by Max Wheeler
He won’t receive us.He won’t receive you.He is looking at us.He is looking at you. No vol rebre’ns. No vol rebre-us.Està mirant-nos.Està mirant-vos.
Take me to the bar. Porti’m al bar (vostè).Porta’m al bar (tu). Portin-me al bar (vostès).Porteu-me al bar (vosaltres).
It is worth repeating the observation that all enclitic pronouns are attached to the verb with either a hyphen (where no elision occurs) or an apostrophe (where there is elision).
12.2.3 MOBILE OBJECT PRONOUNS: CLITIC RAISING
When an infinitive or gerund is governed by a conjugated verb, any individual pronoun may, in a large number of cases, either precede the conjugated verb (as in 12.2.1 above) or be affixed enclitically to the infinitive/gerund (as in 12.2.2 above). The proclitic forms are less formal. The frequency with which the (periphrastic) preterite tense and other verbal periphrases occur (see Chapter 18, especially 18.2.1.1) means that this option (called clitic raising) is regularly exercised:
No van viure-hi gaires anys. = No hi van viure gaires anys.
They did not live there for many years.
Estava arreglant-lo/arreglant-la. = L’estava arreglant.
He was mending it.
Heu d’ajudar-me. = M’heu d’ajudar.
You must help me.
In addition to the periphrases illustrated in the last three examples, the commonest verbs that that allow this clitic raising are: voler ‘want’, poder ‘can’, acabar de ‘have just’, saber ‘know how to’, començar a ‘begin to’, acostumar a/de ‘be accustomed to’, deure ‘must’, gosar ‘dare’, pensar ‘intend’, fer ‘make’, deixar ‘let’, tornar a ‘do again’, anar a ‘be going to’, venir a ‘come to’ and verbs of perception (veure ‘see’, sentir ‘hear’, etc.). Examples:
No volem molestar-te. = No et volem molestar.
We don’t want to inconvenience you.
Encara no he començat a llegir-lo. = Encara no l’he començat a llegir.
I haven’t started reading it yet.
No tornis a fer-ho. = No ho tornis a fer.
Don’t do it again.
Acostumàvem a parlar-ne en veu baixa. = N’acostumàvem a parlar en veu baixa.
We usually talked about it in low voices.
No acabava de veure-ho clar. = No ho acabava de veure clar.
I couldn’t quite work it out.
No puc atendre-la en aquest moment. = No la puc atendre en aquest moment.
I can’t attend to you at the moment
Has intentat (de) trucar-li? = Li has intentat (de) trucar?
Have you tried phoning him?
M’ha fet repetir-ho. = M’ho ha fet repetir.
He made me repeat it.
(On mobility affecting pronoun groups, see 12.9.4.)
Many verbs that govern an infinitive, however (with or without a preposition), do not allow clitic raising:
Han insistit a convidar-nos. They have insisted on paying for us.
Va decidir comprar-lo. She decided to buy it.
Han evitat haver-ho de fer. = Han evitat haver de fer-ho.
*Ho han evitat haver de fer. They have avoided having to do it.
Some hesitation, or controversy, exists among native speakers as to which verbs do or do not allow clitic raising. Authentic usage is assured if one remembers that the enclitic form is always possible (if more formal). The question of clitic raising is related to that of valency, which is discussed in 25.5.
Further information on clitic raising
Clitic raising does not occur:
(a) If the main verb is pronominal (see Chapter 23 for definition and examples): e.g. Es va afanyar a acabar-ho ‘He strove to finish it’, not *S’ho va afanyar a acabar; Ens penedim d’haver-la insultada ‘We regret having insulted her’, not *Ens la penedim d’haver insultat. Compare the mobility available with non-pronominal verbs: Ens ha vist fer-ho = Ens ho ha vist fer ‘He saw us do it’, Ens deixaran entrevistar-la = Ens la deixaran entrevistar ‘They will let us interview her’.
(b) If another word or words intervene between the main verb and the dependent infinitive: Havia intentat mil vegades de rectificar-ho ‘He had tried a thousand times to rectify it’, not *Ho havia intentat mil vegades de rectificar; Voldria no fer-ho ‘I’d rather not do it’, but not *Ho voldria no fer.
This rule is not always observed in the colloquial language: No li tine res a dir for No tine res a dir-li ‘I’ve nothing to say to him/her/you’. Another exception is found when the post-verbal negative element pas (see 26.1.8) is present in the sentence: pas itself can stand after the main verb or the infinitive, and clitic mobility is not affected in any arrangement: No puc pas rebre’ls avui = No els puc pas rebre avui = No puc rebre’ls pas avui = No els puc rebre pas avui ‘I cannot receive them/you today’.
(c) If the main verb is a positive command: Mira de corregir-ho ‘Make sure you correct it’, Procureu evitar-ho ‘Try to avoid it’. But see Deixa’m fer-ho = Deixa-m’ho fer ‘Let me do it’.
If more than one infinitive is involved, several solutions are possible (with the first generally being the most reliable for foreigners, in that it will always be correct, if not always the most colloquial):
No puc tornar a visitar-los. = No puc tornar-los a visitar. = No els puc tornar a visitar.
I can’t visit them again.
Ja pots començar a copiar-ho. = Ja pots començar-ho a copiar. = Ja ho pots començar a copiar.
You can start copying it now.
12.3 PRONOMINAL CLITICS IN USE
12.3.1.1 Firstand second-person object pronouns
First- and second-person object pronouns combine with the verb as explained in 12.1.1. For both the first and the second persons the forms are undifferentiated for the accusative (direct object) and for the dative (indirect object) functions. The direct object in Catalan is easily identified (Chapter 25) and its function conforms to that of its counterpart in English: M’han vist They have seen me’, Heu de creure’ns ‘You must believe us’. The Catalan indirect object, on the other hand, covers a range of meanings beyond the simple function of dative (see 25.4).
12.3.1.2 Reflexive and pronominal clitics
A particular category is that in which the object pronoun refers to the subject of the verb (as indicated by the verb ending): Em dutxo ‘I’m having a shower’, M’estic rentant les dents ‘I’m cleaning my teeth’, T’has equivocat ‘You were mistaken’, No us emboliqueu en aquest assumpte ‘Don’t get involved in this matter’.
These reflexive or pronominal verbs are discussed in detail in Chapter 23; the third-person reflexive clitic es is considered at 12.4.
12.3.2 THIRD-PERSON OBJECT PRONOUNS
Third-person object pronouns pronouns correspond to vostè(s) ‘you (polite)’ as well as to third-person (animate and inanimate) objects:
Senyor comissari, li asseguro que no el tornaré a molestar.
Inspector, I assure you I won’t trouble you again.
El vaig veure ahir.
I saw him/it/you yesterday.
Els vaig veure ahir.
I saw them/you yesterday.
12.3.2.1 Third-person direct objects
Third-person direct objects are differentiated for masculine and feminine (both animate and inanimate), combining variously with the verb as shown in 12.1.1. The following examples illustrate all the different forms:
Quin dia! El recordaré sempre./No l’oblidaré mai./No podré oblidar-lo.
What a day! I’ll always remember it./I’ll never forget it./I shan’t be able to forget it.
Treu-lo (el cotxe) del garatge i aparca’l a la cantonada.
Take it (the car) out of the garage and park it on the corner.
Seran uns bons col·laboradors. Posa’ls/Inclou-los/Els hem d’incloure/Hem d’incloure’ls a la llista.
They’ll be good collaborators. Put them/Include them/We must include them in the list.
És una bona oportunitat: no la perdis/no l’hauries de perdre/no hauries de perdre-la.
/> It’s a good opportunity: don’t miss it/you ought not to miss it.
Si arriben les meves nebodes, les acompanyaràs/acompanya-les/les pots acompanyar/pots acompanyar-les al saló.
If my nieces arrive, you will show them/show them/you can show them to the drawing room.
In all of these cases the object pronouns agree in number and in gender with the noun the speaker has in mind. Where ‘it’ refers not to an identifiable noun but to something non-specific, to an idea or to a whole sentence (to something that might be represented by the neuter pronouns això/allò ‘that’), then ho is used, as described in Chapter 9 (and later in 12.5).
12.3.2.2 Third-person indirect objects
Li in the singular and els (-los, ’ls) in the plural stand for both masculine and feminine indirect objects:
Ja li demostraré com s’ha de fer.
I’ll demonstrate to him/her/you how it’s to be done.
Si veus els meus pares, digue’ls/els pots dir/pots dir-los que els escriuré aviat.
If you see my parents, tell them/you can tell them I’ll write (to them) soon.
Α persones com aquestes, els hem de retre/hem de retre’ls el màxim homenatge.
We must pay the highest homage to people like these.
The indirect object plural form els (-los, ’ls) is replaced in many spoken dialects (including the influential one of the Barcelona region) by an element which is pronounced [əlzi]. This widespread variant can be explained starting from a popular reanalysis of the singular indirect object pronoun, li, as consisting of a third-person singular element {l} (see second table in 12.1.1) followed by an indirect object element {i}. On this basis speakers have constructed [əlzi] from the third-person plural {ls}, together with the element {i}, as in the singular. The innovation allows differentiation between third-person plural masculine direct object els and third-person plural indirect object [əlzi] where the standard language has only undifferentiated els. (The same tendency is detected in the substitution of the indirect object full form -los by (non-standard) -lis, which is found in speech particularly in Valencia and Minorca.) In recognizing this phenomenon, and even in spontaneously reproducing it in informal conversation, foreign learners need to be aware that it is a colloquial variant. In writing that attempts to represent popular speech, [əlzi] is generally written as els hi, as if the two pronouns els and hi were involved (as discussed in 12.9, especially els hi considered at 12.9.3.5). The standard form of indirect object plural els (-los, ’ls) is used in educated speech and in nearly all kinds of written texts. The following sentences show how colloquial [əlzi], reproduced according to formal orthographic convention, would replace the correct form of indirect object els in examples already shown above:
(non-standard) Si veus els meus pares, digue’ls-hi/els hi pots dir/pots dî’ls-hi que els (hi) escriuré aviat.
(non-standard) Α persones com aquestes els hi hem de retre/hem de retre’ls-hi el màxim homenatge.
12.3.2.3 Direct and indirect objects in the third person
In English, personal pronouns have the same form for direct and indirect object (‘me’, ‘him’, ‘her’, ‘them’). In Catalan, in the first and second persons, the forms for the direct and indirect object are identical (em, etc., et, etc., ens, etc., us, etc.). Third-person masculine plural els, (-los, ‘ls) serve as both direct and indirect object, but otherwise the direct/indirect distinction is marked for the third person. This means that particular attention to appropriateness of form in relation to function must be paid when third-person objects are involved. The general point is best illustrated by referring to use of the thirdperson direct object shown above in 12.3.2.1 (and 25.3) and then by reviewing the main patterns of use and details of meaning of indirect objects (see 25.4).
Generally speaking if a verb has only one object, it is a direct object:
Les odia.
She hates them (f.).
La vam aguantar.
We endured it/her (f.).
No el puc descriure de cap altra forma.
I can’t describe him in any other way.
As mentioned in 25.4, a few verbs which have personal subjects take only an indirect object, but no direct object, at least in the standard variety, viz. pegar ‘strike’, telefonar ‘telephone’, trucar ‘call’, ‘ring’:
Els vaig trucar. I rang them (m. or f.).
No li peguis. Don’t hit him/her.
Typical uses of indirect object li/els
The underlying principle is that the indirect object pronouns li/els represent the person (and sometimes the thing) interested in or by the meaning of the verb phrase, the ‘interest’ being broadly related either to ‘gaining from’ or to ‘losing by’ an action. English will often have ‘to’, ‘for’, or ‘from’ in corresponding phrases. The examples given below are all translated as referring to ‘him/her/them’, but in virtually every case the translation could be ‘you’ with the pronouns referring to vostè(s).
In the first group of sentences below there is a direct object noun phrase (or noun clause/sentential complement) present as well as the dative/indirect object. (Only in exceptional circumstances can a Catalan clause have more than one direct object; it can never have more than one indirect object.)
Indirect object and direct object
(i) Receiving or acquiring something:
Li vaig entregar el paquet. I delivered the parcel to him.
Els ensenyarem com s’hi va. We’ll show them how to get there.
Digueu-li com es fa. Tell her how it’s done.
Qui els subministra combustible? Who supplies them (with) fuel?
Algú li va atansar el plànol. Someone handed him the street plan.
Li han hagut de posar una injecció. They have had to give her an injection.
Li va merèixer moltes lloances. It earned her a lot of praise.
El pare li havia encomanat la seva ambició. His father had infected him with his ambition.
No se’ls ha acudit de denunciar-ho. It didn’t occur to them to report it.
Li he promès que ho faré. I’ve promised him I’ll do it.
(ii) Loss or removal from:
Li han furtat la llibreta d’estalvis.
They’ve pinched her savings book.
Això li ha tret un gran pes del damunt.
This has taken a great weight from his shoulders.
Li vaig comprar una dotzena d’ous.
I bought a dozen eggs from her. (Note this could also mean ‘I bought a dozen eggs for her’.)
Un veí va arrabassar-li la clau dels dits.
A neighbour snatched the key from his fingers.
(iii) Enquiring, requesting, requiring:
Pregunta-li si ho sap.
Ask her if she knows.
Els vam fer una sèrie de preguntes.
We put a series of questions to them.
Demanem-li aquest favor.
Let us ask this favour of him.
Aquest detall els deu haver cridat l’atenció.
This detail must have attracted their attention.
Era una feina que li exigia una concentració total.
It was a job that called for her total concentration.
(iv) Many set phrase involving tenir or fer plus a noun, expressing an emotion or reaction:
Per què li tens tanta enveja? Why are you so jealous of her?
No li feia por. It didn’t frighten him.
No li fa res que pleguem d’hora. She doesn’t mind if we finish work early.
(v) Indicating persons affected by something done to a part of the body or to an intimate possession (see 7.4 and 25.4 on structural differences, including omission of the possessive adjective, between Catalan and English possessive constructions):
Afluixa-li el cinturó de seguretat. Loosen her seat-belt.
Els degué costar un ronyó. It must have cost them a packet.
Algú li trepitjava els peus. Someone was treading on his feet.
L’excitació li entum
ia el membre. The excitement made his member swell.
Se’ls havia espatllat el cotxe. Their car had broken down.
Ja li cuidarem el gos. We’ll look after the/his dog for him.
(vi) Indicating a person’s involvement in or being closely affected by a verbal action. This device is characteristic of colloquial and familiar contexts, when the speaker displays strong affective involvement in what they are talking about. The effect and nuances of this ‘ethic dative’ in Catalan (see 25.4) are very often difficult to convey in English. The preposition ‘on’ (‘on me’, ‘on you’, ‘on him’, etc.) sometimes has the same force in colloquial English, but in translation the effect will usually be transposed to (or from) another part of the English sentence:
El nen se’ls estava posant molt fresc.
Their child was getting very cheeky with them.
El seu marit se li està quedant primíssim.
Her husband’s getting terribly thin.
As in the examples above, this construction frequently involves combination of two (or more) pronoun clitics. The whole question of combination of pronouns is covered in 12.9.
The second group of sentences, containing an indirect but no direct object, are perhaps more tricky for English speakers. In nearly every case the subject is inanimate or impersonal: such verbs are usually regarded as ‘intransitive’ (see 25.4).