Prepositions of place: dins de, damunt, sota, davant, darrere
Where things stand, Catalan says with five prepositions: dins de — inside, damunt (de) — on, sota (de) — under, davant (de) — in front of, darrere (de) — behind: El gat dorm dins del traster, Les claus són damunt de la taula. For example: “El gat dorm dins del traster” — The cat sleeps in the storeroom. A rule from the Valencian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Where things stand, Catalan says with five prepositions: dins de — inside, damunt (de) — on, sota (de) — under, davant (de) — in front of, darrere (de) — behind: El gat dorm dins del traster, Les claus són damunt de la taula.
"De" contracts with the article, as always: de + el = del, de + la = de la, de + l' = de l': sota del llit, davant de la porta, darrere de l'armari. Without the article the same words live as adverbs: Dins hi ha el gat — inside there is the cat, Damunt fa fred — it is cold up top. Where to — the same preposition after a verb of motion: Entra dins del passadís.
Table
| preposition | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| dins de | inside | dins del traster |
| damunt (de) / sota (de) | on / under | damunt de la taula |
| davant (de) / darrere (de) | in front of / behind | davant de la porta |
By example
- El gat dorm dins del trasterThe cat sleeps in the storeroom
- Les claus són damunt de la taulaThe keys lie on the table
- El cotxe és davant de la porta, i les bicis, darrere de casaThe car is in front of the door, and the bicycles behind the house
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
Prepositions of place: how does it work in Valencian?
Where things stand, Catalan says with five prepositions: dins de — inside, damunt (de) — on, sota (de) — under, davant (de) — in front of, darrere (de) — behind: El gat dorm dins del traster, Les claus són damunt de la taula.
What does it look like in an example sentence Valencian?
“El gat dorm dins del traster” — The cat sleeps in the storeroom. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.