LingoflyComing and going: anar a + infinitive, acabar de + infinitive
Movement toward a deed is anar a plus the verb. Ara vaig a comprar pa — I am off to buy bread. For example: “Ara vaig a pagar el pa i torno” — Now I will go pay for the bread and come back. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Movement toward a deed is anar a plus the verb. Ara vaig a comprar pa — I am off to buy bread.
This is real movement: "I am off to buy". Without movement the norm does not make a future of it — "I will buy" is compraré.
Something just done is acabar de plus the verb — "have just". Acabo de parlar amb el veí — I have just spoken with the neighbour. Venir de is only movement: Vinc de la feina — I am coming from work.
The pair closes the circle: vaig a is still ahead, acabo de is already behind. To leave for good — anar-se'n: Me'n vaig, adéu.
Table
| construction | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| anar a + inf | to go and do | Vaig a comprar pa |
| acabar de + inf | to have just done | Acabo de dinar |
| anar-se'n | to leave for good | Me'n vaig |
By example
- Acabo de parlar amb el venedor: el preu pujaI have just spoken with the seller: the price is rising
- Ja és tard, me'n vaig a casaIt is late, I am going home
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
Coming and going: how does it work in Catalan?
Movement toward a deed is anar a plus the verb. Ara vaig a comprar pa — I am off to buy bread.
What does it look like in a Catalan example sentence?
“Ara vaig a pagar el pa i torno” — Now I will go pay for the bread and come back. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.