Catalan grammar is the grammar of the Catalan language.
In Catalan, nouns referring to inanimate objects or abstract concepts can have masculine or feminine grammatical gender: e.g. "el llibre" ("the book", masculine), "la taula" ("the table", feminine).
Articles take the following forms:
Morphology
For general discussion of morphology (not specific to Catalan) see main article Morphology (linguistics).
Articles and nouns
Definite article | ||
---|---|---|
Number | Masculine | Feminine |
singular | el, l' | la, l' |
plural | els | les |
Indefinite article | ||
---|---|---|
Number | Masculine | Feminine |
singular | un | una |
plural | uns | unes |
Some words that might seem to a non-Catalan-speaker to be the masculine and feminine form of the same word may have entirely different meanings. For example:
- "el cap" ("the head"), "la capa" ("the layer")
- "el roc" (an imaginary giant bird), "la roca" ("the rock")
- "el pols" ("the pole"), "la pols" (""the powder/dust")
- Masculine nouns that can refer to either the male or female of the species:
- "un cocodril" ("a crocodile")
- "un rossinyol" ("a nightingale").
- Feminine nouns that can refer to either the male or female of the species:
- "una guilla" ("a fox"),
- "una sargantana" (a type of lizard found in the Balearic Islands).
- Entirely different forms for male and female:
- "un cavall" ("a stallion"), "una euga" ("a mare", similar to the English language word "ewe", meaning "a female sheep")
- "un toro" ("a bull"), "una vaca" ("a cow")
- Related forms with irregular endings reflecting biological gender:
- "un gos" ("a [male] dog"), "una gossa" ("a bitch")
- "un lleó" ("a lion"), "una lleona" ("a lioness")
- Masculine nouns:
- "un fuster" ("a carpenter/joiner")
- "un paleta" ("a construction worker").
- Feminine nouns
- "una pentinadora" ("A thread-braider")
- Nouns where the same word serves as both male and female:
- "un modista" ("a [male] fashion designer"), "una modista" ("a [female] fashion designer")
- "un dentista" ("a [male] dentist"), "una dentista" ("a [female] dentist")
- Forms with regular endings reflecting biological gender:
- "un cuiner" ("a [male] cook"), "una cuinera " ("a [female] cook")
- "un mestre" ("a [male] teacher"), "una mestra" ("a [female] teacher").
- Two entirely different forms:
- "un home" ("a man"), "una dona" ("a woman")
- "un amo" ("a master" or "a male owner"), "una mestressa" ("a mistress" or "a female owner").
- Forms with irregular endings reflecting biological gender:
- "un actor" ("an actor"), "una actriu" ("an actress")
- "un poeta" ("a [male] poet"), "una poetessa" ("a poetess").
Adjectives
A Catalan adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it qualifies. Adjectives can be divided into three groups:
- Those with four forms: masculine singular: "blanc" ("white"), feminine singular: "blanca", masculine plural: "blancs", feminine plural: "blanques".
- Those with three forms: tres formes: singular: "feliç" ("happy"), masculine plural: "feliços", feminine plural: "felices".
- Those with two forms: singular: "diferent" ("different"), plural: "diferents".
Rules for the formation of Plurals
All plural nouns and adjectives end in s. In most cases, the plural can be formed by simply affixing an s to the singular.For example:
- "roure" ("oak"), "roures"
- "fort" ("strong"), "forts"