Spatial links: des de… fins a, cap a
A 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 — from the window to the balcony there are two steps. Before the masculine article everything contracts: fins a + el → fins al, des de + el → des del. For example: “Des de la finestra fins al balcó hi ha dos passos” — From the window to the balcony — two steps. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out…
How it works
A 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 — from the window to the balcony there are two steps. Before the masculine article everything contracts: fins a + el → fins al, des de + el → des del.
A direction without an endpoint — cap a — "toward": El tren va cap a la costa — the train goes toward the coast. And simply a place — the short a: Som a la cuina. Four links divide space honestly: a — where, cap a — where to, des de — where from, fins a — how far.
Table
| link | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| a | where: in, at | a la cuina |
| cap a | where to: toward | cap a la costa |
| des de | where from: from | des del sotan |
| des de… fins a | from… to | de la finestra fins al balcó |
By example
- Des de la finestra fins al balcó hi ha dos passosFrom the window to the balcony — two steps
- El tren va cap a la costaThe train goes toward the coast
- Puges des del sotan fins al terrat sense ascensorYou climb from the basement to the roof without a lift
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
Spatial links: how does it work in Catalan?
A 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 — from the window to the balcony there are two steps. Before the masculine article everything contracts: fins a + el → fins al, des de + el → des del.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Des de la finestra fins al balcó hi ha dos passos” — From the window to the balcony — two steps. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.