As if: com si + imperfect
A comparison with what is really not so is built as com si + imperfecte de subjuntiu — "as if": Es comporta com si tot anés bé — he behaves as if everything were going well (and it is not). The imperfect subjunctive is recognized by the stressed "-és": anés, fos, tingués, sabés. For example: “Es comporta com si tot anés bé” — He behaves as if everything were going well. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on…
How it works
A comparison with what is really not so is built as com si + imperfecte de subjuntiu — "as if": Es comporta com si tot anés bé — he behaves as if everything were going well (and it is not). The imperfect subjunctive is recognized by the stressed "-és": anés, fos, tingués, sabés.
Four forms are simply learned in pairs with their verb: anar → anés, ser → fos, tenir → tingués, saber → sabés. The comparison itself is always unreal: Cuida el pis com si fos seu — he takes care of the flat as if it were his (and it is not). This is the mood of a dream: everything happens only in words.
Table
| verb | com si + … |
|---|---|
| anar | com si anés |
| ser | com si fos |
| tenir | com si tingués |
| saber | com si sabés |
By example
- Es comporta com si tot anés béHe behaves as if everything were going well
- Cuida el pis com si fos seuHe takes care of the flat as if it were his
- Parla com si ho sabés totHe speaks as if he knew everything
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
As if: how does it work in Catalan?
A comparison with what is really not so is built as com si + imperfecte de subjuntiu — "as if": Es comporta com si tot anés bé — he behaves as if everything were going well (and it is not). The imperfect subjunctive is recognized by the stressed "-és": anés, fos, tingués, sabés.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Es comporta com si tot anés bé” — He behaves as if everything were going well. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.