The impersonal es: es fabrica, s'elabora
How things are made is said without a doer: es plus the verb in the third person. En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen bicicletes — bicycles are made at this factory. For example: “En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen bicicletes” — Bicycles are made at this factory. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
How things are made is said without a doer: es plus the verb in the third person. En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen bicicletes — bicycles are made at this factory.
Who exactly does the work does not matter: the process matters.
Before a vowel "es" shrinks to s': s'elabora — it is made. Before a consonant it stays whole: es munta — it is assembled.
If the things are many, the verb goes plural: es fabriquen, es munten — Aquí es munten les bicicletes. In questions and negations all is the same: S'hi accepten encàrrecs? — are orders taken here?
Table
| scheme | example | translation |
|---|---|---|
| es + sing. | es fabrica | is made |
| s' + vowel | s'elabora | is elaborated |
| es + plur. | es fabriquen | are made |
By example
- En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen bicicletesBicycles are made at this factory
- El formatge s'elabora amb llet de cabraThe cheese is made of goat milk
- Aquí es munten les bicicletes i es proven amb pes realBicycles are assembled here and tested with real weight
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The impersonal es: how does it work in Catalan?
How things are made is said without a doer: es plus the verb in the third person. En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen bicicletes — bicycles are made at this factory.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“En aquesta fàbrica es fabriquen bicicletes” — Bicycles are made at this factory. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.