LingoflyCatalan grammar
Catalan grammar explained in plain words. No cases, and gender is visible in the ending. What is harder: the weak pronouns en and hi, and a past tense built with an auxiliary: vaig anar — “I went”.
Notes
- 📐ser and estar — two verbs "to be"English has one to be. Catalan has two, and you pick by what you mean.
- 📐Articles: el, la — and the apostropheEvery noun has a gender, and the article travels with it. Learn the word together with its article: not "casa" but la…
- 📐The present tense: -ar, -re, -irAll regular verbs fall into three groups by the ending of the infinitive. Drop that ending and add your own — by person.
- 📐Question wordsCatalan has no upside-down ¿. The question word opens the sentence on its own: què — what, com — how, on — where.
- 📐agradar — "to please", not "to like"M'agrada la ciutat says, word for word, "the city pleases me". The main word is la ciutat, not "I", and the verb…
- 📐Negation: simply noThe no goes before the verb. Nothing else changes: No és lluny — it is not far.
- 📐The comparative: més… queComparison is built simply: més + quality + que — "more… than".
- 📐The plural and possessivesThe plural is made with the ending -s: la casa → les cases. After a consonant an -s is added too, but the article…
- 📐"It hurts": em fa malPain is built inside out: the subject is the body part, and the person gets a "to me". Em fa mal el cap is, word for…
- 📐Weather impersonally: fa, plou, hi haCatalan "makes" the weather: fa fred, fa calor, fa sol, fa vent, fa bo. The impersonal form changes for nobody.
- 📐The imperativeFor one person the command copies the third person of the present: parla! — speak!, menja! — eat! To several people…
- 📐Tomorrow: the future on -é, -às, -àThe future grows out of the verb itself: the ending goes onto the whole word. agafar → agafaré — I will take. Then -às…
- 📐Object pronouns: el, la, ho, enA direct object becomes a pronoun BEFORE the verb: el veig — I see him, la compro — I buy it. The forms mirror the…
- 📐Collectives: la roba, el calçat, la gentSome words that English keeps plural, Catalan keeps singular: la roba — clothes, el calçat — footwear, la gent — people.
- 📐Three frames for feelings: estar, tinc, em faA feeling can be said three ways. With estar plus an adjective: Avui estic trist — today I am sad.
- 📐Uncountables: l'oli, la farina, la melOil, flour, honey, sugar — no plural: at the shop they are not counted but measured. One formula: measure + de — un…
- 📐Must, can, is worth: cal, haver de, poder, val la penaCal + infinitive is the impersonal "one must": cal pagar abans de sortir — one must pay before leaving. Cal names no…
- 📐Demonstratives: aquest, aquell — and "ho" for what was saidTwo degrees in everyday use: aquest/aquesta — this, near: aquest telèfon, and aquell/aquella — that, further off…
- 📐Adverbs of manner: ràpidament, bé, malament, de pressaFrom an adjective the adverb is made with -ment: ràpid → ràpidament (quickly), lent → lentament (slowly), tranquil →…
- 📐Wishes and congratulations: que + subjuntiuA wish is built with que plus the subjuntiu — the form for what has not happened yet.
- 📐"One's own": possessives and propiThe possessive stands before the noun and takes an article: el meu germà (my brother), la meva germana (my sister).
- 📐Cause: perquè, ja queA cause joins the main clause with perquè — "because". Estudio perquè vull treballar — I study because I want to work.
- 📐Condition: si + present → futurA real condition works like this: si + present → future in the main clause. Si estalvies, compraràs — if you save, you…
- 📐Time: quan, tan bon puntTime joins with quan — "when". If the action is still ahead, the clause takes the subjuntiu — the form for what has not…
- 📐Approximation: gairebé, aproximadament, uns / unesThree ways to say "almost around". Gairebé — "almost": Gairebé tots els pisos tenen ascensor — almost all flats have a…
- 📐Impersonal turns: es + 3rd personWhen the doer does not matter, Catalan uses es + verb in the 3rd person. Aquí es parla català — Catalan is spoken here.
- 📐Purpose: per + infinitive, per tal dePurpose answers "what for?" It attaches to the verb as per + infinitive. Vaig allà per veure el mar — I go there to see…
- 📐Reported speech: diu que…Somebody else's words join with the conjunction que: Diu que demà plourà — he says it will rain tomorrow. The verb of…
- 📐Concession: encara que, malgratConcession means "although, despite": the fact is admitted, and the conclusion stays. Encara que plus a clause with the…
- 📐Opinion: crec que és — no crec que siguiOpinion drags the mood along with it. Asserting — indicatiu: Crec que és fàcil — I think it is easy. Denying or…
- 📐Relative clauses: el lloc on…, el dia que…A defining clause hooks onto the noun with a linking word. The general one is que: el llibre que llegeixo — the book I…
- 📐Comparing whole groups: tant… com, més… del que…You can compare not only qualities but whole groups: people, actions, whole thoughts.
- 📐Feeling + subjuntiu: Em fa ràbia que…, Tinc por que…When the main part carries a feeling — joy, fear, anger, shame — the verb after que shifts. It takes the subjuntiu, the…
- 📐Measures and portions: un tros de, una llesca de, mig quilo deFood is measured in pieces, slices and weight. A piece — un tros de: un tros de pa. A flat slice — una llesca de: una…
- 📐How and where from in clauses: com, d'onLinking words join not only things but also manner and origin.
- 📐When the doer is not named: es repara, es pot canviarWhen the doer does not matter, Catalan puts es before the verb in the third person. Aquí es reparen rentaplats…
- 📐The future in forecasts: Plourà demà, està a punt de ploureThe simple future adds a tail to the verb: -ré, -ràs, -rà, -rem, -reu, -ran. So parlaré, plourà, anirem. This is the…
- 📐The imperative in directions: Gireu, Agafi, Seguiu tot recteDirections in the street and in recipes come in the command form. The verb leads, and the direction follows: giri a…
- 📐Gradualness: aprenent, estudiant, Vaig aprenentThe form on -ant / -ent answers the question "how?" Verbs in "-ar" give -ant: estudiant — studying. The rest give -ent…
- 📐The past in a biography: he viscut vs vaig viureTwo pasts work side by side in a story about yourself.
- 📐Polite turns: potser, si us plau + condicional (Podria repetir-ho?)The condicional is the future with another ending: the same stems as the futur, plus -ia. So podria, voldria, agradaria.
- 📐Nouns of the deed: cuiner, treball, -dor/-doraA verb grows into a noun three ways.
- 📐Purpose and consequence: per tal de, així quePurpose after a verb of action takes per tal de plus the verb — "in order to". Estudia per tal d'aprovar l'examen — he…
- 📐As if: com si + anés, fosA comparison with what is not so is built as com si plus a special form. Es comporta com si tot anés bé — he behaves as…
- 📐When the doer is not the point: és considerat, ha estat traduïtCatalan can talk about a deed without naming the doer: ser plus a form like considerat. És considerat el millor pintor…
- 📐Duration: Porto dos anys correntPorto dos anys corrent — I have been running for two years now. Word for word, "I carry two years running": it started…
- 📐Comparing measures: el doble de, la meitat de, tres vegades mésHow many times more is counted with vegades. el doble de — twice as much. tres vegades més — three times more.
- 📐Cause in health: a causa de, gràcies a, per culpa deA neutral cause comes in through a causa de plus a noun — "because of". Va ingressar a l'hospital a causa d'una…
- 📐Wishes: que + subjuntiu — Que aprofiti!The Catalan wish is built like a small prayer: que plus the present de subjuntiu — "may". Que aprofiti! — enjoy your…
- 📐Reported words: Va dir que aniria, Demana que vinguemSomebody else's statement is passed on with dir que plus the tense you need. Va dir que aniria al metge — he said he…
- 📐Probability and conclusion: pot ser que, segur que, per tant, és a dirDoubt asks for a special form: pot ser que plus the subjuntiu — "maybe". Pot ser que plogui, porta el paraigües.
- 📐Degrees of comparison: més ample que, el més estretThe comparison is built with més plus the quality plus que — "more… than". Aquest passadís és més ample que el de casa…
- 📐Spatial links: des de… fins a, cap aA stretch of path is set by a pair: des de… fins a — "from… to". Des de la finestra fins al balcó hi ha dos passos…
- 📐Counting and approximation: una desena de, uns vint, almenysAbout ten is counted with a collective: una desena de — about ten, una dotzena de — about twelve.
- 📐To begin and to finish: posar-se a + inf, acabar de + infA start takes començar a or posar-se a plus the verb: Comença a ploure — it starts to rain.
- 📐saber + infinitive / conèixer; Se'n sap res?Two "knows" split the work. Saber is to know a fact or to know how. Sé nedar des dels cinc anys — I have been able to…
- 📐Duration: fa… que, durant, des de… finsHow long something has been going on is counted by fa plus the term plus que. The verb stays in the present: Fa dos…
- 📐Consequence: per això, de manera queA consequence is introduced by per això — "therefore". Han plantat arbres i per això ara hi fa ombra — they planted…
- 📐The impersonal es: es fabrica, s'elaboraHow things are made is said without a doer: es plus the verb in the third person. En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen…
- 📐Another's story: explica que…, segons…, suposadamentAnother's words are introduced by explicar que plus the ordinary tense. L'Anna explica que el tren va arribar tard…
- 📐Judging an act: estar bé/malament + infinitiveAn act is judged without naming anyone. estar bé plus the verb is "it is good to do it"; estar malament is "it is bad".
- 📐Ordinals beyond third and fractions: quart, la meitat, tres quartsOrdinals up to third are plain: primer, segon, tercer. Then comes quart, and from the fifth the stress moves to the…
- 📐The present for habits: Pago amb targeta, Compren pa cada diaA habit is said in the present tense, with no special forms. Pago amb targeta — I pay by card, always.
- 📐Coming and going: anar a + infinitive, acabar de + infinitiveMovement toward a deed is anar a plus the verb. Ara vaig a comprar pa — I am off to buy bread.
- 📐Time through prepositions: a les, el dilluns, al generClock time is introduced by a les: a les vuit — at eight. One o'clock is singular: a la una.
- 📐Reflexive verbs: em desperto, et rentesThe morning ritual goes in reflexive verbs: the pronoun comes before the verb. em desperto — I wake up, et rentes — you…
- 📐Verbs of perception: veure, sentir, veure en somnisTo see is an irregular verb: veure takes an inserted "g" — veig, veus, veu, veiem, veieu, veuen.
- 📐Questions of measure: quant val? quanta feina?The question "how much" agrees like an adjective: quant for masculine, quanta for feminine, quants / quantes for plural.
- 📐Prepositions of place: dins de, damunt, sota, davant, darrereWhere things stand is said with five prepositions. Dins de — inside, damunt (de) — on, sota (de) — under. Davant (de)…
- 📐Verbs of emotion + infinitive: m'encanta plorarA feeling attaches the verb directly, with no preposition. m'encanta plorar — I love to cry. odio matinejar — I hate…
- 📐Weather in forecasts: the impersonal and que + subjuntiuThe weather needs no doer at all: fa fred, plou, neva.
- 📐Indirect questions: sé on és, no sé què dirA question tucked inside a statement loses its question mark but keeps the question word and the straight order.
- 📐Verbs of motion and direction: conduir, arribar a, cap a, fins aMotion here has three masters. Conduir — to drive a car, conjugated with -eix: condueixo, condueixes, condueix.…
- 📐Clothes on oneself: posar-se, treure's, anar posatClothes are put on oneself: posar-se — Em poso l'abric, I put on the coat. Treure's — Treu-te la samarreta bruta, take…
- 📐Where things stand: al fons, a la dreta, damunt de la taulaThe kitchen is described exactly: who stands where. Al fons — at the back: La sucrera és al fons, al costat de la…
- 📐Phone turns: "Hi és, en Pau?" and "Passa-m'ho"To ask whether a person is in, estar helps. But the verb alone is not enough: it needs a place, and on the phone that…
- 📐Kin in pairs: sogre/sogra, gendre/nora — and "els meus"Kin walks in pairs by gender. El sogre — father-in-law, la sogra — mother-in-law. El gendre — son-in-law, la nora…
What works differently from what you know
In the Balearics people say “es bany” and “sa mar” where the mainland says “el bany” and “la mar”: the islands have kept the old “salt-water” article that mainland Catalan lost — and you can hear the difference from the first sentence.
Joan Solà et al., «Gramàtica del català contemporani», Empúries, 2002
What is hard about Catalan and what comes for free
Hard: the weak pronouns en and hi, and a past tense built with an auxiliary: vaig anar — “I went”.
Easy: no cases, and gender is visible in the ending.
This is not a verdict on the language but a hint on where to spend effort. The hard parts are best taken a little at a time and often; the easy parts — left alone while they work by themselves.
Frequently asked
Is the grammar of Catalan complicated?
The weak pronouns en and hi, and a past tense built with an auxiliary: vaig anar — “I went” is the main difficulty. In return, no cases, and gender is visible in the ending.
Should grammar be learned separately?
Not as a separate course. A rule learned before you need it is forgotten before you meet it. It is more useful to work it out at the moment you stumble over it.