Verbs of motion and direction: conduir, arribar a, cap a, fins a
Motion here has three masters. Conduir — to drive a car, irregular: condueixo, condueixes, condueix. Condueixes molt bé — you drive very well. For example: “Conduim cap a la muntanya tota la tarda” — We drive toward the mountains all evening. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Motion here has three masters. Conduir — to drive a car, irregular: condueixo, condueixes, condueix. Condueixes molt bé — you drive very well.
Arribar — to reach a place, with the preposition a: Arribem a casa abans de les nou.
Marxar — to leave, goes with de: Marxo de Barcelona a les sis — I leave Barcelona at six.
Cap a — toward, with no arrival promised: Anem cap a la muntanya. Fins a — as far as: El camí baixa fins al riu, the path goes down to the river itself.
Table
| construction | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| cap a | toward, in the direction of | Anem cap a la muntanya |
| fins a | as far as, reaching | baixa fins al riu |
| arribar a / marxar de | to arrive at / to leave | arribo a casa, marxo de Girona |
By example
- Conduim cap a la muntanya tota la tardaWe drive toward the mountains all evening
- El bus arriba fins a la platja principalThe bus reaches the main beach
- Marxo de Barcelona a les sis i arribo a les vuitI leave Barcelona at six and arrive at eight
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
Verbs of motion and direction: how does it work in Catalan?
Motion here has three masters. Conduir — to drive a car, irregular: condueixo, condueixes, condueix. Condueixes molt bé — you drive very well.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Conduim cap a la muntanya tota la tarda” — We drive toward the mountains all evening. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.