Impersonal turns: es + third person
When the doer does not matter, Catalan builds the phrase through es + verb in the 3rd person: Aquí es parla català — Catalan is spoken here. Who speaks — does not matter: the rule is general. For example: “Aquí es parla català” — Catalan is spoken here. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
When the doer does not matter, Catalan builds the phrase through es + verb in the 3rd person: Aquí es parla català — Catalan is spoken here. Who speaks — does not matter: the rule is general.
With modals the device is the same: es pot llogar — one can rent, no es pot aparcar — parking is not allowed. The conjunction "que" pulls a whole sentence after it: Es diu que… — they say that…
The verb agrees with what is "impersonally done": es lloga un pis — a flat is rented (one), es lloguen pisos — flats are rented (many). The English "flats are rented" here has two forms — by number.
Table
| frame | example | in English |
|---|---|---|
| es + 3rd p. | es parla català | Catalan is spoken |
| es pot + infinitive | es pot llogar | one can rent |
| es diu que + … | es diu que plourà | they say it will rain |
By example
- Aquí es parla catalàCatalan is spoken here
- Al centre no es pot aparcarDowntown parking is not allowed
- Es diu que la renda baixa aquest anyThey say the rent will fall this year
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
Impersonal turns: how does it work in Catalan?
When the doer does not matter, Catalan builds the phrase through es + verb in the 3rd person: Aquí es parla català — Catalan is spoken here. Who speaks — does not matter: the rule is general.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Aquí es parla català” — Catalan is spoken here. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.