Verbs of emotion + infinitive: estimo plorar
An emotion attaches the infinitive directly, without "de": estimo plorar — I love to cry (at films), odio madrugar — I hate getting up early, m'agrada caminar — I like walking. English does the same — "I love reading" — so there is nothing to catch: the preposition lives elsewhere. For example: “Estimo plorar amb les pel·lícules tristes” — I love crying at sad films. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on…
How it works
An emotion attaches the infinitive directly, without "de": estimo plorar — I love to cry (at films), odio madrugar — I hate getting up early, m'agrada caminar — I like walking. English does the same — "I love reading" — so there is nothing to catch: the preposition lives elsewhere.
The preposition appears when the emotion is reflexive: alegrar-se de — "M'alegro de veure't" — I am glad to see you; enfadar-se amb — "S'enfada amb el germà" — he gets angry with his brother. One rejoices "at", gets angry "with": each verb has its preposition, and it must be memorized with the verb. And "enyorar" — to miss — takes its object bare: "Enyoro la mar", with no preposition at all.
Table
| construction | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| estimo + inf | I love doing | Estimo plorar |
| alegrar-se de + inf | to be glad that | M'alegro de veure't |
| enfadar-se amb | to get angry with | s'enfada amb el germà |
By example
- Estimo plorar amb les pel·lícules tristesI love crying at sad films
- M'alegro de rebre cartes tevesI rejoice when your letters arrive
- S'enfada quan perd una partidaHe gets angry when he loses a game
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 emotion + infinitive: how does it work in Catalan?
An emotion attaches the infinitive directly, without "de": estimo plorar — I love to cry (at films), odio madrugar — I hate getting up early, m'agrada caminar — I like walking. English does the same — "I love reading" — so there is nothing to catch: the preposition lives elsewhere.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Estimo plorar amb les pel·lícules tristes” — I love crying at sad films. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.