Occitan Grammar List

One spelling serves every variety, so a word keeps its written form even where it sounds different: ostal (house), aiga (water). The spelling is fixed, and each region reads it with its own sounds.

An apostrophe replaces a dropped vowel, as in l'ostal (the house). Some prepositions merge with lo and los, as in al (to the) from a + lo.

Occitan is spoken in the south of France and in a few valleys of Spain and Italy. This course teaches Languedocien, the variety of Tolosa and Montpelhièr, in the classical spelling.

Verbs fall into three groups by the ending of the infinitive: parlar (to speak), finir (to finish) and vendre (to sell). A few verbs end in -er and are learned one by one.

Some words have two correct forms, such as vòles and vòls (you want) or sabi and sai (I know). The examples use one form, and you will meet the other in books and online.

A noun is either masculine or feminine, and the words next to it change to match: un ostal (a house), una pòrta (a door).

The compound past, as in ai manjat (I ate), is for conversation and recent events. The simple past, as in mangèri (I ate), is for stories.

È and ò are open vowels, and à is a stressed a. Á, é, í, ó and ú are closed or stressed: tèrra (land), mercé (thank you), cossí (how), dessús (above).

Choose the gender first, then add -s: grands, grandas.

Say the noun first, then the color or other description: una taula blanca.

Jove stays jove. Roge becomes roja, negre becomes negra and paure becomes paura.

diluns, dimars, dimècres, dijòus, divendres, dissabte, dimenge.

In ai, ei, au and eu the second letter is a quick glide: aiga (water), pauc (little). Ie and uè also glide: ièr (yesterday), uèi (today).

The verb ending shows who acts, so say the pronoun only to stress a person.

Most adjectives add -a for the feminine: content, contenta.

Most nouns that end in -a are feminine: la femna (the woman), la tèrra (the land), la pòrta (the door).

Write the final n even when you do not hear it: pan (bread), bonjorn (hello).

Each noun has a fixed gender, so learn it with the article: lo cap (the head), la man (the hand), lo solelh (the sun), la luna (the moon).

For -ar verbs: parla! parlem! parlatz!

Say Soi professora. (I am a teacher.) or Joan es mètge. (Joan is a doctor.) with no article before the job.

Most nouns that end in a consonant or in -e are masculine: lo pan (the bread), lo libre (the book), lo vin (the wine).

genièr, febrièr, març, abril, mai, junh, julhet, agost, setembre, octòbre, novembre, decembre.

Nationalities change with gender and number, and language names have no capital letter: Joan es francés. (Joan is French.) Maria es francesa. (Maria is French.) Parlam occitan. (We speak Occitan.)

Keep the verb as it is and add pas right after it.

Temps usually keeps its form in the plural, and only the article or the verb shows the number: lo temps (the time), los temps (the times). Other nouns that end in a consonant plus s add -es: l'ors (the bear), los orses (the bears).

zèro, un, dos, tres, quatre, cinc, sièis, sèt, uèch, nòu, dètz.

Onze to setze are single words; seventeen to nineteen join dètz with e.

The twenties use e (vint-e-un); from thirty the unit follows with a hyphen (trenta-cinc).

Add -s to make most nouns plural, and the stress does not move: un ostal becomes dos ostals (two houses), una femna becomes doas femnas (two women).

Remove -ar and add -i, -as, -a, -am, -atz, -an.

vau, vas, va, anam, anatz, van.

ai, as, a, avèm, avètz, an.

fau, fas, fa, fasèm, fasètz, fan.

soi, ès, es, sèm, sètz, son.

Say Soi de Tolosa. (I am from Toulouse.) and ask D'ont ès? (Where are you from?)

Ask Quina ora es? and answer with es for one o'clock and son for the others.

After vòli or a similar verb, the infinitive does not change.

U is an ee sound with rounded lips: luna (moon). After a vowel it is a quick w sound: pauc (little).

Occitan uses the Latin letters, accents on the vowels and a ç, as in cossí (how), pèira (stone) and plaça (square). A few pairs of letters, such as lh, nh and ch, stand for one sound each.

In Languedocien, an unstressed final a is written a and sounds like a short o: femna (woman), pòrta (door).

Words that end in a vowel are stressed on the next-to-last syllable, and words that end in a consonant on the last: femna, ostal. A written accent marks a stress that breaks the rule: mercé, parlaràs.

Raise your voice at the end and add a question mark.

Use a before a city and with the article before other places.

Write al for a + lo and als for a + los: Soi al mercat. (I am at the market.) Parlam als dròlles. (We talk to the children.)

Write a la, de la and per la as separate words: a la plaça (to the square), de la tèrra (of the land), a l'escòla (to school).

Use aver and ans: Ai vint ans.

Aicí means here, aquí means there, and ailà means over there: Demòri aicí. (I live here.) Lo cafè es aquí. (The coffee is there.) Maria es ailà. (Maria is over there.)

Put amb before a noun to say who or what goes along: Vau al mercat amb Maria. (I go to the market with Maria.) un cafè amb sucre (a coffee with sugar)

It never changes: Aquò es bon.

Say Bon vèspre when you meet someone in the evening, and Bona nuèch when you wish them good night.

Say Bonjorn to greet anyone during the day. Say Adieu to greet a friend or to say goodbye to a friend.

C sounds like k before a, o and u, and like s before e and i. Ç sounds like s and replaces c before a, o and u: cap (head), plaça (square), braç (arm).

Ch is one sound, as in un chic (a little bit). Tz ends many verb forms and sounds like s: parlatz (you speak).

Say Compreni pas. (I do not understand.) and ask Pòdes repetir? (Can you repeat?) to a friend, or Podètz repetir? to anyone else.

Cossí va? asks how things are going.

Ask Cossí se ditz aquò en occitan? (How do you say that in Occitan?) to learn how to say something.

Ask a friend Cossí vas? and anyone else Cossí anatz? A short answer is Plan, mercé. (Well, thank you.)

Use d' before a vowel and del or dels before lo or los.

Write del for de + lo and dels for de + los: lo nom del gat (the cat's name), las cadièras dels dròlles (the children's chairs).

demòri, demòras, demòra, demoram, demoratz, demòran.

Put dins before a noun to say that something is inside it: dins l'ostal (inside the house), dins la cosina (in the kitchen).

É is a closed sound like the e in “they”, and è is an open sound like the e in “bed”: mercé (thank you), pèira (stone).

Say e for and, o for or, and mas for but: pan e vin (bread and wine), pan o vin (bread or wine), Soi cansat, mas content. (I am tired, but happy.)

Learn en França and en occitan as ready phrases.

G sounds like the g in “go” before a, o and u, and like the j in “jam” before e and i. Gu keeps the hard sound before e and i: gat (cat), gent (people), guitarra (guitar).

It never changes, for one thing or many.

The verb ending already shows who acts, so use the pronoun to stress a person.

Lo and la become l' before a vowel or a silent h: l'ostal (the house), l'aiga (the water), l'ora (the hour).

Lh and nh are pairs of letters that stand for one sound each: filha (daughter), vinha (vineyard).

The word for the is lo before a masculine noun and la before a feminine one: lo libre (the book), la taula (the table).

The plural of the is los for masculine nouns and las for feminine ones: los libres (the books), las taulas (the tables).

Give your name with M'apèli Joan. (My name is Joan.) or Me dison Joan. (They call me Joan.), and ask Cossí t'apèlas? (What is your name?)

Mercé means thank you, and mercé plan adds very much. The reply is Es pas res, which means it is nothing.

My changes with the noun, not with the speaker: mon paire (my father), ma maire (my mother), mos amics (my friends), mas amigas (my female friends).

Each goes with a plural verb: sèm, sètz, son.

A plain o sounds like the oo in “moon”, and ò is an open sound like the o in “not”: bonjorn (hello), pòrta (door).

Put ont first and keep the verb: Ont anatz?

Per can mean for or through: Aquò es per Joan. (This is for Joan.) Passam per Carcassona. (We pass through Carcassonne.)

Write pel for per + lo and pels for per + los: Passam pel pargue. (We pass through the park.) Aquò es pels dròlles. (This is for the children.)

The accent makes the difference.

It agrees with the noun: quant, quanta, quantes, quantas.

Use it before the verb: Qui es aquel òme?

Put quora first and keep the verb.

Put qué first. Before es it becomes qu': Qu'es aquò?

An s between vowels is voiced like z, and ss keeps the s sound: ròsa (rose), passa (he or she passes).

Add Se vos plai to a request to be polite with a stranger. With a friend, say Se te plai.

Put sens before a noun to say that it is missing: un cafè sens sucre (a coffee without sugar), una sopa sens sal (a soup without salt).

Put sus before a noun to say that something is on it: sus la taula (on the table), sul lièch (on the bed).

Your, for one person, works like my: ton ostal (your house), ta sòrre (your sister), tos amics (your friends), tas amigas (your female friends).

Vos always takes the plural verb, even for one person.

The word for a is un before a masculine noun and una before a feminine one: un cafè (a coffee), una cadièra (a chair).

Un and dos go with masculine nouns, una and doas with feminine nouns.

Uèi is today, ièr is yesterday and deman is tomorrow.

Both letters sound like b in Languedocien, so you learn the spelling of each word: vin (wine), viure (to live), bon (good).

Use volriái to order or to ask politely.

Answer a question with òc (yes), non (no) or benlèu (maybe).

Say un libre blau, una taula blava.

Bon, bèl, grand and pichòt usually stand before the noun, and they still agree with it.

Say cent for a hundred, dos cents for two hundred and dos mila for two thousand.

Put de before a food, a drink or a material to say some of it.

Use lo matin for morning, l'aprèp-miègjorn for afternoon, lo ser for evening and la nuèch for night.

Lo pas becomes los passes, lo país becomes los païses, and lo mes becomes los meses.

Take off -ir and add -issi, -isses, -ís, -issèm, -issètz, -isson: finissi, finisses, finís. Almost every -ir verb works this way, dormir and partir included.

Sentir (to feel, to smell) follows the -re pattern and adds no -iss-: Senti la calor. (I feel the heat.) Sentèm lo vent. (We feel the wind.)

Take off -re and add -i, -es, no ending, -èm, -ètz, -on: Vendi lo vin. (I sell the wine.) Metèm lo cafè sus la taula. (We put the coffee on the table.)

Beure (to drink) is irregular in the present: bevi, beves, beu, bevèm, bevètz, bevon. Bevi un tè. (I drink a tea.) Bevèm d'aiga. (We drink water.)

Dever (must, to owe) is irregular in the present: devi, deves, deu, devèm, devètz, devon. Devi partir. (I must leave.) Deu dormir. (He must sleep.)

Dire (to say) is irregular in the present: disi, dises, ditz, disèm, disètz, dison. Qué ditz Maria? (What does Maria say?) Joan ditz que plòu. (Joan says that it is raining.)

Poder (to be able) is irregular in the present: pòdi, pòdes, pòt, podèm, podètz, pòdon. Pòdes venir deman? (Can you come tomorrow?) Podèm pas parlar aicí. (We cannot talk here.)

Prene (to take) is irregular in the present: preni, prenes, pren, prenèm, prenètz, prenon. Preni lo tren. (I take the train.) Prenèm un tè amb lach. (We have a tea with milk.)

Saber (to know) is irregular in the present: sabi, sabes, sap, sabèm, sabètz, sabon. Sabi pas ont es la gara. (I do not know where the station is.) Maria sap cantar. (Maria can sing.)

Téner (to hold, to keep) is irregular in the present: teni, tenes, ten, tenèm, tenètz, tenon. Ten lo libre. (She holds the book.) Tenèm la pòrta. (We hold the door.)

Veire (to see) is irregular in the present: vesi, veses, vei, vesèm, vesètz, veson. Vesi un gat. (I see a cat.) Joan vei pas ma sòrre. (Joan does not see my sister.)

Venir (to come) is irregular in the present: veni, venes, ven, venèm, venètz, venon. Venes amb nosautres? (Are you coming with us?) Ven deman. (He is coming tomorrow.)

Viure (to live) is irregular in the present: vivi, vives, viu, vivèm, vivètz, vivon. Vivèm en França. (We live in France.) Maria viu a Tolosa. (Maria lives in Toulouse.)

Voler (to want) is irregular in the present: vòli, vòles, vòl, volèm, volètz, vòlon. Vòli un tè. (I want a tea.) Volèm partir. (We want to leave.)

Put de between an amount and the thing measured.

Say tres oras e mièja for half past three.

Many -ar verbs open the stem vowel when it is stressed, so e becomes è and o becomes ò: lèvi but levam (I lift, we lift), tròbi but trobam (I find, we find).

A costat de is next to, lonh de is far from, and pròche de is near.

Ask A quina ora partissètz? and answer Partissèm a sèt oras.

Aimar is a regular -ar verb: Aimi ma maire. (I love my mother.)

Anar and an infinitive tell what is about to happen: Vau manjar amb Maria. (I am going to eat with Maria.) Anam jogar. (We are going to play.)

That, for something farther away, is aquel and aquela, with the plurals aqueles and aquelas: aquel ostal (that house), aquela cadièra (that chair).

This is aqueste for a masculine noun and aquesta for a feminine one, and the plurals are aquestes and aquestas: aqueste libre (this book), aquesta taula (this table).

Say un autre cafè, una autra taula and los autres.

Use aver with fam, set, fred, caud or paur.

Cal + infinitive means one must or one has to: Cal dormir. (One must sleep.) Cal partir. (We have to leave.)

Davant is in front of, darrièr is behind, and sota is under.

Say Fa fred, doncas restam a l'ostal for it is cold, so we stay home.

Say entre Tolosa e Albi, fins a deman and cap a Tolosa.

Put es que before a statement to turn it into a question.

Fa fred means it is cold, and plòu means it rains.

Say Joan es ja aicí for Joan is already here and Maria dormís encara for Maria is still asleep.

Say Bevi pas jamai de vin for I never drink wine.

Their is lor with a singular noun and lors with a plural one: lor ostal (their house), lors amics (their friends).

Say M'agrada lo cafè for I like coffee, and M'agradan los libres for I like the books.

Say Joan es mai grand que Pèire for Joan is taller than Pèire.

Say Maria es mens granda que Zofia for Maria is less tall than Zofia.

Our agrees with the thing owned: nòstre ostal (our house), nòstra escòla (our school), nòstres amics (our friends), nòstras sòrres (our sisters).

Say I a pas cap de problèma for there is no problem at all.

Say Ai pas de pan for no bread.

Plan and fòrça mean very or a lot, pro means enough, tròp means too much, and pas gaire means not much.

Poder, voler, saber and dever take a second verb in the infinitive: Volèm aprene l'occitan. (We want to learn Occitan.) Sabi pas nadar. (I cannot swim.)

Primièr means first, puèi means then, aprèp means after or afterwards, and abans means before.

Primièr is first, segond is second, and tresen is third.

Say Qual vòles? for which one do you want.

Say Quand plòu, legissi for when it rains, I read.

Say Pensi que ven deman for I think he is coming tomorrow.

Say Quin libre vòles? and Quina ora es?

Use res for things and degun for people, with pas after the verb.

Restar has è in rèsti, rèstas, rèsta and rèstan, and e in restam and restatz.

His, her and its are all the same word, and it agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner: son paire (his or her father), sa maire (his or her mother), sos amics (his or her friends).

Totjorn means always, sovent means often, and de còps means sometimes.

Say Joan es tan grand coma Maria for Joan is as tall as Maria.

Say Ieu tanben to agree with a positive statement and Ieu tanpauc to agree with a negative one.

Use tot, tota, totes or totas before the article and the noun.

Your, for several people or a polite vos, works like our: vòstre libre (your book), vòstra maire (your mother), vòstres dròlles (your children), vòstras amigas (your female friends).

A diaeresis tells you to say i apart from the vowel before it: païses, traïdor.

Lo primièr jorn, la primièra setmana, lo darrièr ser. The plurals are primièrs and primièras.

Un ostal nòu, una cadièra nòva. The same pair works for blau and blava, grèu and grèva.

Un òme famós, una femna famosa. The plural is -oses for the masculine and -osas for the feminine.

Lentament means slowly and facilament means easily. The adverb tells how an action is done.

Ai manjat means I ate or I have eaten. The participle stays the same for every person.

Soi anat a Tolosa. Maria es partida. The participle agrees with the subject, like an adjective: anat, anada, anats, anadas.

Manjavi quand Joan es arribat. The imperfect is the scene, and the compound past is the event that breaks into it.

Es lo quinze d'abril. For the first day, say lo primièr: lo primièr de mai. De becomes d' before abril, agost and octòbre.

Se parlan cada jorn. Nos vesèm deman. With a plural subject, the reflexive pronoun can mean each other.

Quin bèl ostal! Quina calor! Quin changes with gender and number: quin, quina, quines, quinas.

To tell one person what to do, use the he or she present form: finís, vend. For a group, use the vosautres form: finissètz, vendètz. For let us, add -iscam or -am.

Èra un ostal pichòt e blanc. Fasiá fred. Use it for the time, the weather, how things looked and what was going on.

Cada estiu anàvem a la mar. Words like cada, totjorn, sovent and de còps often go with it.

Parlavi, parlavas, parlava, parlàvem, parlàvetz, parlavan. The first person ends in -i, and -àvem and -àvetz carry an accent.

Vendiá lo vin. Dormissiam plan. Add the endings to the infinitive stem, with -iss- for the -ir verbs.

Aviái fam. Aviá fred. The imperfect of aver says what you had, and how you felt, in the past.

Èra tard. Èri content. The imperfect describes a state in the past, such as time, mood or place.

Vai! Fai! Prenètz! Venètz! Learn these commands with the verb, because they do not follow the -ar, -ir or -re pattern.

Fasiá bèl temps. Take the nosautres present, drop -èm, and add -iái, -iás, -iá, -iam, -iatz, -ián.

Fach (far), dich (dire), vist (veire), pres (prene), mes (metre), obèrt (obrir) and escrich (escriure) are the ones you meet most. The feminine adds -a: facha, dicha.

Parles pas! Me parles pas! The negative command takes the forms you will later meet as the present subjunctive, and the pronoun stays before the verb.

Ai pas manjat. Soi pas anat a l'escòla. Pas stays right after aver or èsser.

Li parli. Lor doni lo libre. Li and lor stand for the person you speak, give or write to.

Lo vesi. La vesi. Los vesi. The pronoun agrees with the noun it replaces and stands before the verb.

Me veses? Te vesi. Nos vesèm deman. Vos vesi. The same word works for me and to me.

La pòrta barrada. Los libres crompats. The participle follows the noun and takes the feminine and plural endings.

Only the he or she form is surprising: crei. After créser, que opens the clause: Cresi que ven.

Dona-me lo libre! Diga-me! Fasètz-lo! In a positive command, write the pronoun after the verb and join them with a hyphen.

Lo vesi pas. Li parli pas. In the compound past, the pronoun comes before the auxiliary and pas follows it: L'ai pas vist.

De qué parlatz? Amb qui anatz a Tolosa? Qui is for people and qué is for things.

Me lèvi a sièis oras. Se lava. The pronoun goes before the verb and names the same person as the subject.

Me soi levat. Maria s'es levada. Put the pronoun first, then èsser, then the participle.

Replace the infinitive ending with -at (-ar verbs), -it (-ir verbs) or -ut (-re verbs): manjat, finit, vendut. The feminine adds -a: manjada.

L'ostal ont demòri es pichòt. Ont means where, and it comes right after the noun for the place.

L'òme que ven es mon paire. Lo libre que legissi es bon. Que means who, whom, which or that, as subject or as object.

Manjar gives mangi, començar gives comenci, and jogar gives jògui.

Aquò es per ieu. Vau amb tu. After a word like per, amb or de, the pronoun has the same form as the subject pronoun.

Pensi a Maria. Parlam de Joan. Cerqui las claus. Learn each verb together with its preposition.

Ai besonh d'ajuda. Joan a besonh de dormir. The verb aver changes with the person, and besonh de stays the same.

Cada jorn means every day, and cada setmana means every week. Cada is followed by a noun with no article.

Cadun a son libre. Use cadun for a man or a mixed group and caduna for a woman or a group of women. Add de to name the group: cadun dels dròlles.

Comença a nevar. Comencèt de manjar. Both a and de are written, and the verb after them stays in the infinitive.

Ai de bons amics. Joan cròmpa de bèlas flors. Occitan has no plural article like French des.

Dedins means inside and defòra means outside. Endacòm means somewhere, and enlòc means nowhere: Vau pas enlòc.

Demòri a Tolosa dempuèi dos ans. Plòu dempuèi ièr. The verb stays in the present.

La clau es dejós. L'avion vòla dessús la vila. Alone, they answer where; with a noun, they place one thing above or under another.

Torni dins una ora. Dins tres jorns, partissèm per Carcassona. The verb points to the future.

Me ditz que ven deman. Maria ditz que Joan es malaut. Que joins the verb of saying to what was said.

Vau en çò de Joan. Anam en çò del fornièr. The same phrase says where you go and where you are.

Put gaireben before a time, an adjective, a number or a quantity: gaireben miègjorn, gaireben void. It never changes.

I a tres ans, demoràvem a Rodés. Fa dos ans que demòri a Tolosa. Fa dos ans que means for two years.

Joan es lo mai grand. Tolosa es la mai granda vila d'Occitània. For the least, say lo mens: lo mens car.

Put mai de or mens de before a noun or a number: mai de pan, mens de tres oras. Before a vowel, de becomes d': mens d'aiga.

Aquel cafè es melhor. Parli mièlhs. Aquesta cadièra es pièger. Melhor changes with its noun: melhora, melhors, melhoras.

Put meteis between the article and the noun to say the same: lo meteis jorn, la meteissa causa. After a pronoun it means self: ieu meteis.

Bevi pas ni vin ni cervesa. Soi pas ni cansat ni malaut. Repeat ni before every item.

O sabi. O dison. O stands for what, not for a noun, and it goes before the verb.

Fuma pas mai. Plòu pas mai. Before a noun, add de: Vòli pas mai de cafè.

I a pas qu'una cadièra. Parli pas qu'occitan a l'ostal. Que goes right before the only thing.

Dormissi pendent una ora. Pendent l'estiu, anam a la mar. Before a clause, use pendent que.

Vau a Tolosa per veire Maria. Partissèm d'ora per pas arribar tard. Per pas means so as not to.

Qualque jorn means some day, and qualques amics means a few friends. Both words are the same for masculine and feminine.

Vesi quicòm. Ai pas vist degun. Ai quicòm de bon. Add de before an adjective: quicòm de bon.

Se plòu deman, demoram a l'ostal. S'as fam, manja una frucha! The verb after se stays in the present.

Sabi pas se ven. Me demandi se plòu a Carcassona. Se becomes s' before a vowel, as in sabi pas s'a manjat.

Soi estat a Tolosa. The participle estat agrees with the subject: estat, estada, estats, estadas.

Torni dire. Maria torna legir la letra. Nothing sits between tornar and the infinitive.

Unes goes with masculine nouns and unas with feminine ones: unes amics, unas femnas. They often come in pairs: unes ... d'autres, some ... others.

Compreni çò que dises. Çò que opens a clause that stands for a thing: what you say, what I see.

Soi a escriure una letra. Son a jogar dins lo pargue. The a is required.

Ostalet and ostalon name a small house, and ostalàs names a big one. The gender stays the same.

Parlariái mai. (I would speak more.) Seriá bon. (It would be good.)

Espèri mièja ora. (I wait half an hour.) Mangèri un tèrç del pan. (I ate a third of the bread.)

Quand arribaràs, telefonaràs. (When you arrive, you will call.) English says arrive, but Occitan says arribaràs.

Parlarai deman. (I will speak tomorrow.) Vendrem l'ostal. (We will sell the house.) The infinitive comes first, then the ending, and a -re verb drops its e.

Èsser gives serai, seràs, serà, serem, seretz, seràn, and aver gives aurai, auràs, aurà, aurem, auretz, auràn. Serai aicí deman. (I will be here tomorrow.) Auràs fam. (You will be hungry.)

Aquí se parla occitan. (Occitan is spoken here.) Se ditz que fa fred. (They say it is cold.)

Learn the stem, then add the usual endings. Vendrai deman. (I will come tomorrow.) Poiràn pas venir. (They will not be able to come.)

Cantaire (singer), trabalhaire (worker), jardinièr (gardener).

Pastissièr gives pastissariá, the pastry shop. These nouns are feminine, the accent stays, and the plural is -iás.

Ciutat (city), libertat (freedom), esperança (hope). All of these nouns are feminine.

L'ai vist. L'ai vista. Las ai crompadas. A noun after the verb does not change the participle.

Poiriás venir? (Could you come?) The conditional asks politely where the present would sound direct.

Un libre interessant (an interesting book), una istòria interessanta (an interesting story). These words agree with the noun.

Add -guèri, -guères, -guèt, -guèrem, -guèretz, -guèron to a short stem. Joan diguèt que non. (Joan said no.) Venguèrem a pè. (We came on foot.)

Cantèrem tota la nuèch. Joan trobèt una clau. The simple past tells a finished event in a story.

Finiguèt lo libre. Partiguèron ièr. The -iss- of the present does not appear in the simple past.

Joan vendèt sa veitura. Metèrem las claus dins lo sac. Do not add -igu-: that is for -ir verbs.

Anar gives anèri, anères, anèt, anèrem, anèretz, anèron, and far gives faguèri, faguères, faguèt, faguèrem, faguèretz, faguèron. Un jorn, Joan anèt a Rodés. (One day, Joan went to Rodez.)

Foguèt content. Aguèri paur. The six forms run from foguèri to foguèron and from aguèri to aguèron.

Ièr ai manjat amb Joan. (Yesterday I ate with Joan.) Un còp, mangèron amassa. (Once, they ate together.)

Èra nuèch quand arribèt. (It was night when he arrived.) The imperfect says what was going on, and the simple past says what happened.

Manjam en parlant. (We eat while talking.) Aprenèm en legissent. (We learn by reading.)

Refar (to redo), desfar (to undo), retrobar (to find again).

Alavetz, sortiguèt. (Then he went out.) Alavetz, demorem aquí. (So let's stay here.)

Aprèp aver manjat, partissèm. (After eating, we leave.) Both actions have the same subject.

Joan es contra aquela idèa. (Joan is against that idea.) Segon Maria, fa fred. (According to Maria, it is cold.) Malgrat lo fred, sortiguèt. (Despite the cold, he went out.)

Daissatz-me parlar! (Let me speak!) The infinitive follows daissar, and a pronoun joins the command.

Plòu de mai en mai. Fa de mens en mens fred. Put it after the verb or before an adjective.

Demòri aicí dempuèi que sèm maridats. (I have lived here since we got married.)

Joan emai Maria son d'Albi. Vendrai, emai siá tard. Emai and amai are the same word.

Es Joan que ven. (It is Joan who is coming.) Es deman que partissèm. (It is tomorrow that we leave.)

Fasèm venir un mètge. (We send for a doctor.) Far comes first, and the infinitive follows it directly.

I vau. (I am going there.) I pensi. (I think about it.) I goes before the verb.

Coma plòu, restam a l'ostal. (As it is raining, we stay at home.)

L'un e l'autre parlan occitan. L'una e l'autra is the feminine. L'un o l'autre means one or the other.

Aquel libre es lo mieu. (That book is mine.) Lo tieu, lo sieu and the others work the same way.

La femna amb la quala parli es Maria. (The woman I am talking to is Maria.) Lo qual agrees with the noun it stands for.

Lo que veses es mon ostal. (The one you see is my house.) The article matches the noun that is left out.

Mai d'un còp means more than once. Mantun còp means many a time. Mantuna, mantunes and mantunas are the other forms of mantun.

Ne vòli. (I want some.) N'ai pas. (I have none.) N'i a tres. (There are three.) Ne goes before the verb and becomes n' before a vowel.

Parlas pas gaire. (You do not talk much.) N'i a pas gaire. (There are not many.)

I a pas res de novèl. (There is nothing new.) Vesi pas res d'interessant. (I see nothing interesting.)

Vòli pas res mai. (I want nothing else.) Pas res mai goes after the verb.

Legís pendent que manjam. (He reads while we eat.) The two verbs can have different subjects.

Soi content per çò que ven. (I am happy because he is coming.)

Quitament Joan es aicí. Trabalham quitament lo dimenge. Maria pòt pas quitament parlar.

Partís sens dire res. (He leaves without saying anything.)

Tot çò que dises es verai. (Everything you say is true.)

Lo vesi arribar. (I see him arriving.) Las ausissi cantar. (I hear them singing.)

After a doubt or a denial, use the subjunctive: Pensi pas que siá aicí. (I do not think he is here.) After espèri que, use the indicative, often the future: Espèri que vendrà. (I hope he will come.)

The future perfect is the future of aver or èsser plus the participle: Aurai acabat deman. (I will have finished tomorrow.)

After a past main verb, the subjunctive is in the imperfect: Voliái que venguèsse. (I wanted him to come.) The endings are -èsse, -èsses, -èsse, -èssem, -èssetz, -èsson.

Learn siá (èsser), aja (aver), ane (anar), faga (far), diga (dire), venga (venir), vòlga (voler), pòsca (poder) and sàpia (saber). They appear after cal que and voler que: Vòli que siás content. (I want you to be happy.)

The passive is èsser plus a participle that agrees with the subject, and per names who does it: La pòrta es barrada per Joan. (The door is closed by Joan.)

The pluperfect is the imperfect of aver or èsser plus the participle: Aviái ja manjat. (I had already eaten.) Èra partit. (He had left.)

Cal que parle plan. (I must speak well.) Vòli que cantes. (I want you to sing.)

Both groups take the endings -a, -as, -a, -am, -atz, -an: finisca (from finir) and venda (from vendre). They follow words like cal que: Cal que partiscam. (We must leave.)

A question word followed by que siá means any at all: quora que siá (whenever), qué que siá (anything), qual que siá (whoever).

Short words join with an apostrophe: Aquò's bon. (That is good.) Qu'es aquò? (What is that?)

Abans que is followed by the subjunctive: Abans que Maria partisca, li telefòni. (Before Maria leaves, I call her.)

Cal que takes the subjunctive: Cal que partiscam. (We must leave.) Cal que siás aicí. (You must be here.)

Encara que takes the subjunctive: Encara que plòga, sortissèm. (Even if it rains, we go out.)

Levat que plòga, sortirem. (Unless it rains, we will go out.) A plain fact stays in the indicative: Soi content, levat que ai fam. (I am happy, except that I am hungry.)

A wish about another person takes the subjunctive: Vòli que venga. (I want him to come.) Volèm que vengatz. (We want you to come.)

Two pronouns can stand before a verb, and ne joins the one before it: Me lo dona. (He gives it to me.) Me'n dona. (He gives me some.) Te'n pòrti. (I bring you some.)

Ges is another word for not any, and it comes with pas: I a pas ges de pan. (There is no bread at all.)

Pr'aquò and çaquelà mean however or yet: Fa fred, pr'aquò sortissèm. (It is cold, but we go out anyway.)

Saique means probably or I suppose: Saique ven deman. (He is probably coming tomorrow.)

A condition that is not real uses se with the imperfect and the conditional: Se fasiá bèl temps, anariam a la mar. (If the weather were nice, we would go to the sea.) S'aviái de moneda, crompariái un ostal. (If I had money, I would buy a house.)

Tan before a consonant and tant before a vowel, with que, give a result: Fa tan caud que dormissi pas. (It is so hot that I cannot sleep.)

Òm means one, you or they, with nobody in particular: Òm ditz que fa fred. (They say it is cold.)

A participle at the start of a sentence can stand for a whole clause: Acabat lo trabalh, partiguèt. (The work finished, he left.)

Nos shortens before ne, lo and los, and vos before ne: No'n donan. (They give us some.) Vo'n mandi tres. (I send you three.)

Gascon has its own forms, such as nòste where Languedocien says nòstre and hè calor where it says fa caud, and this course does not teach them.

Provençal often has -u where Languedocien has -l at the end of a word, so it writes ostau where this course writes ostal.

Written and formal Occitan can put non before the verb: Jamai non ven. (He never comes.) Non sabi. (I do not know.)

Languedocien has local forms: del is also said dal or dau, and aqueles is also said aquels. This course uses del and aqueles.

A long sentence joins several clauses with que, ont and çò que, and each clause keeps its own verb: L'ostal ont demòri es pichòt, mas es plan polit. (The house where I live is small, but very pretty.)

The past conditional is the conditional of aver or èsser plus the participle: Auriái manjat. (I would have eaten.) Seriá vengut. (He would have come.)

The pluperfect subjunctive is the imperfect subjunctive of aver or èsser plus the participle: S'aguèsse sauput, seriái vengut. (If I had known, I would have come.)

Spoken and written Occitan share one grammar, and a few choices set the tone, such as tu with a friend and vos to be polite, or pas after the verb in everyday Occitan and non before the verb in careful writing.

In some areas, son, sa, sos and sas also stand for their: son amic (their friend), sos amics (their friends). This course uses lor.

Vos with a plural verb is the polite way to speak to one person: Cossí anatz? (How are you?) Se vos plai, venètz. (Please come.)