Catalan grammar

The tables below summarize the forms of the definite article, its elisions, and its contractions.

• The masculine singular form is el. The initial vowel is elided before a vowel or h, yielding to l'.[3]

El pare. L'avi.

"The father." "The grandfather."

• El is not elided if the word begins with semivocallic (h)i- [j].[3]

El iode. El hiat.

"The iodine." "The hiatus"

• The masculine plural form is els. Both el and els combine with the prepositions a "to", de "of", and per "for", yielding the contractions al, als, del, dels, pel, pels.[3]

Ho dic al pare.

"I say it to the father." ("I say it to my father")

Això és del noi.

"This is of the boy." ("This belongs to the boy")

Corria pels camins.

"I ran through the paths." ("I ran along the paths")

• El does not contract with the aforementioned prepositions if the following word begins with vowel or h.[3]

Porta-ho a l'avi.

"Bring this to the grandfather."

Baixa de l'arbre.

"Get down from the tree."

• The feminine singular form is la. The final vowel is elided before a vowel or h, yielding l'.[4]

La mare. L'àvia

"The mother." "The grandmother"

• La is not contracted if the word begins with unstressed (h)i-, or (h)u-.[4]

La idea. La hipòtesi. La unitat. La humitat.

"The idea." "The hypothesis." "The unit." "The humidity."

• La is not elided with the words una "one (hour)", host "hueste", and ira "wrath"; as well as with words beginning with the Greek prefix a-, like asimetria "asymmetry".[4]
• The feminine plural form is les.
• Feminine articles are not contracted with prepositions.[4]

Forenames and surnames must carry a definite article. In addition to the ordinary singular forms, alternative forms derived from the Latin vocative domine can be used. The elision rules are the same for el and la.

El Joan. L'Andreu. La Mercè. La Isabel. L'Olga.

En Joan. N'Andreu. Na Mercè. Na Isabel. N'Olga.

In Western Catalonia the dialectal versions lo and los are used instead of el and els.[3]

In some regions, especially in the Balearic islands, the definite article derives from the Latin determiner ipse. These forms are referred to as articles salats. Similar forms are found in Sardinian and some varieties of Occitan.

The table below summarize the forms of the indefinite article. Indefinite articles are not elided nor contracted.

Many not completely predictable morphological alternations may occur between masculine and feminine, like:[5]

• Affrication: boig/boja ("insane") vs. lleig/lletja ("ugly")
• Loss of n: pla/plana ("flat") vs. segon/segona ("second")
• Final obstruent devoicing: sentit/sentida ("felt") vs. dit/dita ("said") vs. fred/freda ("cold")

In words that end in a sibilant sound, the masculine plural ending is -os instead of just -s. Feminines still have -es or, if they follow the two-form declension, no ending at all. Compare: el pols/els polsos ("the pulse"/"the pulses") vs. la pols/les pols ("the dust"/"the dusts").[6]

Adjectives that end in -ç follow the two-form declension in the singular, but four-form in the plural, so that they actually have three forms:

The grammatical gender of a Catalan noun does not necessarily correspond with the real-life object's biological sex (or lack thereof). Nouns denoting a person, such as home "man" or dona "woman", generally agree with the natural gender of what is described. However, Catalan assigns gender to nouns without natural gender in arbitrary fashion. For example, the word tamboret ("stool") is masculine, while the word cadira ("chair") is feminine.

Living beings of the same species usually are designed by two nouns: one of masculine grammatical gender for biologically male individuals, and one of feminine grammatical gender for biologically female individuals. Both names, masculine and feminine, are usually only differentiated by their ending; sometimes the second is derived from the first or vice versa. Rarely, both come from different roots.[7]

• Most times the feminine form is created by appending the suffix -a to the unmarked masculine form.[7]

Noi → noia. Avi → àvia.

"Boy - girl." "Grandfather - grandmother."

• If the masculine form ends in -t, -p, -f, -s, the addition of the feminine suffix -a may cause these consonants to become voiced to -d-, -b-, -v-, -s-; or not. There are no rules to deduce the change.[7]

	becomes voiced			remains unvoiced
change	masculine	feminine	gloss	masculine	feminine	gloss
⟨-t⟩ → ⟨-d-⟩ /t/ → /ð/	nebot	neboda	"nephew - niece"	nét	neta	"grandson - granddaughter"
⟨-p⟩ → ⟨-b-⟩ /p/ → /β/	llop	lloba	"wolf"
⟨-f⟩ → ⟨-v-⟩ /f/ → /v~β/	serf	serva	"serf"
⟨-s⟩ → ⟨-s-⟩ /s/ → /z/	espòs	esposa	"husband - wife"	gos	gossa	"dog - bitch"

• If the masculine form ends in a stressed vowel, the feminine is created by appending the suffix -na.[7]

Germà → germana

"Brother - sister."

• Sometimes the feminine form is created by appending the suffix -essa to the unmarked masculine form.[7]

Sacerdot → sacerdotessa.

"Priest - priestess."

• Sometimes the masculine form is created from the feminine by changing the suffix a for -ot.[8]

Bruixot ← bruixa.

"Witcher — witch."

• Sometimes a single noun is used to designate both masculine and feminine beings. To specify the biological gender of the being, the adjectives mascle "male", and femella "female" are used.[8]

El rossinyol. El rossinyol mascle. El rossinyol femella.

" The nightingale." "The male nightingale." "The female nightingale"

• Since objects and abstract concepts have no biological gender, all of them only have one form. The gender of inanimate nouns is assigned arbitrarily. Sometimes the choice may seem contradictory.

La virilitat (f).

"The manliness."

• Sometimes synonymous words may have different genders.

El televisor (m) - la televisió (f). L'argent (m) - la plata (f)

"The TV." "The silver."

• Some homonymous words may have different genders according to their meaning.[8]

El clau (m) - la clau (f)

"The nail - the key."

Like all the Western Romance languages, the formation of the plural involves the addition of the suffix -s to the singular. However, the stem may undergo some changes. The number inflection of adjectives follows the same rules.[9]

• Most times the plural form is created by appending the suffix -s to the singular form.[10]

  Pare → pares. Avi → avis.

  "Father – fathers." "Grandfather – grandfathers."

• If the singular ends in -a, the plural is usually formed with -es. Most of these nouns are feminine, but some are masculine.[10]

  Casa → cases (f). Problema → problemes (m).

  "House – houses." "Problem – problems"

  • However, if the singular ends in -ga, -ca, -gua, -qua, -ça, -ja, the plural is formed by -gues, -ques, -gües, -qües, -ces, -ges. This is made for orthographical reasons, and stem pronunciation remains identical in the singular and plural.[10]

• If the singular form ends in a stressed vowel, the plural is usually created by appending the suffix -ns.[10]

  Pa → pans (m). Capità → capitans (m). Acció → accions (f).

  "Bread – breads." "Captain – captains." "Action – actions."

  • However, some words ending in a stressed vowel form their plural in -s.[10] Many of them are relatively recent loanwords not directly inherited from late Latin.

    Sofà → sofàs. Bambú → bambús.

    "Sofa – sofas." "Bamboo – bamboos."

  • A few nouns ending in unstressed -e can also form their plural alternatively in -ns. It is considered archaic or dialectal.[11]

    Home → homes or hòmens. Orfe → orfes or òrfens

    "Man – men." "Orphan – orphans."

• Many masculine nouns ending in -s, ç form their plural with -os. -s- becomes voiced in the plural, but -ç- remains unvoiced.[11]

  Gas → gasos /ˈgas - ˈgazus ~ ˈgazos/. Braç → braços /ˈbɾas - ˈbɾasus ~ ˈbɾasos/.

  "Gas – gases." "Arm – arms."

  • In some masculine nouns ending in -s, this remains unvoiced when adding -os, and thus becomes -ss-:[12]
    • Most polysyllabic masculine words ending in -às, -ís, ús.

      Fracàs → fracassos. Pastís → pastissos. Barnús → barnussos

      "Failure – failures." "Cake – cakes." "Bathrobe – bathrobes"

    • Most masculine words ending in -os, -ós, òs.

      Gos → gossos. Arròs → arrossos. Ós → óssos.

      "Dog – dogs." "Rice – rices." "Bear – bears."

• Masculine paroxytone and proparoxytone nouns ending in -s are invariable.[13]

  Llapis → llapis. Òmnibus – òmnibus

  "Pencil – pencils." "Omnibus – omnibuses."

• Feminine nouns ending in an s-like sound (-s, -ç, -x, -z) have a plural that is pronounced the same as the singular. If the noun ends in -s, no ending is added.[13] Otherwise, an unpronounced -s is added.[11]

  Pols → pols.

  "Dust – dusts."

  Calç → calçs /ˈkaɫs ~ ˈkals/.

  "Lime – limes."

• Nouns ending in -x pronounced /ks/ form plurals according to word stress. If the noun is stressed on the last syllable, the plural suffix is -os. Otherwise, the ending is -s and the plural form is homophonous with the singular.[13]

  Reflex → reflexos /rəˈflɛksus ~ reˈflɛksos/. Índex → índexs /ˈindəks ~ ˈindeks/.

  "Reflection – reflections." "Index – indexes."

• Nouns ending in -x pronounced /ʃ/ form their plural with -os.

  Calaix → calaixos.

  "Drawer – drawers."

• Nouns ending in -ig (/tʃ/) can form their plural in two ways, both acceptable:[13]
  • Adding -s. Both forms will be homophonous. This is the preferred form in normative grammars, not so in general spoken use.

    Faig → faigs /ˈfatʃ/. Passeig → Passeigs /pəˈsɛtʃ ~ paˈsɛtʃ/.

  • Replacing -ig with jos or tjos. There are no rules to deduce which is to be used.

    Faig → fajos /ˈfat͡ʃ - ˈfaʒus ~ ˈfad͡ʒos/. Mig → mitjos. /ˈmit͡ʃ - ˈmidʒus ~ mid͡ʒːos/.

    "Beech – beeches." "Promenade – promenades. Half – halves."

• Nouns ending in -sc, -st, -xt can form their plural in two ways, both acceptable: Adding -s (preferred), or adding -os.[13]

  Bosc → boscs or boscos. Gust → gusts or gustos. Pretext → pretexts or pretextos

  "Forest – forests." "Taste – tastes." "Pretext – pretexts."

• Feminine nouns ending in -st always form the plural by adding -s.[13]

  Host → hosts.

  "Hueste – huestes."

Catalan adjectives can be divided in three groups according to the distinct forms it has.

In adjectives with distinct feminine singular form, the masculine is usually unmarked for gender, and ends in a consonant. The feminine singular form of regular adjectives can be created from the masculine singular.

• Most times the feminine form is created by appending the suffix -a to the unmarked masculine form.[14]

Sec - seca. Fred - freda. Continu - contínua.

"Dry." "Cold." "Continuous."

• If the masculine form ends in -t, -c, -s, the addition of the feminine suffix -a may cause these consonants to become voiced to -d-, -g-, -s-; or not. There are no rules governing this change.[15]

• If the masculine form ends in a stressed vowel, the feminine is created by appending the suffix -na.; except nu "nude" and cru "raw".[16]

Pla - plana. Rodó - rodona.

"Flat." "Round."

• If the masculine form ends in -au, -eu, -iu, and -ou; the feminine is formed with -ava, -ea, -iva, and -ova.[16]

Blau - blava. Europeu - europea. Viu - viva. Nou - nova.

"Blue." "European." "Alive." "New."

If the masculine form ends in -e or -o, the final vowel is substituted with -a. Many of the adjectives ending in -o come from Spanish. [16]

Ample - ampla. Maco - maca (Cf. Sp. "majo").

"Wide." "Nice."

Some adjectives may have the same form in the masculine singular and feminine singular.

• Adjectives ending in -aç, -iç, and -oç.[16]

Capaç - capaç. Feliç - feliç. Precoç - precoç.

"Capable." "Happy." "Precocious."

• Adjectives ending in stressed -al, stressed -el, and stressed or unstressed -il.[16]

Central -central. Rebel - rebel. Hostil - hostil. Mòbil - mòbil.

"Central." "Rebel." "Hostile." "Mobile."

• Adjectives ending in -ar.[17]

Vulgar - Vulgar

"Vulgar"

Some feminine adjectives are formed irregularly and do not adhere to the aforementioned formation rules.

Degrees of comparison are expressed with a construction implying the adverb més "more" or menys "less":

• Més ... que ("more ... than")

Sóc més alt que tu.

"I am taller than you."

• El més ... de ("the most ... of")

Sóc el més alt de tots

"I am the tallest of all".

• Menys ... que ("less ... than")

Sóc menys alt que tu.

"I am less tall than you."

Like many other Romance languages, Catalan adjectives have an absolute superlative form, expressed with the suffix -íssim, placed between the stem and the gender / number suffix.

Aquest home es altíssim.

"This man is very very tall."

Aquestes dones són altíssimes.

"These women are very very tall."

In Catalan, as in English, most adverbs are derived from adjectives. In most cases, this is done by adding the suffix -ment ("-ly") to the adjective's feminine singular form. For example, the feminine singular form of lent ("slow") is lenta, so the corresponding adverb is lentament ("slowly").

As in English, however, the adjective stem is sometimes modified to accommodate the suffix:

And, as in English, many common adverbs are not derived from adjectives at all:

així ("thus", "so").

ahir ("yester day").

The placement of Catalan adverbs is almost the same as the placement of English adverbs.

An adverb that modifies an adjective or adverb comes before that adjective or adverb:

completament cert ("completely true").

massa ben fet ("too well done").

An adverb that modifies an infinitive (verbal noun) generally comes after the infinitive:

caminar lentament ("to walk slowly").

An adverb that modifies a main verb or clause comes either after the verb, or before the clause:

Lentament ell comença a caminar or Ell comença lentament a caminar ("Slowly, he begins to walk" or "He begins slowly to walk").

Note that, unlike in English, this is true even of negative adverbs:

Mai jo no he fet això or Jo no he fet mai això ("Never have I done that" or "I have never done that").

Possessive adjectives are inflected for person and number of the possessor, and for gender and number of the possession. The table below summarizes all the possible forms.

El cotxe és meu.

"The car is mine."

The feminine forms meva, teva, and seva may appear dialectally with /w/ instead of /β ~ v/: meua, teua, and seua. Their plural forms follow the same variation (meues, teues, and seues).[18]

Possessive adjectives are, like the possessive pronouns, inflected for person and number of the possessor, and for gender and number of the possession. The table below summarizes all the possible forms. Notice how the plural possessor forms are identical to the possessive pronoun forms.

Central Catalan has abandoned almost completely unstressed possessives (mon, etc.) in favour of constructions of article + stressed forms (el meu, etc.), a feature shared with Italian[2] and Portuguese.

• Unstressed forms are rarely used in the spoken language, and are only retained for family relatives and set phrases.[19]

Ton pare. Son avi.

"Your father." "His / her grandfather."

En ma vida.

"In my whole life."

• Instead of this, a construction of definite article + possessive pronoun + noun is preferred.[19]

Mon cotxe. (literary, archaic)

El meu cotxe. (more common)

"My car."

The morphology of Catalan personal pronouns is complex, specially in unstressed forms, which are numerous (13 distinct forms, compared to 11 in Spanish or 9 in Italian; French has such a different system that comparisons are not feasible).[2] Features include the neuter gender (ho) and the great degree of freedom when combining different unstressed pronouns (65 combinations).[2]

This flexibility allows Catalan to use extraposition extensively, much more than French or Spanish. Thus, Catalan can have m'hi recomanaren ("they recommended me to him"), whereas in French one must say ils m'ont recommendé à lui, and in Spanish me recomendaron a él.[2] This allows the placement of almost any nominal term as a sentence topic, without having to use so often the passive voice (as in French or English), or identifying the direct object with a preposition (as in Spanish).[2]