Catalan

by Max Wheeler

  adequat (m.) adequada (f.) adequate enfeinat (m.) enfeinada (f.) busy

  eixerit (m.) eixerida (f.) smart humit (m.) humida (f.) damp

  mut (m.) muda (f.) dumb temut (m.)etc. temuda (f.) feared

  There is a considerable number of adjectives displaying the c-g alternation such as:

  feixuc (m.) feixuga (f.) heavy gallec (m.) gallega (f.) Galician

  feréstec (m.) feréstega (f.) wild groc (m.)etc. groga (f.) yellow

  Contrasting with the last two sets are masculine adjectives ending in -t or -c which is already present in the stem. In such cases these stem consonants are maintained in the feminine.

  (i) Adjectives ending in -t with feminine in -ta

  All those ending in -et (including words containing the diminutive suffix; see 4.1.5):

  abstret (m.) abstreta (f.) preoccupied

  analfabet (m.) analfabeta (f.) illiterate

  complet (m.) completa (f.) complete

  contrafet (m.) contrafeta (f.) counterfeit

  estret (m.) estreta (f.) narrow/tight

  estretet (m.) estreteta (f.) nice and tight

  net (m.) neta (f.) clean

  secret (m.) etc. secreta (f.) secret

  etc.

  All those ending in -ot:

  devot (m.) devota (f.) devout

  remot (m.) remota (f.) remote

  tot (m.) tota (f.) all, whole

  etc. with the exception of got-goda ‘Gothic’ and its compounds ostrogot Ostrogothic’ and visigot ‘Visigothic’.

  All those endins in unstressed -it:

  inèdit (m.) inèdita (f.) unpublished

  insòlit (m.) insòlita (f.) unusual

  pretèrit (m.) pretèrita (f.) past

  etc.

  There follows a list of most of the adjectives ending in -at, -it, or -ut in which t is retained in the feminine:

  absolut absoluta absolute

  barat barata cheap

  beat beata blessed

  beneit beneita simple, holy

  brut bruta dirty

  carabrut carabruta dirty-faced

  caut cauta wary

  confit confita preserved

  contrit contrita contrite

  convolut convoluta convoluted

  cuit cuita cooked

  diminut diminuta diminutive

  dissolut dissoluta dissolute

  eixut eixuta dry

  erudit erudita learnèd

  escrit escrita written (compounds of escrit inflect the same way)

  favorit favorita favourite

  finit finita finite

  fit fita fixed

  fortuït fortuïta fortuitous

  grat grata pleasing

  gratuït gratuïta free of chargegratuitous

  hirsut hirsuta hirsute

  immediat immediata immediate

  imperit imperita inexpert

  impol·lut impol·luta unpolluted

  inaudit inaudita unheard-of

  infinit infinita infinite

  ingrat ingrata ungrateful, disagree able

  innat innata innate

  insensat insensata senseless

  lat lata broad

  manuscrit manuscrita handwritten

  perit perita skilled

  petit petita small

  sensat sensata sensible

  susdit susdita aforesaid

  timorat timorata God-fearing

  (ii) Among adjectives ending in -c, the following endings retain c unaltered

  -aic

  arcaic (m.) arcaica (f.) archaic

  laic (m.) etc. laica (f.) lay

  etc.

  -ac (unstressed)

  elegiac (m.) elegiaca (f.) elegiac

  maniac (m.) maníaca (f.) maniacal

  etc.

  -ic (unstressed)

  bàsic (m.) bàsica (f.) basic

  màgic (m.) màgica (f.) magic

  etc.

  This -ic/-ica group is quite large, with only two exceptions: aràbic/aràbiga ‘Arabic’ and mústic/mústiga ‘faded’.

  -oc (unstressed)

  equívoc (m.) equívoca (f.) ambiguous

  unívoc (m.) unívoca (f.) unambiguous

  The following examples complete the list of adjectives ending in invariable -c:

  eslovac eslovaca Slovak

  flac flaca lean

  opac opaca opaque

  quec queca stammering

  rebec rebeca obstinate

  sec seca dry

  suec sueca Swedish

  txec txeca Czech

  txecoslovac txeco Czecho-

  slovaca slovakian

  The adjectives inic ‘iniquitous’, oblic ‘oblique’, propinc ‘neighbouring’, and ventríloc ‘ventriloquous’ derive from stems ending in /-kw/ and, therefore, their feminine correlatives are iniqua, obliqua, propinqua and ventriloqua.

  4.1.2.3 Adjectives ending in -s

  A voiced sibilant [z] is also unpronounceable in word-final position in Catalan. For this reason masculine forms of adjectives whose stem ends in this sound turn it into its unvoiced correlative [s]. It is then unpredictable on the basis of the masculine singular form alone, ending in -s, whether its feminine form will contain intervocalic [s] (written ss) or [z] (written s). See 37.3.2. The majority of adjectives whose masculine ends in s preceded by a vowel also show single -s- (pronounced [z]) in the feminine (and plural). For example:

  abundós (m.) abundosa (f.) abundant (pl. abundosos/-es)

  cortès (m.) cortesa (f.) polite (pl. cortesos/-es)

  francès (m.) francesa (f.) French (pl. francesos/-es)

  gris (m.) grisa (f.) grey (pl. grisos/-es)

  precís (m.) precisa (f.) precise (pl. precisos/-es)

  etc.

  The alternation -s (m.)/-ssa (f.) with m.pl. -ssos and f.pl. -sses – is found in adjectives containing the augmentative suffix -às (4.1.5) or the derivational suffix -ís:

  -às:

  dolçàs (m.) dolçassa (f.) sickly sweet

  grandàs (m.) etc. grandassa (f.) great big

  etc.

  -ís:

  oblidadis (m.) oblidadissa (f.) forgetful

  massís (m.) massissa (f.) solid

  etc.

  The following is a comprehensive list of the remaining adjectives showing an unvoiced [s] in the feminine (-ssa) (and in the plural -ssos/-sses):

  agios aglossal

  confés confessed

  cras gross

  escàs scarce

  esmús blunt

  espès thick

  exprés express

  gras fat

  gros big (the compounds of gros, e.g. bocagròs inflect in the same way)

  cella-ros with fair eyebrows

  rus Russian

  suís/suïssa Swiss

  hipoglòs hypoglossal

  inconcús unshakable

  las weary

  malaltús sickly

  mestís half-caste

  mus blunt

  naquis tiny

  obsés obsessed

  postís false

  profés professed

  revés complicated

  ros fair

  ros fair

  talòs dull-witted

  4.1.2.4 Adjective stems in -/·/-

  With l· being unpronounceable in final position, it reduces to -l in masculine singulars, but it remains in feminines, before the -a ending: gal/gal·la ‘Gaulish’, nul/nul·la ‘null’, tranquil/tranquil·la ‘calm’. Apart from this set, though, the majority of adjectives ending in -l are of the ‘one ending’ type, that is, have no distinct feminine singular form (see 4.1.3).

  4.1.2.5 Adjectives ending in -ig

  A voiced palatal fricative [Ʒ] (represented in other positions by g/j) is unpronounceable in Catalan in word-final position and is replaced by an affricate (written -ig). It is impossible to determine from the masculine singular form if the stem ended originally in a fricative or in an affricate and, therefore, whether the feminine will have a final -ja (fricative) or -tja (affricate). />
  feminines ending in -tja: lleig/lletja ‘ugly’, mig/mitja ‘half’

  feminines ending in -ja: boig/boja ‘mad’, roig/roja ‘red(-haired)’

  4.1.2.6 Adjectives ending in semiconsonantai -u

  Adjectives whose masculine singular ends in semiconsonantal -u follow one of three different patterns in the feminine. The commonest is for -u to alternate with -va as in:

  blau (m.) blava (f.) blue

  còncau (m.) còncava (f.) concave

  efectiu (m.) efectiva (f.) effective

  viu (m.) viva (f.) living

  nou (m.) nova (f.) new

  tou (m.) tova (f.) soft

  etc.

  This pattern accounts for all adjectives ending in -au or -ou, and the vast majority of those in -iu. The second pattern retains semiconsonantal -uin the feminine; it is found in four adjectives in -iu which do not follow the more general pattern above:

  geliu (m.) geliua (f.) icy

  joliu (m.) joliua (f.) dainty

  nadiu (m.) nadiua (f.) native

  soliu (m.) soliua (f.) solitary

  The third pattern is found only among adjectives in -eu, but accounts for the majority here; u is cut off and is replaced by -a in the feminine:

  ateu (m.) atea (f.) atheist

  europeu (m.) europea (f.) European

  hebreu (m.) hebrea (f.) Hebrew

  plebeu (m.) plebea (f.) plebeian

  etc.

  Two adjectives in -eu have -eua in the feminine: garneu/garneua ‘crafty’ and moreu/moreua ‘dark’; two have -eva in the feminine: jueu/jueva ‘Jewish’ and sueu/sueva ‘of the Suevi’. The possessive adjectives meu ‘my’, teu ‘your’, seu ‘his/her/their/your’ have in the feminine meva or meua, teva or teua, seva or seua.

  4.1.2.7 Other adjective alternations

  Anàleg ‘analogous’ has anàloga in the feminine; similarly homòleg/homòloga ‘homologous’, heteròleg/heteròloga ‘heterologous’; sacrileg/sacrilega ‘sacrilegious’ is regular.

  A few adjectives ending in -or have, alongside a regular feminine ending in -ora, an alternative irregular form. These are: motor ‘motive’ and its compounds, which has both motora and motriu; accelerador ‘accelerative’ has acceleradora and acceleratriu; retardador ‘decelerative’ has both retardadora and retardatriu. The irregular -triu forms of these adjectives seem most often used with the noun força ‘force’, e.g. força electromotriu ‘electromotive force’. The mathematical term osculador ‘osculatory’ has feminine osculadora and osculatriu.

  4.1.3 ADJECTIVES INVARIABLE FOR GENDER (ADJECTIVES WITH ONE ENDING)

  Many adjectives show the same form for masculine and feminine singular. There are several word endings which generally indicate an invariable adjective: -a, -e, -al, -el, -il, -ar, -ant, -ent (for -ç see 4.1.3.4), However, there are some exceptions for most of these endings.

  4.1.3.1 Adjectives with one ending: vowel endings

  All adjectives whose masculine ends in unstressed -a are invariable: celta ‘Celtic’, cosmopolita ‘cosmopolitan’, feixista ‘fascist’, hipòcrita ‘hypocritical’, idiota ‘idiotic’, indígena ‘indigenous’, persa ‘Persian’, etc. (with invariable plurals celtes, cosmopolites, feixistes, hipòcrites, idiotes, indígenes, perses, etc.).

  The great majority of adjectives ending in unstressed -e are invariable, including all those ending in -ble, and all those with the suffix -aire. Thus: bilingüe ‘bilingual’, celeste ‘celestial’, enorme ‘enormous’, feble ‘weak’, jove ‘young’, lliure ‘free’, noble ‘noble’, possible ‘possible’, salvatge ‘savage’, unànime ‘unanimous’, etc. (and plural bilingües, celestes, etc.).

  A significant minority of adjectives in -e do vary for gender, however, and should be noted. Among adjectives ending in a consonant + re most have -a in the feminine:

  altre altra other

  nostre nostra our

  negre negra black

  neutre neutra neutral

  pobre pobra poor

  etc.

  Those with one ending despite terminating in consonant + re are:

  -membre ‘-membered’ (bimembre, trimembre)

  -estre (e.g. alpestre ‘alpine’, campestre, eqüestre, pedestre, rupestre, silvestre, terrestre)

  -rostre (e.g. brevirostre ‘short-billed’)

  acre bitter

  alegre cheerful

  cafre kaffir

  cèlebre celebrated

  diedre dihedral

  fúnebre funereal

  golafre gluttonous

  il·lustre illustrious

  lacustre lake-dwelling

  mediocre middling

  salubre salubrious

  insalubre insalubrious

  triquetre triangular

  lúgubre mournful

  The remaining exceptions to the principle that adjectives in -e are invariable are the following:

  ample ampla broad

  còmode còmoda comfortable

  culte culta cultured

  ímprobe ímproba dishonest

  lledesme lledesma legitimate

  omnímode omnímoda all-encompassing

  probe proba upright

  prompte prompta quick

  univalve univalva univalve

  bivalve bivalva bivalve

  vague vaga vague

  Adjectives with other unstressed vowel endings show the regular ‘two endings’ in the singular, with addition of -a in the feminine: propi/pròpia ‘own’, fenici/fenícia ‘Phoenician’, vacu/vàcua ‘vacuous’, etc. Of adjectives ending in unstressed -i only two are invariable: cursi ‘affected’, and ianqui ‘Yankee’; likewise there are two in -u: bantu ‘Bantu’ and zulu ‘Zulu’. (Note the forms bantu and zulú are no longer current.) No adjectives ending in unstressed -o are invariable, thus flonjo/flonja ‘spongy’, and so on.

  Almost all adjectives whose masculine singular ends in a stressed vowel add -na in the feminine; see above 4.1.2.1, The following only are invariable:

  afí related

  bengalí Bengali

  carmí carmine

  rococó rococo

  hindú Hindu

  manxú Manchu(rian)

  papú Papuan

  4.1.3.2 Adjectives with one ending: consonantal endings

  The following endings generally indicate an adjective invariable for gender in the singular:

  -al e.g. global ‘global’, igual ‘equal’, mundial ‘world’, verbal ‘verb’, ‘verbal’ and hundreds of others, with the single exception of mal/mala ‘bad’.

  -el cruel ‘cruel’, fidel ‘faithful’, and rebel ‘rebellious’. Exception: paral·lel/ paral·lela ‘parallel’ (and antiparal·lel).

  -il stressed and unstressed, e.g. humil ‘humble’, subtil ‘subtle’, fàcil ‘easy’, inútil ‘useless’; exceptions are: tranquil/tranquil·la ‘calm’ (see above, 4.1.2.4), and those adjectives ending in -dàctil (such as monodàctil/ monodàctila ‘having one finger’), in -òfil (such as catalanòfil/catalanòfila ‘Catalanophile’) and in -stil (hipòstil/hipòstila ‘hypostyle’, pròstil/pròstila ‘prostyle’).

  -ant e.g. constant ‘constant’, pedant ‘pedantic’, semblant ‘similar’, etc. There are the following exceptions: gegant/geganta ‘giant’, quant/quanta ‘how much?’/‘how many?’, sacrosant/sacrosanta ‘sacrosanct’, sant/santa ‘holy’, tant/tanta ‘so much’.

  -ent e.g. decent ‘decent’, obedient ‘obedient’, prudent ‘careful’, etc. The exceptions are atent/atenta ‘attentive’, content/contenta ‘happy’, cruent/ cruenta ‘bloody’, and all those ending in -lent (including lent/lenta ‘slow’, dolent/dolenta ‘bad’, calent/calenta ‘hot’, valent/valenta ‘bold’, and so on) except for equivalent ‘equivalent’ which is invariable. A number of adjectives in -ant/-ent which in the standard language are invariable in the singular have a feminine in -a in colloquial (nonstandard) usage, e.g. amargant ‘bitter’, bullent ‘boiling’, picant ‘hot (to taste)’: (non-standard: amarganta, bullenta, picanta, then corresponding non-standard femini
ne plurals amargantes, bullentes, picantes).

  -ar stressed, e.g. familiar ‘family’, regular ‘regular’, similar ‘similar’, titular ‘titular’, etc., except for the following: avar/avara ‘miserly’, car/cara ‘dear’, clar/clara ‘clear’, entreclar/entreclara ‘partly clear’, ignar/ignara ‘ignorant’, preclar/preclara ‘illustrious’, rar/rara ‘rare’.

  -or Among the adjectives ending in -or most have feminines in -a, such as sonor/sonora ‘sonorous’, prometedor/prometedora ‘promising’, opressor/ opressora ‘oppressive’.

  Exceptions are:

  (i) those ending in -erior, such as superior ‘superior’, anterior ‘previous’;

  (ii) the synthetic comparative adjectives millor ‘better’, pitjor ‘worse’, major ‘greater’, menor ‘less(er)’;

  (iii) most compounds of -color ‘colour’, such as multicolor ‘multicoloured’, unicolor ‘of one colour’, but not incolor/incolora ‘colourless’.

  4.1.3.3 Other adjectives with one ending

  The list of remaining exceptions is not large. Sources differ on precisely which items to mention here (mostly because various sources include in the list one or more nouns, which may be used appositively). Some of these, like breu, gran, greu, suau, are extremely frequent. They are arranged by termination:

  àrab Arab nictalop nyctalopic suau gentle

  núvol cloudy ametrop ametropic insuau ungentle

  sublim sublime mudèjar Mudejar ileu light

  gran large púber pubescent breu short

  partícip participant impúber under the age greu serious

  miop short-sighted of puberty procliu prone

  etíop Ethiopian ligur Ligurian cloc-piu downcast

  hemeralop hemeralopic mat matt

  Note that, for all these adjectives with consonantal endings, an invariable singular form is matched by an invariable plural: