Catalan Grammar List

Many consonant-final masculine forms add -a, sometimes with a stem change.

Many -ir verbs add -eix- in stressed present-tense forms.

Words ending in unstressed -a commonly change it to -es in the plural.

Some masculine words ending in a sibilant form a plural in -os.

Plural -s is common, but the word’s ending can require another spelling pattern.

Written accents mark stress; è/ò are open and é/ó are closed vowels.

An adjective agrees with its noun in gender and number.

Choose el/la/els/les or un/una/uns/unes to match the noun.

A descriptive adjective normally follows its noun in neutral Catalan.

Neutral statements often use subject–verb–object, but subjects can be omitted or placed elsewhere.

Stress falls on a particular syllable; spelling rules determine when it receives an accent.

Feminine forms often end in -a, but Catalan has no general masculine -o rule.

Aquest/aquests and aquesta/aquestes agree with the noun they identify.

Estar has the present forms estic, estàs, està, estem, esteu and estan.

Ser has the present forms soc, ets, és, som, sou and són.

Anar has the present forms vaig, vas, va, anem, aneu and van.

The present of fer is faig, fas, fa, fem, feu and fan.

Tenir uses tinc, tens, té, tenim, teniu and tenen in the present.

Voler expresses wanting; poder expresses ability, possibility or permission.

Regular -ar verbs use parlo, parles, parla, parlem, parleu and parlen in this present model.

Many -er and -re verbs follow perdo, perds, perd, perdem, perdeu and perden.

Some -ir verbs use the short present pattern dormo, dorms, dorm, dormim, dormiu and dormen.

Yes/no questions can keep statement word order and use question intonation.

A introduces many destinations, locations and clock times.

A + el becomes al, and a + els becomes als.

Use a l’, de l’ and per l’ when the singular article is elided.

Choose a farewell that fits when you expect to meet again.

Amb links an action or noun to company, an accompaniment or an instrument.

Ask Com estàs? and answer Estic bé, gràcies, or another wellbeing phrase.

De can express origin, possession, material or the subject of a discussion.

De + el becomes del, and de + els becomes dels.

Doncs draws a conclusion or moves a conversation forward; d’acord signals agreement.

El marks masculine singular and els marks masculine plural.

Use em dic to introduce your name and com et dius? to ask someone’s name.

Estar describes many physical, emotional and resulting states.

Gràcies gives thanks; si us plau makes a request courteous.

Hi ha introduces something that exists or is present.

Hola is a general greeting; bon dia, bona tarda and bona nit fit the time of day.

I adds, o offers a choice, and però introduces a contrast.

El and la usually become l’ before a vowel sound or silent h.

Keep feminine la before unstressed initial i or u, even after silent h.

La marks feminine singular nouns; les marks feminine plural nouns.

Write the middle dot in l·l; it is a different spelling from ll.

With agradar, the liked thing is the subject and the person is an indirect object.

No normally goes before the finite verb to make a statement negative.

No hi ha states that something is absent.

Ny and ll are two-letter spellings for consonants, not two separate syllables.

Per + el becomes pel, and per + els becomes pels.

Per often marks route or cause; per a marks a recipient or intended use.

Write per què as two words when asking why.

Perdó and disculpa can introduce an apology or politely get attention.

Quan asks about time, com about manner, and quant about quantity.

Qui asks about a person, què about a thing or action, and on about a place.

Res, mai and cap express no thing, no time and no member of a set.

Ser identifies a person or thing and places it in a category.

Use ser with de for origin and with a time phrase to state the hour.

Use ser for simple presence; estar can emphasize a stay or time spent in a place.

Un, una, uns and unes introduce an indefinite noun and agree with it.

Ç represents /s/ before a, o, u or at the end of a word.

A diaeresis can make u audible or mark a vowel that does not join a diphthong.

Some adjectives have distinct gender forms, while others share one singular form.

Molt, poc and tant agree with a following noun but stay invariable when modifying a verb or adjective.

Possessive forms agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner’s gender.

Demonstratives agree with the noun they identify: aquest, aquesta, aquests, aquestes.

Un, una, uns and unes introduce an indefinite noun and agree with it.

Pronoun spelling depends on whether it precedes or follows the verb and on adjacent vowels.

The imperfect presents a past situation from inside it, often as background.

Choose el/la/els/les or un/una/uns/unes to match the noun.

Era, estava and hi havia express different kinds of past background.

A and de contract with el/els, but stay separate before an elided article.

Per + el becomes pel, and per + els becomes pels.

A possessive before a noun usually follows a definite article.

El and la usually become l’ before a vowel sound or silent h.

Use the imperfect for a repeated past habit viewed without a closed event boundary.

Affirmative belief and knowledge commonly introduce an indicative clause.

Tu, vosaltres, vostè, vostès and vós require different agreement patterns.

The simple past often corresponds in meaning to vaig + infinitive.

Use narrative markers to show sequence, overlap and the end of a story.

Put no before the auxiliary of the periphrastic past and before any preverbal pronouns.

Articles, nouns and adjectives agree in plural noun phrases.

In a negative statement, the ordinary order is no + weak pronoun + finite verb.

Form the periphrastic past with vaig, vas, va, vam, vau or van plus an infinitive.

The present can express a future arrangement when the time and context make it clear.

In the periphrastic past, place the pronoun before the auxiliary or after the infinitive.

Ask about a completed past event with the ordinary vaig/vas/va/vam/vau/van + infinitive construction.

An ordinary negative belief commonly takes the subjunctive after que.

Attach weak pronouns after a gerund with a hyphen or apostrophe.

Weak pronouns follow an infinitive and attach to it in writing.

Weak pronouns normally precede a finite verb in statements and questions.

A introduces many destinations, locations and clock times.

Amb links an action or noun to company, an accompaniment or an instrument.

Anar a + infinitive is not a general future tense; use it for going to act or limited immediate intention.

Cal que introduces a necessary action with a subjunctive clause.

De normally becomes d’ before a vowel sound or silent h.

De can express origin, possession, material or the subject of a discussion.

El, la, els and les replace definite direct objects and agree with them.

Use an agreeing article plus més or menys to identify an extreme within a group.

Pronominal verbs use em, et, es, ens, us or es to match their subject.

Partitive en replaces an understood indefinite noun while its quantity remains expressed.

En appears in containment, language and several medium or transport expressions.

Plural es can describe people acting on one another.

Estar can describe a temporary or resulting condition; adjective choice and context still matter.

Fins a marks an endpoint in space, time or a scale.

Haver de + infinitive expresses obligation or practical necessity.

Haver-hi states existence, with its finite form showing the time.

In established formal usage, haver-hi stays singular before a plural noun.

Locative hi replaces an understood place complement that is not a point of departure with de.

Ho replaces a whole idea, a clause, or a neutral expression such as això.

I adds information, però contrasts it, and perquè gives a cause.

Li replaces a singular indirect object; els replaces a plural indirect object.

Use més or menys before the compared quality or quantity, then que for the comparison.

Relative on connects a place to an action or situation located there.

Per often marks route or cause; per a marks a recipient or intended use.

Poder expresses ability, possibility or permission, depending on the situation.

Relative que connects a noun to a clause where it is the subject or direct object.

Ser can describe a classifying quality without implying that it is permanent.

Ser identifies a person or thing and places it in a category.

També adds a positive parallel; tampoc adds a negative parallel.

Use tan ... com with qualities, and tant ... com with quantities or actions.

Use voler que + subjunctive when expressing a wish about another subject’s action.

An adjective agrees with its noun in gender and number.

A plural noun requires plural adjective agreement, even in a longer noun phrase.

Affirmative commands use imperative forms for tu and vosaltres.

A participle used as an adjective agrees with the noun it describes.

Coordinated subjects normally take plural verbs, with agreement reflecting all participants.

Two weak pronouns form an ordered group with established spellings.

Des de, fins a and cap a make starting points, limits and approximations explicit.

The conditional can locate an event after a past reference point.

The conditional can soften a request, offer or personal preference.

A/de + el/els contract; an elided l’ blocks contraction.

Per + el becomes pel, and per + els becomes pels.

El and la usually become l’ before a vowel sound or silent h.

El, la, els and les replace definite direct objects and agree with them.

Ordinary human direct objects usually appear without a personal a in the broad standard.

Infinitives, gerunds and affirmative commands take attached following weak pronouns.

Commands addressed to vostè or vostès use present-subjunctive forms.

Learn frequent irregular command forms as complete person-specific forms.

The imperfect can describe a past habit, ongoing activity or background state.

Affirmative belief and knowledge commonly introduce an indicative clause.

Li replaces a singular indirect object; els replaces a plural indirect object.

Choose clear contemporary markers suited to the formality of the exchange.

Form the periphrastic past with vaig, vas, va, vam, vau or van plus an infinitive.

Use completed past for bounded events and imperfect for the setting or an ongoing view.

The pluperfect places a completed event before another past reference point.

After a required preposition, use qui for people and què for things in these relative patterns.

Haver plus a participle forms the present perfect, often connecting a past event with the present period.

Negative commands use subjunctive forms and place weak pronouns before the verb.

Weak pronouns normally precede a finite verb in statements and questions.

The simple past often corresponds in meaning to vaig + infinitive.

Doubt and ordinary negative belief commonly introduce a subjunctive clause.

Wishes and reported instructions commonly use que + subjunctive for the requested action.

Use narrative markers to show sequence, overlap and the end of a story.

Learn de as part of the construction selected by a verb, noun or adjective.

Acabar de + infinitive places a completed action just before the current reference point.

Deixar de + infinitive means stopping or ceasing an activity.

Dir que reports a statement, with person and time chosen from the reporting viewpoint.

El qual, la qual, els quals and les quals agree with their relative antecedent.

En can replace a suitable complement introduced by de, including a topic or a place of origin.

Partitive en replaces an understood indefinite noun while its quantity remains expressed.

Reflexive pronouns can refer back to the subject or, with plural participants, express reciprocity.

Estar + gerund highlights an action in progress at the reference time.

Estar can highlight a resulting state, with the adjective agreeing with its subject.

Haver de + infinitive expresses obligation or practical necessity.

Use singular haver-hi in the shared formal model, while recognizing regional agreement.

Combine en with haver-hi when the introduced noun is understood but its quantity remains.

Hi replaces many non-de prepositional complements selected by a verb.

Locative hi replaces an understood place complement that is not a point of departure with de.

Ho replaces a whole idea, a clause, or a neutral expression such as això.

Keep feminine la before unstressed initial i or u, even after silent h.

No precedes the whole weak-pronoun group and the finite verb.

Relative on connects a place to an action or situation located there.

Per often marks route or cause; per a marks a recipient or intended use.

Perquè introduces a cause with indicative or a purpose with subjunctive in the basic contrast.

Temporal quan usually takes indicative for factual or habitual events and subjunctive for a future occasion.

Relative que connects a noun to a clause where it is the subject or direct object.

Ser identifies, classifies and describes a person or thing.

Ser is the broad-standard starting point for plain location and the location of an event.

Use si to embed a yes/no question inside a report or statement.

Soler + infinitive describes what usually happens or used to happen.

Tornar a + infinitive means doing the action again.

A shared adjective usually takes plural agreement when it describes coordinated nouns.

Spell a pronoun cluster as a unit, placing its apostrophe according to the whole combination.

In many verbal periphrases, a pronoun cluster can stand before the finite verb or after the infinitive.

Concessive connectors oppose an expectation; consequential connectors introduce a result or inference.

A remote condition normally pairs imperfect subjunctive after si with conditional in the main clause.

Keep the recipient pronoun and add en when a quantified object is understood.

In formal writing, many governed a, de and en prepositions disappear before que plus a finite clause.

Attach weak pronouns after affirmative imperative forms.

Weak pronouns normally follow infinitives and gerunds as attached written forms.

An affirmative belief normally introduces its asserted content with indicative.

Temporal clauses use indicative when they state habitual or realized events.

Postverbal negative words normally combine with no; preposed negative words can occur with or without it.

Pronoun clusters follow grammatical order rather than the order of the full noun phrases they replace.

A participle with haver can agree with a preceding direct-object clitic, especially a feminine one.

The perfect subjunctive combines present subjunctive of haver with a participle.

The periphrastic and simple past both narrate completed past events, with different regional and stylistic distributions.

The pluperfect subjunctive combines hagués-type forms with a participle.

With a plural recipient, retain els and add the separate definite direct-object pronoun.

After a preposition, el qual agrees with its antecedent and can clarify a complex relative clause.

Some governed en or amb complements use a or de before an infinitive in careful formal writing.

Doubt and ordinary negated belief commonly introduce a subjunctive complement.

Evaluations with que commonly select subjunctive, even when the event is known to be true.

Wishes and requests for another person’s action commonly use que plus subjunctive.

Weak pronouns normally precede finite indicative and subjunctive verbs.

Negative commands use present subjunctive with weak pronouns before the verb.

Keep reflexive clitics when en or hi is part of the same pronominal construction.

Reported speech adjusts tense, person and time expressions to the reporter’s viewpoint.

Choose the subordinate subjunctive tense from its time relationship to the main clause.

Central-type clusters replace singular li with hi after a definite third-person direct object; Valencian commonly keeps li first.

Prospective temporal clauses normally use subjunctive rather than future indicative.

Subjunctive in a relative can describe a sought, hypothetical or otherwise unidentified referent.

A superlative relative can use indicative or subjunctive according to how the comparison is presented.

Human direct objects usually appear without a; personal pronouns and certain marked contexts allow or require it.

Apply article elision before deciding whether a, de or per contracts with el.

Com si introduces an imagined comparison with imperfect subjunctive, or pluperfect subjunctive for an earlier event.

Del qual and its inflected forms express a possessive relation inside a relative clause.

Doncs introduces an inference, consequence or return to the discussion, not a causal because.

El que and allò que introduce free relatives referring to things or content.

En can replace a recoverable complement introduced by de, not only a counted direct object.

En replaces the understood noun in a quantified object while the quantity remains.

Encara que uses indicative for an asserted concession and subjunctive for an unasserted or hypothetical one.

Impersonal es leaves a human agent unspecified and commonly uses a third-person singular verb.

A pronominal passive uses es and a verb agreeing with the thing affected.

Keep existential hi with haver through compound tenses and modal constructions.

Hi replaces many recoverable complements governed by a or en.

Hi can replace an understood location or destination; origin with de commonly uses en.

La qual cosa and cosa que refer back to a whole preceding statement.

N’hi combines partitive en with hi, often when a quantity appears with haver-hi.

No fos que introduces a precaution against an unwelcome possibility.

On introduces a relative clause whose antecedent is a place.

Per introduces the agent of a passive event: who or what performs the action.

Per commonly marks cause, route, means or agent; per a commonly marks a recipient or intended destination.

Purpose perquè introduces an intended result with subjunctive.

Unaccented que can introduce a relative clause as its subject or direct object.

Qui refers to people in free relatives and after prepositions.

Accented què refers to things after a preposition in a relative clause.

Build an event passive with ser plus a participle agreeing with the subject.

Ser plus participle presents a passive event; estar plus participle commonly presents a resulting state.

Use imperfect subjunctive after si for a remote present or future condition.

Tant de bo introduces a wish, commonly followed by a subjunctive clause.

The suffixes -ció, -ment and -atge form established nouns from verbal or related bases.

Adverbs in -ment are commonly built from an adjective’s feminine singular form.

An absolute participial clause presents a completed circumstance with its own agreeing noun phrase.

Partitive quantity subjects can allow singular or plural agreement according to their construction and interpretation.

A shared adjective usually takes plural agreement when it describes coordinated nouns.

El and la usually become l’ before a vowel sound or silent h.

Balearic salat articles include es, sa, es/ses and elided s’, within a regional and register-sensitive system.

Pronoun clusters follow grammatical order rather than the order of the full noun phrases they replace.

In many verbal periphrases, a pronoun cluster can stand before the finite verb or after the infinitive.

Apply article elision before deciding whether a, de or per contracts with el.

In formal writing, many governed a, de and en prepositions disappear before que plus a finite clause.

Attach weak pronouns after infinitives, gerunds and positive imperatives, using the required hyphens and apostrophes.

Predicates that assert a belief, knowledge or factual report commonly introduce indicative clauses.

Subjunctive in a relative can describe a sought, hypothetical or otherwise unidentified referent.

A dislocated object topic is normally resumed by a matching weak pronoun.

Negative commands use present subjunctive with weak pronouns before the verb.

A participle with haver can agree with a preceding direct-object clitic, especially a feminine one.

The periphrastic and simple past both narrate completed past events, with different regional and stylistic distributions.

After a preposition, el qual agrees with its antecedent and can clarify a complex relative clause.

After a preposition, qui refers to people and accented què to things.

Some governed en or amb complements use a or de before an infinitive in careful formal writing.

Weak pronouns normally precede finite indicative and subjunctive verbs.

Some verbs require en or hi as part of their established pronominal meaning.

The periphrastic and simple past both narrate completed past events, with different regional and stylistic distributions.

Spell a pronoun cluster as a unit, placing its apostrophe according to the whole combination.

Doubt and ordinary negated belief commonly introduce a subjunctive complement.

Free relatives with qui use indicative for an asserted referent and subjunctive for a non-specific or prospective one.

Reported speech adjusts tense, person and time expressions to the reporter’s viewpoint.

The periphrastic and simple past both narrate completed past events, with different regional and stylistic distributions.

A belongs to the government of verbs such as renunciar, contribuir and acostumar-se.

De is governed by verbs such as dependre, parlar and adonar-se.

Learn en and amb as part of the governing verb’s construction.

Com a commonly marks a role or capacity; com commonly introduces a comparison.

Com si introduces an imagined comparison with imperfect subjunctive, or pluperfect subjunctive for an earlier event.

Del qual and its inflected forms express a possessive relation inside a relative clause.

With a plural recipient, retain els and add the separate definite direct-object pronoun.

En replaces the understood noun in a quantified object while the quantity remains.

En can replace a recoverable complement introduced by de, not only a counted direct object.

En plus an infinitive can introduce a temporal circumstance meaning when or on doing something.

Encara que uses indicative for an asserted concession and subjunctive for an unasserted or hypothetical one.

Impersonal es leaves a human agent unspecified and commonly uses a third-person singular verb.

A pronominal passive uses es and a verb agreeing with the thing affected.

Keep existential hi with haver through compound tenses and modal constructions.

Hi replaces many recoverable complements governed by a or en.

Ho represents a clause, a neuter idea or an appropriate predicative complement.

La qual cosa and cosa que refer back to a whole preceding statement.

Central-type clusters replace singular li with hi after a definite third-person direct object; Valencian commonly keeps li first.

Algherese preserves masculine definite lo and los; recognize them as regional article forms.

Pas reinforces or qualifies negation in several varieties; Northern usage can also use it as the main negative marker.

Quant a and pel que fa a introduce the topic or scope of the statement that follows.

Per commonly marks cause, route, means or agent; per a commonly marks a recipient or intended destination.

Andorran administrative writing uses the shared per/per a distinction for recipients and purposes.

Perquè and per tal que introduce the intended purpose with a subjunctive clause.

Reflexive es takes the form se before another weak pronoun in the ordinary combined pattern.

Ser-hi can mark presence; estar-se can describe staying somewhere for a period.

Ser and estar can give the same adjective different readings; permanence alone is not a reliable rule.

Use imperfect subjunctive after si for a remote present or future condition.

Tanmateix adds contrast; així mateix adds another point in the same direction.

Tot plus a gerund can introduce a concession, but it can also describe simultaneity.

A cleft construction highlights one part of a statement with ser and a relative structure.

Coordinated abstract nouns may denote two distinct matters or a closely integrated concept; agreement follows that reading.

A shared adjective usually takes plural agreement when it describes coordinated nouns.

Algherese preserves masculine definite lo and los; recognize them as regional article forms.

Andorran institutional nouns use ordinary Catalan phrase grammar with locally established meanings.

Spell a pronoun cluster as a unit, placing its apostrophe according to the whole combination.

Feminine la stays separate before an unstressed initial i or u, including after silent h.

Ordinary formal relatives avoid a clitic that redundantly repeats the relative pronoun’s function.

Balearic salat articles include es, sa, es/ses and elided s’, within a regional and register-sensitive system.

Pronoun clusters follow grammatical order rather than the order of the full noun phrases they replace.

Complex prepositions make the relation between claims explicit: source, scope, basis or consequence.

Distinguish singular collective agreement from the semantic plural agreement available in some partitive phrases.

Ordinary articles contract; an article belonging to a publication title remains part of that title.

In formal writing, many governed a, de and en prepositions disappear before que plus a finite clause.

In many verbal periphrases, a pronoun cluster can stand before the finite verb or after the infinitive.

Events and scheduled activities normally use ser to identify where they take place.

A participle with haver can agree with a preceding direct-object clitic, especially a feminine one.

Conventional legal prepositional phrases delimit a document’s basis, effect or preserved rights.

Inclusive drafting can use collective nouns, person-based phrases or paired forms while preserving clear agreement.

Subjunctive often marks content that is desired, doubted or otherwise not asserted as a fact.

A dislocated object topic is normally resumed by a matching weak pronoun.

Negative commands use present subjunctive with weak pronouns before the verb.

The pluperfect locates an event before a past viewpoint; the anterior past is a marked narrative form for prior completion.

With a plural recipient, retain els and add the separate definite direct-object pronoun.

After a preposition, accented què refers to things and qui to people.

Some governed en or amb complements use a or de before an infinitive in careful formal writing.

Some verbs require en or hi as part of their established pronominal meaning.

Weak pronouns precede finite verbs in ordinary statements but follow infinitives, gerunds and positive imperatives.

Punctuation shows how independent clauses, explanations and inserted comments relate in a dense sentence.

The periphrastic and simple past both narrate completed past events, with different regional and stylistic distributions.

Central-type clusters replace singular li with hi after a definite third-person direct object; Valencian commonly keeps li first.

Prospective temporal clauses normally use subjunctive rather than future indicative.

Reported speech adjusts tense, person and time expressions to the reporter’s viewpoint.

Quant a and pel que fa a introduce the topic or scope of the statement that follows.

Recognize standard Valencian li-first pronoun clusters and regional use of the simple past.

Caldre expresses necessity with an infinitive or with que plus subjunctive.

Doncs introduces an inference, consequence or return to the discussion, not a causal because.

After a preposition, el qual agrees with its antecedent and can clarify a complex relative clause.

El que introduces a free relative referring to content or things; qui refers to people.

En can replace a recoverable complement introduced by de, not only a counted direct object.

En replaces the understood noun in a quantified object while the quantity remains.

Encara que uses indicative for an asserted concession and subjunctive for an unasserted or hypothetical one.

Ser plus participle presents a passive event; estar plus participle commonly presents a resulting state.

Keep formal haver-hi singular in simple and compound tenses, while recognizing regional agreement.

Hi can replace appropriate verb complements introduced by a, en, amb and other prepositions apart from de.

Ho represents a clause, a neuter idea or an appropriate predicative complement.

Ho represents a clause, a neuter idea or an appropriate predicative complement.

La qual cosa and cosa que refer back to a whole preceding statement.

N’hi combines partitive en with hi, often when a quantity appears with haver-hi.

No és que commonly rejects an explanation with subjunctive; sinó que introduces the asserted alternative.

On introduces a relative clause whose antecedent is a place.

Pas reinforces or qualifies negation in several varieties; Northern usage can also use it as the main negative marker.

Per commonly marks cause, route, means or agent; per a commonly marks a recipient or intended destination.

Per més que introduces a concession despite the degree or persistence of an action.

Perquè uses indicative for an asserted cause and subjunctive for an intended result.

Potser normally combines with indicative; és possible que introduces subjunctive.

Sense que introduces an absent circumstance with subjunctive.

Conditional constructions distinguish open, remote and unreal past situations through different tense combinations.

Tanmateix and no obstant això introduce a contrast that holds despite the preceding information.

As a quantifier over a noun phrase, tot agrees in gender and number with that phrase.