Catalan II Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

Written by Jonathan Maynard

21. Simple Conjuctions & Prepositions (Conjuncions i preposicions bàsiques)

i	and	si	if
o	or	que	that
però	but*	a	in, at, to
entre	between	en	in, into
fins (a)	until, up to/til	de	of, from
per	by, through, for	per a	for, in order to
amb	with	com	like, as
contra	against	sense	without
segons	according to	malgrat	despite
ca**	the home/business of

*The English 'but' can actually be translated as either "però" or "sinó" depending on the context of the sentence. The difference between "però" and "sinó" will be explained in a later tutorial but for now the learner should be aware that "però" is the more common of the two.

**For those who know French, "ca" (which is an abbreviation for "casa") is essentially the equivalent of "chez." However, when referring to a person's home using a personal pronoun, Catalan has the fixed expressions of: "casa meva" (my house), "casa teva" (your house), etc.).

Other prepositions and conjunctions (especially those denoting location or those used to link clauses in compound sentences) will be covered in a later tutorial.

The "b" in amb is only pronounced when followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h.

22. Contractions between articles and prepositions (Contraccions entre articles i preposicions)

a + el = al*	a + els = als
de + el = del	de + els = dels
per + el = pel	per + els = pels
ca + el = cal	ca + els = cals

Vaig a cals Martorell. I'm going to the Martorell's (house).
El CD més últim dels Beatles va sortir el 1970. The Beatles' last CD came out in 1970.
Van al col·legi. They go to middle/junior high school.
Vam anar pel carrer. We went through the street.
Va arribar amb retard a cal metge. She arrived late to the doctor's office.

*Given that unstressed e's and a's in the Central variant of Catalan are both pronounced as the neutral vowel that has the English sound "uh," "el" and "al" are essentially pronounced the same way. The same of course goes for the plural forms "els" and "als."

For composed prepositions such as "per a," the suitable contractions would naturally be with the last part of the preposition (e.g. "per al" and "per als").

Contractions do NOT occur when elision takes places (i.e. de l'home and NOT del home).

23. To Do/Make (Fer)

faig	fem
fas	feu
fa	fan

"Fer" is a very common verb in Catalan and is used in countless phrases and idioms. The following is a short list:

fer servir - to use

fer saber alguna cosa a algú - to let someone know something

fer de - to be (insert name of a job)

fer broma - to joke

fer-li il·lusió - to be excited to

fer el paper de - to play the role of (in a movie/TV show/play)

fer plans - to make plans

fer el llit - to make the bed

fer amistat amb - to make friends with

si fa (o) no fa - more or less

Em fa molta il·lusió anar a París aquest estiu! I'm so excited to go to Paris this summer!
Fem de secretaris. We're secretaries.
L'habitació fa 17.2 metres quadrats, si fa no fa. The bedroom measures 17.2 square meters, more or less.
Segur que faràs amistat amb molts nois i noies a la teva nova escola! Surely you'll make friends with lots of boys and girls at your new school!

24. Work and School (La feina i l'escola)

	masculine	feminine
actor/actress	l'actor	l'actriu
singer	el cantant	la cantant
architect	l'arquitecte	l'arquitecta
accountant	el comptable	la comptable
judge	el jutge	la jutgessa
business person	l'home de negocis / l'empresari	la dona de negocis / l'empresària
baker	el forner / el flequer	la fornera / la flequera
hair dresser	el perruquer	la perruquera
computer programmer	el programador	la programadora
secretary	el secretari	la secretària
electrician	l'electricista / el lampista	l'electricista / la lampista
mechanic	el mecànic	la mecànic
cook	el cuiner	la cuinera
salesperson	el dependent / el venedor	la dependenta / la venedora
fire fighter	el bomber	la bombera
plumber	el lampista / el llauner	la lampista / la llaunera
librarian	el bibliotecari	la bibliotecària
police officer	l'agent de policia	l'agent de policia
reporter	el reporter	la reportera
journalist	el periodista	la periodista
blue-collar worker / laborer	l'obrer	l'obrera
banker	el banquer	la banquera
lawyer	l'advocat	l'advocada
postal worker / mail carrier	el carter	la cartera
carpenter	el fuster	la fustera
waiter/waitress	el cambrer	la cambrera
engineer	l'enginyer	l'enginyera
doctor	el metge	la metgessa
nurse	l'infermer	la infermera
pharmacist	el farmacèutic	la farmacèutica
psychologist	el psicòleg	la psicòloga
economist	l'economista	l'economista
politician	el polític	la política
babysitter	el cangur	la cangur
dentist	el dentista	la dentista
veterinarian	el veterinari	la veterinària
taxi driver	el taxista	la taxista
writer	l'escriptor / l'autor	l'escriptora / l'autora
teacher (primary school)	el mestre	la mestra
teacher/professor	el professor	la professora
student (primary school) / pupil	l'alumne	l'alumna
university student	l'estudiant	l'estudiant
scholar	l'estudiós	l'estudiosa
retired person	el jubilat	la jubilada

School Subjects (Les assignatures)

math(ematics)	les matemàtiques	geography	la geografia
algebra	l'àlgebra (f.)	physics	la física
calculus	el càlcul	biology	la biologia
geometry	la geometria	chemistry	la química
business	els negocis	commerce	el comerç
foreign languages	les llengües estrangeres	accounting	la comptabilitat
botany	la botànica	economics	l'economia (f.)
fine arts	les belles arts	music	la música
dance	el ball	linguistics	la lingüística
literature	la literatura	computer science	la informàtica
psychology	la psicologia	philosophy	la filosofia
physical education	l'educació (f.) física	history	la història
arithmetic	l'aritmètica (f.)	astronomy	l'astronomia (f.)
sociology	la sociologia	English	l'anglès (m.)
Catalan	el català	Castillian (Spanish)	el castellà (l'espanyol)
French	el francès	Chinese	el xinès
German	l'alemany (m.)	Italian	l'italià (m.)
Japanese	el japonès	Russian	el rus
Portuguese	el portuguès	Arabic	l'àrab (m.)
Ancient Greek	el grec antic	Latin	el llatí

As in other Romance languages, Catalan does not require an article before professions in the statement: (noun) + to be + name of profession, unless the profession is modified by an adjective.

Sóc professor. I'm a professor

BUT

És una professora de francès impressionant. She's an amazing French professor.

A few common expressions exist to ask someone both what his or her profession is and what he or she is doing at the moment to earn income.

A què et dediques? (sing. inf.) What's your profession?
A què es dedica? (sing. formal)

De què fas? (sing. inf.) What's your (current) job?
De què fa? (sing. formal)

Em dedico a la fotografia, però faig de cambrer de moment. I'm a photographer/I majored in photography, but I'm working as a waiter at the moment.

25. Forming the plural of nouns (La formació del plural dels substantius)

A.) Generally speaking, if a noun ends in a consonant other than "ç", "s", "x", or an unstressed vowel other than "a", then the plural of the noun is made by simply adding "-s".

una crisi (a crisis) --> crisis (crises)
un home (a man) --> homes (men)
un parisenc (a Parisian man) --> parisencs (Parisian men/Parisians)
un ou (an egg) --> ous (eggs)
un gat (a cat) --> gats
un moto (a motorcycle) --> motos (motorcycles)

NB: Nouns in this category that specifically end in an unstressed "en" require an accent on the penultimate vowel in the plural: un examen (exam) --> exàmens (exams), un origen (an origin) --> orígens (origins)

B.) If a noun ends in an unstressed "a", this "a" is replaced with a "es" in the plural.

una idea (an idea) --> idees (ideas)
un problema (a problem) --> problemes (problems)

This change from "a" to "e" dictates certain spelling changes to retain the same consonant pronunciations in the plural from that are found in the singular form:

a.) ç --> c [e.g. una plaça (a town square) --> places (town squares)]
b.) c --> qu [e.g. una beca (a scholarship) --> beques (scholarships)]
c.) (t)j --> (t)g [e.g. una platja (a beach) --> platges (beaches), un taronja (an orange) --> taronges (oranges)]
d.) g --> gu [e.g. una botiga (a shop) --> botigues (shops)]
e.) gu --> gü [e.g. una llengua (a language/a tongue) --> llengües (languages/tongues)]
f.) qu --> qü [e.g. Pasqua (Easter) --> Pasqües (Easters)]

NB: This "e" in the ending "-es" is always pronounced as the neutral vowel, sounding something like "uh" to English speakers.

C.) If a noun ends in a stressed vowel, add "-ns" to form the plural and remove the accent on the stressed vowel if there is one (which there is in many cases).

un cinturó (a belt) --> cinturons (belts)
un do (a gift/talent) --> dons (gifts/talents)
una mà (a hand) --> mans (hands)

NB: If the accented vowel is an "i" and is preceded by another vowel, a diaresis mark (i.e. two dots above a vowel to retain its pronunciation which would be otherwise lost due to it being part of a diphthong) is required [e.g. un veí (a neighbor) --> veïns (neighbors)].

There are some exceptions to rule C.) which only need be learned as the learner encounters them in speaking and/or writing Catalan. The most common would be:

un papà (a dad) --> papàs (dads)
una mamà (a mom) --> mamàs (moms)
un sofà (a sofa/couch) --> sofàs (sofas, couches)
un bebè (a baby) --> bebès (babies)

D.) Nouns ending in "-s", "-ç", or "-x"

a.) If a feminine noun ends in "-s", nothing is changed or added to the noun to form the plural.

una ics (an x) --> ics (x's)

b.) If a feminine noun ends in "-ç" or "-x", then an "s" is added but is silent.

una falç (a sicle) --> falçs (sicles)

c.) Rules a.) and b.) also apply to masculine nouns in which the final syllable contains "-ç", "-x", or "-s" BUT is an UNSTRESSED syllable

un atles (an atlas) --> atles (atlases)
un apèndix (an appendix) --> apèndixs (appendices)

d.) If a masculine noun ends a stressed vowel plus "s", the ending "-os" is added. Any accent on the stressed vowel is dropped.

un braç (an arm) --> braços (arms)
un curs (a course) --> cursos (courses)
un despatx (an office) --> despatxos (offices)
un país (a country) --> països (countries)
un gimnàs (a gymnasium) --> gimnasos (gymnasiums)

NB: A number of nouns in this class that have a preceding vowel "a", "i", "u", or "o" double their final "-s" to retain its voiceless sound.

un os (a bone) --> ossos (bones)
un ós (a bear) --> óssos (bears)
un passadís (a corridor) --> passadissos (corridors)

However, arguably the most common nouns in this group do not double their final "s", thus having it change from a voiceless "s" [s] to a voiced [z]. Another pronunciation note to remember is that the "o" in the "-os" ending is obviously unstressed and thus has a [u] sound.

E.) Masculine nouns ending in "-sc", "-st", "-xt", or "-ig"

a.) For masculine nouns ending in "-sc", "-st", or "-xt" add either "-s" or "-os" to the end. Either option is feasible, though in the case of certain words, adding just "-s" is preferable.

un basc (a Basque man) --> bascs OR bascos (Basque men/Basques)
un gust (a taste/flavor) --> gusts OR gustos (tastes/flavors)
un text (a text of literature) --> texts OR textos (texts of literture)

b.) Masculine nouns ending in "-ig" essentially follow the same rule as a.) but the tendency to just add "-s", as noted above, is most prevalent in this subclass. Another aspect that must be noted is that with the ending "-os", the "-ig" can change to either "j" or "tj" depending on the word.

un boig (a madman) --> bojos OR boigs (madmen)
un desig (a desire) --> desigs OR desitjos (desires)
un passeig (a stroll/boulevard) --> passeigs OR passejos (strolls/boulevards)

Generally speaking, an unstressed "o" is a very uncommon ending in Catalan for any word other than a 1st person singular present indicative of a regular verb (e.g. parlo "I speak"). This is perhaps one of the most significant differences between Spanish and Catalan vocabulary. Similarly, an unstressed "a" followed by an "s", "-as", is an even less common ending and is usually only found in words of foreign origin.

26. Adjectives I - Endings (Adjectius I - Terminacions)

Catalan adjectives, which agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify can be divided into two basic classes: those in the first class are 'Adjectives of two endings', meaning they have one ending for when they modify a masculine singular noun and a different ending for when they modify a feminine singular noun. 'Adjectives of one ending,' by contrast, have the same ending whether they're modifying a masculine singular noun or a feminine singular noun. All adjectives, regardless of which class they belong to, do show agreement in number and even some 'Adjectives of one ending' have a separate plural form for when modifying masculine plural nouns and another form for when modifying feminine plural nouns (something which all 'Adjectives of two endings' naturally have). However, for certain adjectives that are merely nouns acting as adjectives, in particular certain colors like 'marró' "brown" or 'taronja' "orange," there is no agreement whatsoever, be it gender or number agreement (e.g. un edifici taronja "an orange building," una casa taronja "an orange house," cotxes taronja "orange cars", sabates taronja "orange shoes").

'Adjectives of 2 endings'

Basic Form

Masculine singular:	- (nothing)	Feminine singular:	-a
Masculine plural:	-s	Feminine plural:	-es

Examples: "tall, high" alt - alta - alts - altes ; "thin" prim - prima - prims - primes

a.) In a number of cases, accents are usually dropped or added to the feminine forms, to retain the stress on the same syllable that it falls on in the masculine forms.

Examples: "university (adj.)" universitari - universitària - universitaris - universitàries ; "lukewarm, tepid" tebi - tèbia - tebis - tèbies

b.) Final consonants that change in feminine forms: t -> d, c -> g, l -> l·l

Examples: "busy" enfeinat - enfeinada - enfeinats - enfeinades ; "blind" cec - cega - cecs - cegues ; "calm, tranquil" tranquil - tranquil·la - tranquils - tranquil·les

Though the t -> d change is rather common (most especially in the case of "-ar" verb past participles acting as adjectives, which will be covered later), there are
certain endings (involving "t") that do not reflect this: -et, -ot, unstressed -it, and a number of -ut, -it, and -at adjectives.

Examples: "clean" net - neta - nets - netes ; "all, whole" tot - tota - tots - totes ; "unusual" insòlit - insòlita - insòlits - insòlites ; "written" escrit - escrita - escrits - escrites ; "blessed" beat - beata - beats - beates ; "absolute" absolut - absoluta - absoluts - absolutes

Adjectives ending in a stressed -it, unstressed -ut, or -at or are exceptions to the original rule and must be learned individually, unlike adjectives ending
in -et, -ot, and unstressed -it which are not actually exceptions in themselves but in fact form their own rule to begin with, for they all follow the t -> ta rule
automatically.

Similarly, there are some specific exceptions to the c -> g rule as well: -aic, unstressed -ac, unstressed -ic, and unstressed -oc

Examples: "archaic" arcaic - arcaica - arcaics -arcaiques ; "maniacal" maníac - maníaca - maníacs - maníaques ; "basic" bàsic - bàsica - bàsics - bàsiques ; "ambiguous" equívoc - equívoca - equívocs - equívoques

Some other exceptions to the c -> g rule are: "lean" flac, "opaque" opac, "dry" sec, "stammering" quec, and "obstinate" rebec. Others include a few nationality adjectives which will be covered in a later tutorial. In all, the -ic/-ica group is quite large with the only exceptions being "Arabic" aràbic and "faded" mústic.

The number of l -> l·l adjectives is quite small (with "tranquil" arguably being the most common example), as most adjectives ending in l are in the 'Adjectives of 1 ending' class.

c.) Final vowels that change: e -> a, o -> a, eu -> ea, u -> v, and òleg -> òloga

Examples: "other" altre - altra - altres - altres ; "pretty, nice" maco - maca - macos - maques ; "European" europeu - europea - europeus - europees ; "new" nou - nova - nous - noves ; "homologous" homòleg - homòloga - homòlegs - homòlogues

Adjectives that end in an "e" that changes to "a" in the feminine only have one ending for both masculine and feminine plural forms: -es.

Adjectives ending in "-o" and "-òleg" are very few in number, with "sacrilegious" sacríleg - sacrílega being an exception. Also few in number are those adjectives which are e -> a adjectives which generally seem to occur when the adjective ends in two consonants plus an "e" (e.g. "correct" correcte, "poor" pobre, etc.). One exception to the eu -> ea group is "Jewish" jueu - jueva - jueus - jueves.

Though the overwhelming majority of -iu adjectives follow the u -> v pattern, a few notable ones do not and instead simply add an "a" after the "u" to form the feminine form: "native" nadiu - nadiua - nadius - nadiues, "icy" geliu, "solitary" soliu, and "dainty" joliu.

d.) Just as with nouns of the same ending, adjectives ending in a stressed vowel add an -n- before adding the regular endings. Additionally, they get rid of any accents. However, an accented i (i.e. "í") preceded by another vowel becomes an i with a dieresis (i.e. "ï")

Examples: "pleasant" amè - amena - amens - amenes ; "full" ple - plena - plens - plenes ; "genuine, authentic" genuí - genuïna - genuïns - genuïnes

e.) For 'Adjectives of 2 endings' ending in -s, -ç, -x, -ix, -tx, -sc, -st, -xt, and -ig, the singular endings remain the same, but the plural endings for the masculine plural
and feminine plural forms are -os and -es, respectively. Specifically, in the case of adjectives ending in -sc, -st, -xt, and -ig, there is a choice in the masculine plural between -s and -os, just as with nouns of the same ending. Also like nouns of the same ending, -ig adjectives change to either -j- or -tj- in their feminine forms and the only way to know which form to use is to memorize them individually.

Examples: "French" francès - francesa - francesos - franceses ; "sweet" dolç - dolça - dolços - dolces ; "fixed, secure" fix - fixa - fixos - fixes ; "short, low" baix - baixa - baixos - baixes ; "Frenchy (pejorative term concerning French people or things)" gavatx - gavatxa - gavatxos - gavatxes ; "dark" fosc - fosca - foscos/foscs - fosques ; "honest" honest - honesta - honestos/honests - honestes ; "mixed" mixt - mixta - mixtos/mixts - mixtes ; "crazy" boig - boja - boigs/bojos - boges ; "ugly" lleig - lletja - lletjos/lleigs - lletges

Adjectives whose masculine singular ending is -às or -ís double their final -s before applying the proper endings for the other forms. Furthermore, a few other adjectives ending in -s also follow this pattern of double the final -s in other forms. The most common example would be "fat" gras.

Examples: "forgetful" oblidadís - oblidadissa - oblidadissos - oblidadisses ; "fat" gras - grassa - grassos - grasses

'Adjectives of 1 ending'

Basic Form

Masculine singular:	- (nothing)	Feminine singular:	- (nothing)
Masculine plural:	-s	Feminine plural:	-s

a.) Typical endings of invariable adjectives (i.e. 'Adjectives of 1 ending'): -al, -el, -il, -ant, -ent, -ar, -e, -a, -ble, and -aire

Examples: "world (adj.)" mundial - mundials ; "faithful" fidel - fidels ; "easy" fàcil - fàcils ; "similar" semblant - semblants ; "careful" prudent - prudents ; "regular" regular - regulars ; "young" jove - joves ; "cosmopolitan" cosmopolita - cosmopolites ; "kind" amable - amables ; "chatty" xerraire - xerraires

Naturally, there are exceptions for each of these adjective endings and some ("bad" mal/mala, for example) will be covered in later tutorials.

Though most adjectives ending in -or are 'Adjectives of 2 endings' (-or/-ora), those that end in -erior like "superior" superior and "previous" anterior, and those ending in a form of -color are equally invariable (e.g. "multicolor" multicolor - multicolors ; "of one color" unicolor - unicolors ; but NOT "colorless" incolor - incolora - incolors - incolores).

b.) Adjectives ending in -aç, -iç, and -oç do not follow the same rule as other adjectives ending in -ç. Instead, these three particular endings are invariable and thus are 'Adjectives of 1 ending.' However, what sets them apart from other 'Adjectives of 1 ending' is that they show gender agreement in their plural forms

Example: "capable" capaç - capaç - capaços - capaces ; "happy" feliç - feliç - feliços - felices ; "atrocious" atroç - atroç - atroços - atroces

The Feminine of Nouns

There will be no separate section in the Catalan tutorials discussing the feminine forms of nouns describing people and animals, for the majority of them follow the same rules for forming feminine as adjectives with corresponding endings. Additionally, the most notable exceptions will be covered in various other sections in the tutorials (such as the section concerning the names of professions).

From now on, the fem. sg., and, if need be, mas. pl. and fem. pl. endings of adjectives presented in other sections (like the one following this one) will be shown in parentheses directly after the adjective. If the adjective is an 'Adjective of 1 ending' then a number 1 will be given in parentheses instead (as well as "-os" and "-es", if necessary). Similarly, for nouns concerning people or animals, irregular feminine, and even plural, forms will be given in parenthesis. Also included in the endings given in parentheses will be consonants that change in other forms (Though this is not true of the animals listed in the "Family and domestic animals" section of Catalan I, some of those animals may be listed again in further sections, this time including their feminine endings.)

Examples: "bitter" agre(-a) BUT "young" jove(1) ; "barefoot" descalç(-a/-os/-ces) BUT "effective" eficaç(1,-os/-es); "Danish" danès(-esa) ; "healthy" sa(-na)

27. Adjectives II - Common adjectives to describe people or things (Adjectius II - Adjectius comuns per descriure persones o coses)

large	gran(1)	small	petit(-a)
young	jove(1)	old	vell(-a)/antic(-ga)
nice	sympàtic(-a)	mean	mesquí(-ina)
outgoing	sociable(1)/extrovertit(-ida)	shy, surly	esquerp(-a)
tall, high	alt(-a)	short, low	baix(-a)
thick	gruixut(-uda)	thin	prim(-a)/fi(-na)
easy	fàcil(1)	difficult	difícil(1)
beautiful	bonic(-a)	ugly	lleig(-tja)
strong	fort(-a)	weak	dèbil(1)
quiet	tranquil(-l·la)/silenciós(-osa)	soft	suau
wide	ample(-a)	narrow	estret(-a)
full	ple(-na)	empty	buit(-da)
smart	intel·ligent(1)	stupid	estúpid(-a)
heavy	pesat(-da)	light	lleuger(-a)
dark	fosc(-a)	bright	lluminós(-osa)
long	llarg(-a)	short	curt(-a)
rich	ric(-a)	poor	pobre(-a)
expensive	car(-a)	cheap	barat(-a)

*"Baix" means short in terms of height and "curt" means short in terms of length. Similarly, "vell" is generally used for people and "antic" for things.

Some adjectives have more euphemistic versions when referring to people. For example, instead of saying someone is "una persona vella," Catalans would tend to say that such an individual is "una persona gran." Similarly, a person who is short may technically be "baix(-a)," but Catalans tend to use the more polite diminutive "baixet(-a)" to express such a characteristic.

More complicated topics such as the placent of adjectives (which is generally after the noun, but has important exceptions) and multiple adjectives modifying the same noun will be covered in subsequent tutorials.

28. The Adjectives III - Translating "good", "bad", "well", and "badly" (Adjectius III - Com traduir "good", "bad", "well", and "badly")

Translating the adjectives "good" and "bad" and the adverbs "well" and "badly" from English into Catalan may be somewhat tricky, as each term takes a form in Catalan bases not only on gender and number agreement (in the case of the adjectives) but also on their position in the sentence.

The Adverbs "Well" - Bé/Ben & "Badly" - Malament/Mal

The forms bé and malament are only found after verbs and are used to modify the verbs they follow.

Examples:

Estàs bé? Are you well?

Canten molt malament. They sing very badly.

The forms ben and mal, on the other hand, precede the words they modify, namely past participles.

Examples:

Una hamburguesa mal cuita et farà malalt. A badly cooked hamburger will make you sick.

Hi ha aqüeductes romans ben conservats a prop de Barcelona. There are well-preserved Roman aqueducts near Barcelona.

The Adjectives "Good" - Bo(-na)/Bon(-a) & "Bad" Dolent(-a)/Mal(-a)

Like bé and malament, bo(-na) and dolent(-a) only ever follow whatever it is they are modifying (which would be nouns, in their particular case).

Examples:

L'escudella que fa la meva iaia és molt bona! The traditional Catalan soup that my grandma makes is very good!

Em sembla que les cloïsses tenen un gust molt dolent. I think clams have a very bad taste.

However, if these adjectives are found before the noun they are modifying, they take the forms bon(-a) and mal(-a) to mean "good" and "bad," respectively.

Examples:

La Laia sempre pensa en bones idees per fer publicitats. Laia always thinks of good ideas for making ad(vertizement)s.

De vegades sembla que el meu germà sempre estigui de mal humor. Sometimes, it seems like my brother is always in a bad mood.

Recap: Adverb following a verb: "well" bé ; "badly" malament

Adverb preceding a past participle: "well" ben ; "badly" mal

Adjective following a noun: "good" bo - bona - bons - bones ; "bad" dolent - dolenta - dolents - dolentes

Adjective preceding a noun: "good" bon - bona - bons - bones ; "bad" mal - mala - mals - males

It must also be noted that when these terms are used in exclamations (e.g. the exclamative "que" + adj./adv.), the shorter versions (i.e. bé, bo, etc.) are used.

Example: Que bé! How great/wonderful!

29. Indefinite Pronouns, Adverbs, and Adjectives (Pronoms, adverbis i adjectius indefinits)

someone/somebody	algú	no one/nobody, anyone/anybody	ningú*
something	alguna cosa	nothing, anything	res*
each one, every one	cada u/cadascú	everyone, everybody	tothom
somewhere	a/en algun lloc	nowhere, somewhere	enlloc*
any(one)	quals(s)evol	no (adj.)	cap*

*"Ningú," "res," "enlloc," and "cap" are most commonly found in their negative forms: "no one," "nothing," "nowhere," and "no (insert noun)," respectively. However,
they can be used in a question or after "si" ('if') in a non-negative sense to mean "anyone," "anything," "somewhere," and "any" when the speaker truly has no particular person, thing, or place in mind. The negative meanings of these words will be seen and covered again in a later tutorial.

Qualsevol is singular and qualssevol is plural. Functioning as either an adjective or a pronoun, a more accurate, though longer, translation of qualsevol would be
something like "any _____ whatsoever" when used as an adjective, and "anything whatsoever" when used as a pronoun.

As adjectives, qualsevol is invariable with respect to gender but changes according to number, whilst cap always remains invariable regardless of its usage or what it's modifying.

30. Conjugating Regular Verbs (La conjugació dels verbs regulars)

Catalan verbs are classified into one of three conjugations based on the ending of their infinitive. A Catalan infinitive will always end in -ar, -er/-re (the two endings -er and -re share the same conjugation), or -ir. In this regard, one could say that the only technically irregular verb in Catalan, as far as infinitive forms are concerned anyway, is "dur" which is the only Catalan verb not ending in one of the aforementioned endings. Conjugation endings are added to the stem of the verb which is rendered by simply removing its two-letter infinitive ending. For -ir verbs, there are two separate sets of endings based on whether or not verb is inchoative. If a verb is inchoative, then you must the infix -eix- before taking the regular -ir endings.

-ar		-er/-re			1st -ir			2nd -ir
-o	-em		-o	-em		-o	-im		-eixo	-im
-es	-eu		-s	-eu		-s	-iu		-eixes	-iu
-a	-en		-	-en		-	-en		-eix	-eixen

Example of verbs in Present Indicative tense

parlar		perdre			dormir			afegir
parlo	parlem		perdo	perdem		dormo	dormim		afegeixo	afegim
parles	parleu		perds	perdeu		dorms	dormiu		afegeixes	afegiu
parla	parlen		perd	perden		dorm	dormen		afegeix	afegeixen

*An "e" is added after the -eix- and before the normal -s ending of the 2nd person singular in order to ease pronunciation.

We could say that 85% of all Catalan verbs are -ar verbs. This includes the majority of the newer verbs entering the language in the past century or so due to such phenomena as technological advancements (e.g. telefonar "to (tele)phone/call"). The only two irregular -ar verbs are two of the commonest verbs: anar and estar.

Though comprising only 5% of all Catalan verbs, -er/-re verbs are almost always irregular, with some examples like "creure" and "ser" being common everyday verbs.

Verbs whose infinitives end in -ir make up the remaining 10% of Catalan verbs and, as demonstrated above, take different endings depending on whether or not they are inchoative. Inchoative verbs are much more common than non-inchoative -ir verbs, but a number of notable non-inchoative verbs (e.g. dormir "to sleep") are common in everyday usage. Furthermore, the -eix- infix of inchoative verbs is only applied in the present indicative and present subjunctive tenses, and only to the 1st singular, 2nd singular, and 3rd singular and plural persons. Other than those tenses and persons, a inchoative verb is essentially conjugated just like a non-inchoative verb. Non-inchoative verbs can also be referred to as "pure" -ir verbs.

Commonest non-inchoative/pure -ir verbs: adormir-se "to fall asleep," collir* "to pick (up)/gather/harvest," dormir "to sleep," fugir "to flee/escape," obrir "to open," morir "to die," omplir "to fill (out)," ressentir-se "to feel the effects of/resent," sentir "to feel/hear/be sorry," sortir "to go out/leave/come out."

*The verbs whose forms are derived from collir (e.g escollir "to choose," etc.) are also non-inchoative.

In the case of the verbs collir, sortir, and the derivative verbs of collir, the "o" changes to "u" in all but the 1st and 2nd plural persons.

sortir
surto	sortim
surts	sortiu
surt	surten