Catalan

by Max Wheeler

  res ‘nothing’, ‘something’, ‘anything’:

  For res in negative constructions see 26.1.5. The observations made in 8.4 and above on ningú apply also to res used interrogatively and after si ‘if’:

  Si us sobra res, doneu-ho als pobres.

  If you’ve anything left over, give it to the poor.

  Els falta res?

  Are you short of anything?

  Cal dir-hi res més?

  Need anything more be said?

  tothom ‘everyone’, ‘everybody’:

  Tothom hi està d’acord.

  Everybody is in agreement.

  Saluda a tohom de part meva.

  Say hello to everybody for me.

  Tothom que ha signat el document en rebrà una còpia.

  Everybody who has signed the document will receive a copy of it.

  Plural tots ‘all’, ‘everybody’ and tot el món (cf. French tout le monde) are generally acceptable synonyms for tothom (which in some dialects, notably Valencian, is not deeply rooted); similarly tots aquells qui/que is equivalent to tothom qui/que:

  Tots volien escoltar-la.

  Everybody wanted to listen to her.

  Tot el món sap que és veritat.

  Everybody/The whole world knows it is true.

  8.6 TRANSLATING ‘SOME’, ‘ANY’, AND ‘SOMETHING’

  Guidelines are given here for contrasting Catalan and English usage in these two primary areas of meaning of quantifiers and indefinites.

  (i) Algun does not translate ‘some’ or ‘any’ before a mass noun, or before a plural count noun. Unmodified nouns are used for this:

  Teniu farina integral?

  Have you got any wholemeal flour?

  Hem de comprar llet.

  We’ve got to buy some milk.

  Vols més maduixes?

  Do you want some/any more strawberries?

  No han tingut escrúpols a l’hora de fixar els preus.

  They didn’t have any scruples when it came to setting the prices.

  (ii) The plural indefinite article uns/unes expresses ‘some’ in the sense of ‘a number of’, that is a limited but vague quantity. This overlaps with the use of alguns, but the latter can carry reference to indefinite identity as well as quantity:

  M’han visitat uns amics de Vic. I’ve had a visit from some friends from Vic.

  Alguns convidats hi van passar la nit. Some guests spent the night there.

  (iii) Cap introduces count nouns while gens (de) introduces non-count nouns where English uses ‘some’/‘any’, in negative, interrogative, or conditional contexts:

  Tens cap intenció d’anar-hi? Have you any intention of going?

  Us queda gens de paper? Have you got any paper left?

  This difference is maintained for ‘any’ in negative expressions:

  No hi van fer cap objecció. They didn’t raise any objection.

  No té gens de paciència. He hasn’t any patience.

  Constructions with cap and gens frequently entail use of anaphoric en (see 12.6) referring to the element that is quantified:

  Entrades per a aquest vespre? Ja no en queda cap.

  Tickets for this evening? There aren’t any left.

  Comptava que em sobraria espai, però, de fet, no me n’ha quedat gens.

  I reckoned I’d have space to spare, but, in fact, I didn’t have any left at all.

  In cases like the last two cap or gens may be suppressed, so that the resulting construction is in line with examples given in (i) above: Ja no en queden ‘There aren’t any left’, No me n’ha quedat ‘Ididn’t have any left’. In standard Catalan cap (Val. ningun/-a) are used only before singular nouns. However, a tendency is observed in colloquial Catalan for cap to also precede pluralia tantum nouns:

  (non-standard) Que has vist cap pantalons que t’agradin? Have you seen any trousers you like?

  (non-standard) No tine cap ganes d’anar al circ. I have no desire to go to the circus./I don’t fancy going to the circus at all.

  In the standard language something like parell ‘pair’ or conjunt ‘set’ is preferred in a case like the former:

  Que has vist cap parell de pantalons que t’agradin?

  Have you seen any pair of trousers you like?

  In the second case gens de is preferred:

  No tinc gens de ganes d’anar al circ.

  (iv) Qualsevol corresponds to ‘any’ in the sense of ‘any at all’, ‘it doesn’t matter which …’. It can be contrasted with algun in a sentence like:

  Tria qualsevol d’aquests vídeos; n’hi ha d’haver algun que t’agradi.

  Choose any one from these videos; there must be one (or more) that you’ll like.

  (v) Catalan is elastic in rendering ‘something’/‘anything’. Negative expressions involve res (No en sap res ‘He doesn’t know anything about it’) which also figures in interrogative contexts and after si:

  Em pregunto si ella ens en dirà res.

  I wonder if she will tell us something/anything about it.

  Hi ha res de nou?

  Is there anything new?/Is there any news?

  The Castilianism algo ‘something’ (non-standard) remains widespread in uneducated speech, although it can be expected to recede as ‘standards’ are enforced in Catalan-language schooling and the media. Quelcom ‘something’, long favoured by purists, has been only minimally assimilated, and much the same is true, except in the Balearic Islands, of qualque cosa. The foreign learner of Catalan will have no difficulty in imitating native use of alguna cosa or una cosa for ‘something’; these are standard and current.

  9 NOMINALIZATIONS VIA ARTICLES

  9.1 NOMINALIZERS

  Any adjective in Catalan can function as a noun simply by becoming the head of a noun phrase; this often involves it following an article or a demonstrative (but not necessarily so). We deal separately below with one product of this process: nominalization of an adjective when a noun is suppressed (9.1.1). Constructions using the ‘neuter’ article el/lo with adjectives are discussed at 9.2.1 and ‘intensification’ of adjectives with el/lo at 27.2.3. Many cases in the first category are as familiar as nouns as they are as adjectives: els grecs ‘Greek people’, un cec ‘a blind man’/‘a blind person’, un boig ‘a madman’, els vells i els joves ‘the young and the old’, els exiliats ‘exiles’, etc.

  9.1.1 TRANSLATING THE ONE(S)’: OMISSION OF THE NOUN

  In –Quin llibre has llegit? –El vermell ‘Which book have you read?’ ‘The red one’ we can see the adjective vermell becoming the head of a noun phrase with its own definite article. The same occurs with the italicized phrases in the following sentences:

  No sé si m’he de posar els mitjons prims o els gruixuts.

  I don’t know whether to wear my thin socks or my thick ones.

  D’aquests dos nens el petit sembla més despert.

  Of these two children the younger one seems more wide-awake.

  When an indefinite article is involved the nominalized adjective is preceded by de. (An exception to note is un altre ‘another (one)’, not *un d’altre.)

  –Vols un gelat? –Sí, però un de molt petit.

  ‘Do you want an ice cream?’ ‘Yes, but a very small one.’

  This construction is related to the partitive use of en: see 12.6v.

  –Vols un gelat? –Sí, però compra-me’n un de molt petit.

  ‘Do you want an ice cream?’ ‘Yes, but buy me a very small one.’

  M’agrada aquest rellotge teu; jo abans en tenia un d’igual.

  I like that watch of yours; I used to have one like it.

  The nominalized adjective can, naturally, be preceded by a preposition:

  –En quina capsa penses? –En la vermella.

  ‘Which box are you thinking of?’ ‘The red one.’

  Hem de decidir si hi anem amb el meu cotxe o amb el teu.

  We must decide whether we are going in my car or in yours.

  Likewise a nominalized adjective its
elf can be followed by an adjectival qualifier or complement. So, in answer to the question En quina capsa penses? ‘Which box do you have in mind?’, we could have en la vermella ratllada ‘the red one with stripes’ (adjective), en la vermella que hi ha al segon prestatge ‘the red one on the second shelf’ (adjectival relative clause) or en la vermella del segon prestatge ‘the red one on the second shelf’ (prepositional phrase complement).

  Nominalization of prepositional phrase complements

  Just as adjectival modifiers can be nominalized, so also can prepositional phrase complements introduced by de (‘that/those/the one(s) of/from’):

  L’aigua de la font és més bona que no la de l’aixeta.

  The water from the spring is better than that from the tap.

  Aquest abric que duc és el del meu pare.

  This overcoat I’m wearing is my father’s.

  En lloc de menjar-me el pa d’avui m’he menjat el d’ahir.

  Instead of eating today’s loaf I have eaten the one from yesterday.

  This solution is not available for prepositional phrases introduced by any other preposition, for which alternative constructions are generated, sometimes involving replacing another preposition with de.

  *M’agrada més el pa amb oli que no l’amb mantega.

  M’agrada més el pa amb oli que no amb mantega/que no el pa amb mantega.

  I like bread with oil on it more than bread and butter.

  *És més noble l’afany per ajudar que el per enriquir-se.

  És més noble l’afany per ajudar que el d’enriquir-se/que l’afany per enriquirse.

  More noble is the urge to help than (the one/the urge) to get rich.

  *Qui has vist, l’home amb ulleres o el sense ulleres?

  Qui has vist, l’home amb ulleres o el que no en duia?

  Who did you see, the man with glasses or the one without (glasses)?

  *Has de triar entre el pagament a tres mesos o l’a un any.

  Has de triar entre el pagament a tres mesos o el d’un any.

  You must decide between monthly or yearly payments.

  Nominalization of (adjectival) relative clauses

  The same pattern seen above can apply to adjectival relative clauses (see 31.6.2).

  Quin és el teu cotxe, el que hi ha a l’aparcament o el que retira la grua?

  Which is your car, the one in the parking lot or the one being towed away?

  És amic del professor de matemàtiques i del que ensenya història.

  He is a friend of the mathematics lecturer and of the one who teaches history.

  De tots els llocs possibles has triat el que és més lluny.

  Of all the possible places you have chosen the one which is furthest away.

  When a prepositional phrase or a relative clause is nominalized using the article, general rules for word order (36.4.2.1) are followed for the addition of new adjectives. As ‘simple’ synthetic adjectives will precede phrasal modifiers (that is, prepositional phrases or relative clauses), it is the adjective standing immediately after the article that assumes the function of head of the noun phrase (with possible following qualifiers). The limitations of the English system of nominalization are revealed in this area.

  L’aigua de la font és més bona que no la infecta de l’aixeta.

  Spring water is better than the filthy stuff from the tap.

  Observe how the word order L’aigua de la font és més bona que no la de l’aixeta infecta could only mean something different: ‘Spring water is better than the water from the filthy tap’.

  En lloc de menjar-me el pa d’avui m’he menjat el petit d’ahir.

  Instead of eating today’s loaf I’ve eaten the small one from yesterday.

  (*En lloc de menjar-me el pa d’avui m’he menjat el d’ahir petit.)

  Quin és el teu cotxe? El que hi ha a l’aparcament o el vell que retira la grua?

  Which is your car? The one in the parking lot or the old one being towed away?

  És amic del professor de matemàtiques i del malparit que ensenya història.

  He is a friend of the mathematics lecturer and of the bastard who teaches history.

  Something different occurs in a sentence like Els problemes d’avui són els d’ahir engrandits ‘Today’s problems are yesterday’s writ larger’, where engrandits ‘enlarged’ has an independent explicative function and cannot refer to ahir. Such constructions also contain an adversative perspective:

  Els problemes d’avui són els (mateixos) d’ahir, però engrandits.

  Today’s problems are yesterday’s writ large.

  9.2 NEUTER ARTICLE

  9.2.1 ABSTRACTION OF AN ADJECTIVE

  The definite article el (l’ before a vowel or h + vowel) can be used to turn an adjective into a sort of abstract noun, expressing the general quality conveyed by that adjective without reference to any specific noun, el becoming thus a ‘neuter article’. Translation into English often involves ‘the thing’:

  No és estrany que faci tard, l’estrany és que no hagi trucat.

  It’s not strange that he’s late; the strange thing is that he hasn’t phoned.

  L’increïble de vegades esdevé creïble.

  The incredible sometimes becomes credible.

  L’important és que ara actuïn amb rapidesa.

  The important thing is that they should now take swift action.

  However, this construction tends to be limited to use with adjectives, like those in the examples above, whose meaning is clearly abstract. Other solutions are often used in order to prevent confusion between el as neuter article and el as masculine definite article. The sentence El verd m’agrada seems most likely to refer to an elided noun, ‘I like the green one’ (similar to examples in 9.1.1), rather than to ‘greenness’. Preference, then, in the case of an abstraction, is for a periphrastic solution like Tot el que és verd m’agrada ‘I like everything that is green’ or Les coses verdes m’agraden ‘ I like green things’. Similarly El fàcil és més atractiu is appropriate for comparing known objects (‘The easier one (e.g. camí ‘route’) is more attractive’) rather than for referring to ‘easiness’ as a generalized quality, so that for this concept the preference is for Les coses fàcils són més atractives ‘Easy things are more attractive’ or for the relative construction (see 9.2.2) El que és fàcil és més atractiu ‘That which is easy is more attractive’.

  The neuter demonstratives (això, allò) are occasionally used to stand in for the neuter article:

  Això nostre és un assumpte complicat.

  This business of ours is a complicated matter.

  Hauríem de parlar d’allò altre.

  We ought to discuss that other business.

  However, això and allò have a demonstrative value which limits their capacity for ‘abstraction’ of any item (especially proper adjectives) to which they refer. The utterance Allò negre indica que porta dol ‘The black shows that she is in mourning’ seems to point at a black garment rather than just to the fact that she is dressed in that colour. Similarly Això rodó rodola is more likely to refer to an object which can be contemplated during the conversation, ‘That round thing is rolling about’, rather than to be a general statement that ‘Whatever is round will roll’.

  The existence of lo (= el) as masculine definite article in certain dialects of Catalan has been adduced to support the acceptability of constructions that make this word a nominalizer: Lo bonic és que … ‘The nice thing is that …’, Lo més interessant vindrà després ‘The interesting part will come later’. However, it is much more conceivable that the influence of Castilian (which makes wide use of neuter article lo) is what lies behind generation of this kind of construction in colloquial Catalan. In other words, the frequent appearance of constructions with lo in the spoken language of many Catalans derives less from the traditional structures of their own language than from direct (if unconscious) influence of the close neighbour. In summary, standard Catalan does not have a distinctive
neuter form of the article (see Chapter 3), and the masculine form el has limitations in this function. As shown above, it is easy to work with the more ‘genuine’ solutions of la cosa/les coses ‘the thing’/‘the things’, el que és … and other simple semantic substitutions (readily available via English, more often than not):

  Lo bonic és que … (colloquial, non-standard) → La cosa bonica és que …/El que és bonic és que … (genuine)

  Lo més interessant vindrà després (colloquial, non-standard) → La part més interessant vindrà després.

  Lo dolç li agrada menys que lo salat (colloquial, non-standard) → Les coses dolces li agraden menys que les salades.

  He likes sweet things more than savoury (things).

  For el/lo + adjective expressing a form of indirect exclamation, see 27.2.3.

  9.2.2 THE NEUTER RELATIVE PRONOUN

  El que ‘what (= that which)’ has the neuter article el as the antecedent of relative pronoun que (see 31.6.2). Here el stands for a non-specific antecedent, and it may be replaced in some contexts by allò or, occasionally, by això:

  Per què no escoltes el que et dic?

  Why don’t you listen to what I’m saying?

  Van dir allò que esperàvem.

  They said what we expected.

  El que em preocupa es pot resumir així.

  What worries me can be summed up as follows.