language

Six persons, four groups, and one extra column because group IV has the same infix split that group I has with -ez-. Read down a column: that is one verb. Read across a row: that is one person.

	I -a	II -ea	III -e	IV bare -i	IV `-esc-`
eu	—	—	—	—	-esc
tu	-i	-i	-i	-i	-ești
el / ea	-ă	-e	-e	-e	-ește
noi	-ăm	-em	-em	-im	-im
voi	-ați	-eți	-eți	-iți	-iți
ei / ele	-ă	—	—	—	-esc

A dash means no ending at all — the bare stem is the word.

Three things the table shows and the paradigms below will not: (1) the II and III columns are identical — one ending set, two groups. (2) IV bare differs from them in two cells only: noi and voi take an i where II–III take an e. (3) the -esc- column drops the infix at noi and voi — exactly where group I drops -ez-. Same rule, second class.

Group II — a vedea, to see

	Romanian	English	What happened
eu văd I see	eu văd	I see	no ending
tu vezi you see	tu vezi	you see	the `-i` turns d into z — the same swap as oglindă → oglinzi
el vede he sees	el vede	he sees	—
noi vedem we see	noi vedem	we see	—
voi vedeți you see	voi vedeți	you see	—
ei văd they see	ei văd	they see	the same word as eu

Group III — a merge, to go

	Romanian	English	What happened
eu merg I go	eu merg	I go	no ending
tu mergi you go	tu mergi	you go	—
el merge he goes	el merge	he goes	—
noi mergem we go	noi mergem	we go	—
voi mergeți you go	voi mergeți	you go	—
ei merg they go	ei merg	they go	the same word as eu

Compare the two tables above line by line: after the stem, they are the same six endings. That is the payoff of §2's point (1).

Group IV, bare — a dormi, to sleep

	Romanian	English	What happened
eu dorm I sleep	eu dorm	I sleep	no ending
tu dormi you sleep	tu dormi	you sleep	—
el doarme he sleeps	el doarme	he sleeps	o → oa under the stress — the same opening as frumos → frumoasă
noi dormim we sleep	noi dormim	we sleep	the `i` that separates IV from II–III
voi dormiți you sleep	voi dormiți	you sleep	same
ei dorm they sleep	ei dorm	they sleep	the same word as eu

Group IV with the infix — a citi, to read

	Romanian	English	What happened
eu citesc I read	eu citesc	I read	the infix carries the ending
tu citești you read	tu citești	you read	—
el citește he reads	el citește	he reads	—
noi citim we read	noi citim	we read	infix gone — plain group IV again
voi citiți you read	voi citiți	you read	infix gone
ei citesc they read	ei citesc	they read	the same word as eu

Three verbs you already carry are exactly this shape, and now you can finish them: a vorbi (to speak) → vorbesc, vorbești, vorbește, vorbim, vorbiți, vorbesc; a iubi (to love) → iubesc … iubim; a locui (to live somewhere) → locuiesc … locuim. And one you carry is a group III verb: a înțelege (to understand) → înțeleg, înțelegi, înțelege, înțelegem, înțelegeți, înțeleg.

3 The load

Six new endings, and one bit per verb.
The six: -e (he/she) · -em -eți (we/you, groups II–III) · -im -iți (we/you, group IV) · the infix -esc-.

What you do not store:

The group. The infinitive is the group. -a → I, -ea → II, -e → III, -i → IV. Nothing to remember per verb.
The tu ending. -i in every group. It is the same -i you already use.
The eu and ei forms in II, III and IV. No ending, and the same word twice — so two of the six cells cost nothing.
The stem changes. o → oa, ă → a, ă → e before -i, d → z, t → ț — every one of these is a rule you already run on nouns and adjectives. They are not verb rules; they are Romanian rules that verbs also obey.

The one bit you do store, once per group IV verb: bare or -esc-. dorm against citesc. It is the same single bit group I asks about -ez-, and the eu form is where it is stored — which is why every verb in your ledger carries its eu form and not its paradigm.

Unlike group I, there is no reliable test for the infix here. The international-word test that split group I 14 out of 14 does not carry over: a dormi and a citi are both plain inherited Latin words and they land on opposite sides. Store the eu form. This is a scoped claim about the verbs on this page, not a proof that no test exists.

4 The delta

Ukrainian already does the hard part. Ukrainian conjugates by person, and it already keeps the class in the infinitive: читати behaves one way, говорити another, and you read that off the vowel before -ти. Romanian does the same thing with four shelves instead of two. The concept transfers whole; only the count is new.

The trap — the collapsed pair moves. In group I you learned that he and they are the same word: el întreabă / ei întreabă (he asks / they ask). In groups II, III and IV the collapse jumps to the other end of the paradigm: eu and ei are the same word, and el is the one that differs.

Group	eu	el	ei	Which two match
I	întreb	întreabă	întreabă	el = ei
II	văd	vede	văd	eu = ei
III	merg	merge	merg	eu = ei
IV	dorm	doarme	dorm	eu = ei

Ukrainian collapses nothing — читаю / читає / читають are three different words — so there is no habit to lean on. Group I is the exception in Romanian, and it is the one you met first.

5 Reflexive verbs — the whole system

A reflexive verb carries a small pronoun in front of it. It is written as a separate word, it comes before the verb, and it changes with the person.

	Subject	Pronoun	Example	English
eu mă trezesc I wake up	eu	mă	mă trezesc	I wake up
tu te trezești you wake up	tu	te	te trezești	you wake up
el se trezește he wakes up	el / ea	se	se trezește	he wakes up
noi ne trezim we wake up	noi	ne	ne trezim	we wake up
voi vă treziți you wake up	voi	vă	vă treziți	you wake up
ei se trezesc they wake up	ei / ele	se	se trezesc	they wake up

Six pronouns, and only five different words — se serves both el/ea and ei/ele. The verb itself is untouched: strip the pronoun and trezesc … trezim is an ordinary group IV -esc- verb. You are not learning a new conjugation, you are learning where to put one extra word.

Negation goes outside. nu comes first, then the pronoun, then the verb:

Nu mă trezesc devreme.

I do not wake up early.

se is -ся, moved to the front. Прокидаюся and mă trezesc are the same idea. Two differences, and both are on the pronoun, never on the verb: (1) Ukrainian glues it to the end, Romanian puts it in front as its own word. (2) Ukrainian's -ся never changes; Romanian's does, six times over.

Which verbs are reflexive is stored, not derived. Sometimes the two languages agree — a se uita / дивитися (to watch), both reflexive. Sometimes they do not: a se odihni (to rest) is reflexive in Romanian and відпочивати is not. Learn the pronoun with the verb, the way you learn gender with a noun.

And the pronoun can change the meaning outright. a uita is to forget; a se uita is to watch. Same body, two verbs.

6 Worked examples — run it forwards

You are given the dictionary form and a person. Nothing else. Four steps, in this order:

① the infinitive's last letters give the group · ② the group gives the ending · ③ apply the stem rules you already know · ④ if it is reflexive, put the pronoun in front

① a dormi, el

Group: ends in -i → IV. Infix? the stored eu form is dorm, so bare. Ending: -e → dorm + e. Stem: the stress now sits on the o, and a stressed o opens to oa → doarme. He sleeps.

El doarme până la ora opt.

He sleeps until eight o'clock.

② a se spăla, tu

Group: ends in -a → I, the group you already have. Ending: -i. Stem: ă becomes e in front of -i — the second of the three group I vowel rules — so spăl → spel + i. Reflexive: tu takes te → te speli. You wash.

Te speli dimineața.

You wash in the morning.

③ a citi, noi

Group: ends in -i → IV. Infix? the stored eu form is citesc, so -esc-. Ending: but this is noi — the infix drops, exactly as -ez- drops in noi lucrăm. So cit + im → citim. We read.

Citim o carte seara.

We read a book in the evening.

7 A whole day, out loud

Every verb below is on this page. Play them; this is what the unit is for.

Mă trezesc devreme și mă spăl.

I wake up early and I wash.

Mă îmbrac și mănânc.

I get dressed and I eat.

De obicei beau o cafea și citesc puțin.

I usually drink a coffee and read a little.

Merg la universitate. Nu pot să dorm în tren.

I go to the university. I cannot sleep on the train.

Seara mă odihnesc, văd un film și scriu un mesaj.

In the evening I rest, I watch a film and I write a message.

Nu mă grăbesc. Mă culc târziu.

I am not in a hurry. I go to bed late.

să dorm in the fourth line is a form you have not met — see §8.

8 Named here, taught later

The -î sub-type of group IV. a coborî (to go down) conjugates cobor, cobori, coboară … — the el form takes -ă, not -e. A small closed set. Not on this page.
The clock, the days, the months. U06 part 2. Until then you can say what you do, not when.
să + verb. a putea almost always takes it — pot să dorm (I can sleep). Treat pot să as one chunk for now; the system is U08.
The imperative (U07) and the past tense (U09). You have the present, and only the present.
A trap coming in part 2: ceas is not час. It is a clock or a watch. Time is timp, and an hour is oră.

9 The 19 words

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 dormi to sleep a dormi. eu dorm. to sleep. I sleep.	a dormi•••	to sleep•••	dorm•••	Latin dormire — English dormitory, and you already hold dormitor, the bedroom.•••
a citi to read a citi. eu citesc. to read. I read.	a citi•••	to read•••	citesc•••	A real Slavic cognate: читати. Say it out loud — it will not surface on its own.•••
a merge to go a merge. eu merg. to go. I go.	a merge•••	to go, to walk•••	merg•••	No hook. Latin mergere gave English submerge, which is the wrong meaning and will mislead you. Store it bare.•••
a face to do, to make a face. eu fac. to do. I do.	a face•••	to do, to make•••	fac•••	Latin facere — English factory, manufacture, fact.•••
a scrie to write a scrie. eu scriu. to write. I write.	a scrie•••	to write•••	scriu•••	Latin scribere — English describe, script. The eu form adds -u because the stem ends in a consonant cluster, the same reason a intra gives intru.•••
a vedea to see a vedea. eu văd. to see. I see.	a vedea•••	to see•••	văd•••	Latin videre — English video, evident.•••
a putea to be able to a putea. eu pot. to be able. I can.	a putea•••	can, to be able to•••	pot•••	Latin posse — English possible, potent. pot is not pod (a bridge), and neither is під.•••
a bea to drink a bea. eu beau. to drink. I drink.	a bea•••	to drink•••	beau•••	Latin bibere — English beverage, imbibe. The only irregular verb here: el bea, not bee.•••
a mânca to eat a mânca. eu mănânc. to eat. I eat.	a mânca•••	to eat•••	mănânc•••	Latin manducare, the same root as French manger. Group I, but the stem is irregular — store mănânc against noi mâncăm as one pair.•••
a se trezi to wake up a se trezi. eu mă trezesc. to wake up. I wake up.	a se trezi•••	to wake up•••	mă trezesc•••	Reflexive in both languages — прокидатися carries its own -ся.•••
a se spăla to wash oneself a se spăla. eu mă spăl. to wash oneself. I wash.	a se spăla•••	to wash (oneself)•••	mă spăl•••	No hook — nothing in Ukrainian, Russian or English resembles it. Reflexive in both languages, like митися.•••
a se îmbrăca to get dressed a se îmbrăca. eu mă îmbrac. to get dressed. I get dressed.	a se îmbrăca•••	to get dressed•••	mă îmbrac•••	Latin bracae, trousers — the root behind English breeches. Reflexive in both languages, like одягатися.•••
a se culca to go to bed a se culca. eu mă culc. to go to bed. I go to bed.	a se culca•••	to go to bed, to lie down•••	mă culc•••	Latin collocare — the same root as French se coucher and English couch.•••
a se odihni to rest a se odihni. eu mă odihnesc. to rest. I rest.	a se odihni•••	to rest•••	mă odihnesc•••	Russian is the anchor here, not Ukrainian: отдыхать shares the root, and Ukrainian's відпочивати does not. Reflexive in Romanian and in neither Slavic verb.•••
a se grăbi to hurry a se grăbi. eu mă grăbesc. to hurry. I hurry.	a se grăbi•••	to hurry, to be in a rush•••	mă grăbesc•••	No hook — declared rather than invented. Store it with the pronoun attached.•••
a se uita to watch a se uita. eu mă uit. to watch. I watch.	a se uita•••	to watch, to look at•••	mă uit•••	You already hold a uita, to forget. The pronoun is the whole difference. Reflexive in both languages, like дивитися.•••
devreme early devreme. Mă trezesc devreme. early. I wake up early.	devreme•••	early•••	adverb — no verb form•••	Built on vreme, a Slavic loan — Russian время is the closer match; Ukrainian says час. Literally in good time.•••
târziu late târziu. Mă culc târziu. late. I go to bed late.	târziu•••	late•••	adverb — no verb form•••	Latin tardivus — English tardy, retard. Also an adjective, which is how the dictionary lists it.•••
de obicei usually de obicei. De obicei mă trezesc devreme. usually. I usually wake up early.	de obicei•••	usually•••	fixed phrase•••	No hook. obicei is a custom or habit, a neuter noun; the phrase is frozen and goes at the front of the sentence.•••

10 Your turn

Six verbs that are not on this page. You are given the dictionary form, the stored eu form and a person — run the four steps.

1 · a fugi (to run), stored form eu fug. Give the noi form.

fugim — we run. Ends in -i → group IV; the stored form is bare, so no infix; noi takes -im. No stem change.

2 · a primi (to receive), stored form eu primesc. Give the voi form.

primiți — you receive. Group IV with the infix, but voi is one of the two cells where the infix drops. If you wrote primesciți, that is the rule you missed.

3 · a tăcea (to be silent), stored form eu tac. Give the el form.

tace — he is silent. Ends in -ea → group II; el takes -e. The stem keeps its a because the stress is still on it.

4 · a cădea (to fall), stored form eu cad. Give the noi form — and watch the first vowel.

cădem — we fall. Group II → -em. The ending pulls the stress off the stem, and a vowel that loses the stress becomes ă. That is the third of the group I vowel rules, working here in group II.

5 · a bate (to knock, to beat), stored form eu bat. Give the tu form.

bați — you knock. Group III → -i, and the -i turns t into ț. Exactly the alternation you already run on student → studenți.

6 · a se plimba (to take a walk), stored form eu plimb. Give the noi form — both words.

ne plimbăm — we take a walk. Ends in -a → group I, so the ending is -ăm, and the pronoun for noi is ne. Note what this verb does at the third person: being group I, it puts he and they together, not I and they.

11 Carry away

The infinitive names the group, the group names the ending, and only the eu form has to be stored.
Groups II and III take -em · -eți; group IV takes -im · -iți; in all three, eu and ei are the same word.
A reflexive verb conjugates like any other — you put mă · te · se · ne · vă · se in front of it.

Verification trail. Every conjugation class and every eu form on this page was read off dexonline on 2026-08-19 (scripts/dex.mjs). The full present-tense paradigms of a dormi, a citi, a merge, a face, a scrie, a vedea, a putea, a bea, a mânca, a trezi, a spăla, a îmbrăca, a culca, a odihni, a grăbi and of the six attempt verbs a fugi, a primi, a tăcea, a bate, a plimba were read the same day off the dexonline paradigmă pages (DOOM 3 / DOOM 2 entries).

The etymologies and transfer anchors in §9 are not dictionary data and are asserted: they are teaching hooks, not attested facts, and any of them may be overturned. The claim in §3 that no international-word test predicts the group IV infix is scoped to the verbs on this page — it is a statement about this set, not about the language.