by Max Wheeler
No m’agrada gaire, però encara el penso comprar.
I don’t like it much, but I still plan to buy it.
When però is placed after one or more elements in the second of two clauses, it has the concessive value of ‘however’, ‘though’:
Us prestarem aquests diners, amb la condició, però, que no els malbarateu en frivolitats.
We’ll lend you this money, but only on condition that you don’t waste it on frivolities.
A mi m’agrada molt la idea; en Carles, però, encara hi té els seus dubtes.
I like the idea a lot; Carles, though, still has doubts about it.
In speech, rather than però at the end of a sentence one often hears per’xò (strictly a contraction of per això):
-Aquest davanter nou és molt jove. -Juga bé, però/per’xò.
‘This new forward is very young.’ ‘He’s a good player, though.’
A mi no m’has de convèncer, però.
You aren’t going to convince me, though.
15.1.5.2 Sinó‘ but’
Whereas però translates ‘but’ expressing restriction of, or opposition to, a preceding idea (which may be affirmative or negative), sinó has the special function of rendering ‘but’ when it contradicts a preceding (always negative) statement. Another way to describe this is to say that, while però sets up an idea in opposition to what has just been said, sinó establishes a modification or rectification within a single general (negative) assertion:
No penso en els fills sinó en els pares.
I’m not thinking of the children but of the parents.
Li ho comunicaré no solament a ell sinó a tots els seus companys.
I shall inform not just him but all his companions.
No hi puc dir res sinó que em sap molt de greu.
I can say nothing but that I am very sorry.
As in the last example above, sinó is supported by que if the following conjunct contains a finite verb:
No discuteixen, sinó que canvien parers.
They’re not arguing but (they are) exchanging opinions.
(For stylistic reasons que (and even sinó que) may be suppressed in such constructions: no discuteixen, (sinó (que)) canvien parers.)
While sinó will almost invariably follow a negative, ‘but’ after a negative is not always translated by this word. Compare:
No està malalta, però diu que se sent molt cansada.
She isn’t ill, but she says she feels very tired.
with
No està malalta sinó molt cansada.
She isn’t ill but very tired.
This difference between sinó and però is further highlighted when it is seen how però is sometimes reinforced by sí (que):
No són germans sinó (que són) cosins
They are not brothers but cousins.
No té germans, però sí (que té) un cosí que viu al Canadà
He does not have any brothers but he does have a cousin living in Canada.
The first sentence makes a distinction within the general category (‘relatives’, implied), whereas the second opposes two separate categories (‘brother’ and ‘other relatives’).
Like English ‘but’, sinó also has the value of ‘except’ after a negative:
No feien sinó queixar-se.
They did nothing but complain.
Ningú no ho ha vist sinó tu.
Nobody saw it but you.
En tres mesos no he menjat sinó pollastre.
For three months I have eaten nothing but chicken.
On the difference between sinó and si no, see 15.3i.
15.1.6 ADDITIVE EXPRESSIONS
There is a type of conjunction that expresses continuity, succession, or accumulation in the linking of elements within or between sentences; the semantic relation is more elaborate than just ‘and’, or ‘but’. The main ones are:
(i) encara further, besides,as well ni resencara més nor anythingfurthermore, moreover
com també likewise així mateix likewise, similarly
ni (tan sols) not even ni solament not even
Α més and de més ‘furthermore’, ‘besides’ are frequently duplicated as a més a més and de més a més; i fins i tot ‘and even’ is frequently reduced to … i tot, placed after the item to which it refers.
Vostè pot entrevistar-la i encara pot fer-li una fotografia si vol.
You can interview her and can take a photo of her as well if you want.
Vam donar-li les gràcies i, a més, una bona propina.
We thanked him and gave him a good tip as well.
El van lligar i fins i tot li van tapar els ulls/…i li van tapar els ulls i tot.
They tied him up and even blindfolded him.
Ens han cobrat l’allotjament com també/i així mateix part de les despeses del viatge.
They have charged us for board and lodging as well as for part of the travel costs.
No han concedit premis ni trofeus ni res.
They haven’t awarded prizes, trophies or anything.
M’ha vist però ni (tan sols) m’ha dit hola.
She saw me but she didn’t even say hello.
As in the last example above,ni alone can convey the meaning of ‘not even’ (26.1.2):
Ni ell mateix no se n’adona. He doesn’t even realize it himself.
15.1.7 DONCS AS A CONTINUATIVE
At the head of a sentence doncs ‘well’ occurs frequently to establish continuity or coherence between what follows and either a preceding utterance or the context itself.
Doncs, com t’explicava … Well, as I was explaining to you
Doncs jo si que vull inscriure-m’hi. Well I do want to sign up for it.
I doncs, que també veniu? So then, you’re coming too?
Doncs and other illatives
As well as being a response signal and initiator, doncs commonly has the illative function of presenting a consequence of or inference from what has just been said. It often corresponds to ‘in that case’, translated usually as ‘well’ or ‘then’, both in colloquial/informal registers and in more elevated language dealing with logical relationships. Doncs may occur at the beginning of a clause, or after it, separated by a comma.
Que no t’agrada? Doncs no t’ho mengis.
You don’t like it? Well don’t eat it./Don’t eat it then.
No contesten? Ja deuen haver marxat, doncs.
They aren’t replying? They must have left already, then.
Tot Α és Β; tot Β és C; doncs tot Α és C.
All A is B; all Β is C; therefore all A is C.
Other nuances are observed in the use of doncs, which is among the most ubiquitous words in Catalan conversation.
Like English ‘well’, it may tone down the response to a question, adding perhaps a modest or tentative note. It also functions as a spontaneous ‘silence filler’ or as indication that the speaker has reflected before responding:
Com s’ha de resoldre això? Doncs, convé que procedim amb molta cautela.
How is this to be resolved? Well, we should proceed with great caution.
No està satisfet del resultat? Doncs, jo crec que n’hauria d’estar ben content.
Isn’t he satisfied with the result? Well, I think he should be thoroughly pleased with it.
Preceded by i and used interrogatively, doncs stands elliptically for a vague question about consequence:
I doncs? So, what’s to be done?
Losing its illative force, doncs may convey a strong hint of contrast or contradiction:
Tu no ho saps fer? Doncs ell sí. You can’t do it? Well he can.
–Aquests no volen saber-ne res –Doncs a mi m’han d’escoltar
‘They don’t want to hear about it.’ ‘Well they’re going to have to listen to me.’
(Use of doncs as a causal conjunction is common in speech, though stigmatized.
(non-standard) No ho va fer, doncs estava malalta.
(standard) No ho va fer pe
rquè estava malalta.She didn’t do it as she was ill.
Causals are discussed in 33.3.1.)
Colloquial usage in the Balearic dialects has idò (a variant of i doncs) instead of doncs in all the contexts described above.
Other illative conjunctions are:
per tant therefore així, així és que so, thus
per consegüent consequently
15.2 QUE ‘THAT’
The use of que, and of the accented form què, as a relative pronoun is discussed in Chapter 31. The degree adverb que is discussed in 13.6 and 27.2.2.2, Here we deal with que as a subordinating conjunction or complementizer.
15.2.1 QUE AS COMPLEMENTIZER
Que introduces clauses in a way comparable to English ‘that’ (see Chapter 32), although que is never omitted before the subordinate clause.
(i) Subject clause:
És obvi que no vol venir.
It’s obvious (that) he doesn’t want to come.
No està bé que li ho diguis.
It’s wrong for you to tell him/that you should tell him.
(ii) Clause complement of copula:
La veritat és que no s’ho creuen. The truth is (that) they don’t believe it.
La nostra opinio és que t’equivoques. Our opinion is that you are mistaken.
(iii) Direct object clause:
Han confirmat que assistiran a la cerimònia.
They have confirmed that they will be present at the ceremony.
Diu que ho farà aviat.
He says she will do it soon.
No volem que hi vagis sol.
We don’t want you to go there alone.
(iv) Object complement clause, after prepositional verb or noun:
Insisteixen que es faci així
They insist that it be done like this.
L’has d’acostumar que s’entreni cada dia.
You must get him used to training every day.
S’han recordat que els ho havíem promès?
Have they remembered that we’d promised them (it)?
Vénen amb la noció que ens podran estafar.
They’ve come with the notion that they can swindle us.
In this last group the preposition is dropped (as in English) before que (see 32.4–5 for details of this phenomenon).
(v) Que ‘as far as’, in frequently used formulae of the kind:
que jo sàpiga as far as I know/for all I know
15.2.2 QUE IN COMPOUND CONJUNCTIONS
Que is preceded by many words (adverbs, prepositions, and others) to form compound conjunctions, introducing adverbial clauses (Chapter 33). Some common examples are:
ja que since (causal) tot seguit que as soon as
sols que except that d’ençà que since (temporal)
encara que although per més que however much
(It will be noticed that some elements combining with que are themselves compounds, as is the case with tot seguit que, d’ençà que, and per més que.)
With puix ‘since’ (confined like car ‘since’ to literary usage) the use of que is optional, as it is too with com ‘as’, ‘since’ (although the compound form is prevalent in the latter case):
Com que és tan tard, no els penso esperar.
As it’s so late I don’t intend to wait for them.
To the list of compound conjunctions can be added many like a fi de ‘with the object of’, de por de ‘for fear of’ which drop de before que opening a clause:
Ho repeteixo a fi que no t’hi equivoquis.
I’m repeating it so that you don’t get it wrong.
15.2.3 QUE AT THE HEAD OF A MAIN CLAUSE
Que may appear at the head of a main clause, especially in speech. Such constructions may be classified as follows:
(i) Brief questions not introduced by an interrogative word (more details in 27.1.1.1):
Que voleu prendre un cafè? Would you like a coffee?
Que no em sents? Can’t you hear me?
(ii) Other sentences where, rather as in (i) above, a verb like dir ‘say’ or preguntar ‘ask’ might well be understood to introduce the main verb:
Que si m’ha agradat? (Did you ask) if I liked it?
Llavors jo que entro i els començo a escridassar. Then in I come and start to bawl at them.
Ell que sí, que s’hi vol apuntar. He definitely wants to sign up.
Mira, que aquí hi ha un error. Look, there’s a mistake here.
Socorreu-me! Que m’ofego! Help! I’m drowning!
The last two examples can be compared with group (iii) below.
(iii) Colloquially, as a general vague subordinator/coordinator: que is often inserted to connect one idea to another where English might use a more explicit link word, or perhaps imply the connection with just a pause (possibly represented in writing by a dash):
Corre, home! Que farem tard!
Get a move on, man! We’re going to be late.
Parla més fluix, que ens escolten aquells.
Keep your voice down–that lot can hear us.
Escriu-ho en majúscules, que s’ha d’emfasitzar
Write it in capital letters, as it has to be stressed.
Van arribar que jo encara no havia marxat.
They arrived before I had left.
Des de l’octubre que no ha fumat cap cigarret.
She hasn’t smoked a cigarette since October.
The last two examples can be related to temporal expressions discussed in 33.2.2.
(iv) Colloquially, expressing that ‘the penny has dropped’:
Ah! quevostè és aquell…
Ah! (so) you’re that person who …
Mira, que s’ha d’introduir cap per avail.
Look, you’ve got to put it in upside down.
(v) With the subjunctive, expressing commands, exhortations, and wishes (more details in 19.6):
Que vingui i ho veurà. Just let him come and then he’ll see.
Que no sigui res. (I hope you can) just take it in your stride.
15.3 SI‘IF’
Like ‘if’ in English, si is used: (i) to express condition (Chapter 34) and (ii) to introduce indirect questions (27.1.2):
(i) Conditions
Si vols venir amb nosaltres, t’hauràs d’afanyar
If you want to come with us, you’ll have to get a move on.
Si haguessis vingut abans, l’hauries vist.
If you’d come earlier you would have seen him.
See Chapter 34 for detailed discussion of conditional sentences.
See Chapter 34 for detailed discussion of conditional sentences.
As with English ‘if’, si alone can convey acknowledgement of a fact, sometimes with a mildly concessive implication (see 33.3.3):
Si callen no és perquè no en sàpiguen res.
If they’re not saying anything it’s not because they don’t know anything about it.
Compound si bé is concessive:
Si bé són parents, no s’assemblen gens.
Even though they are related, they don’t look at all alike.
Si no ‘if not’ has the meaning of ‘otherwise’, standing for a full clause:
Embolica-ho ben embolicat; si no, es trencarà
Wrap it up really well; otherwise it will get broken.
(Si no in this construction is to be distinguished from sinó; see 15.1.5.2, and 26.1.4. The appearance of sinó in place of si no is a common error even in well-edited texts.)
In a clause expressing a simple exclusive condition, with the meaning ‘unless’, doncs can support si (no) in formal contexts:
Serà multat per la seva absència, si doncs no té cap justificació
He will be fined for his absence, unless he has some justification.
(ii) Indirect questions (see 27.2.2.2)
Pregunta-li si en sap alguna cosa.
Ask her if she knows anything about it.
Ara tinc el dubte de si li vaig enviar el fax.
I’m now wondering if I ever sent him the fax.<
br />
15.4 COM ‘HOW’
As well as appearing in various modal expressions (see 33.2.3), com ‘how’ may substitute que introducing clauses which are complements of verbs of perception, memory, or communication:
Has vist com ha saltat?
Did you see how he jumped?/Did you see him jump?
Et vull fer entendre com ha canviat tot.
I want to make you understand how everything has changed.
Em recordo de com reia quan ens veia.
I remember how she used to laugh when she saw us.
A distinction can be observed between:
Vaig veure que baixava de l’avió. I saw him getting off the plane.
and
Vaig veure que baixava de l’avió. I saw him getting off the plane.
Both sentences may have the same translation in English, but the second indicates that there was something significant or unusual about the action observed.
For com in exclamations, see 27.2.2.
PART III VERBS
16 MORPHOLOGY OF THE VERB
It is no doubt in the area of verb morphology that differences between the dialects of Catalan are most noticeable. In a written text, it is most likely to be the verb forms which reveal that the text is, for example, Valencian or Balearic. For this reason we give full attention in this section not only to the General variety of Catalan (based on the usage of the Central dialect of eastern Catalonia and Barcelona in particular) but also to the forms of other varieties which are accepted in writing and in formal styles of speaking.