Catalan
Page 31
En els carrers, hi havia poca llum. In the streets there was not much light.
En el meu sac, n’hi ha. In my handbag there are some.
En for direction to = location
With physical places, and when the following word is un ‘a’, algun ‘some’, or one of the demonstratives aquest ‘this’, aqueix ‘that’ or aquell ‘that’, then en, as well as expressing location, is preferred to a for the expression of direction to, though a is also correct:
Desitjàvem que la festa se celebràs en una sala més gran.
We wanted the party to be held in a larger room, (location)
Van traslladar-nos en (or a) una sala més gran.
They moved us to a larger room, (direction)
Fugiren en (or a) algun indret desconegut.
They fled to some unknown location.
S’instal·laren en algun indret desconegut.
They settled in some unknown location.
In some varieties, particularly Balearic, en for a ‘to’ (direction) occurs with the definite article too:
Pugem en es poble. Let’s go up to the village.
(ii) Figurative place
When the location or direction is figurative rather than literal the distinction between en for location and a for direction is preferred before all types of word.
el desig expressat en l’assemblea the wish expressed at the meeting
el desig expressat a l’assemblea the wish expressed to the meeting
mots que apareixen en la llengua parlada words which occur in the spoken language
problemes en l’ensenyament problems in education
However, there is in the eastern dialect area quite a widespread tendency to use a for non-physical ‘place in which’ in constructions similar to those mentioned in (i) on p. 245 where ‘a for location = direction’ is found:
Indicàvem al nostre comentari anterior. (… en el …)
We pointed out in our previous comment.
com diu Kissinger a les seves memòries. (… en les …)
as Kissinger says in his memoirs
In many everyday expressions it is hard to see why one would object to this: Ho llegim al diari ‘We read it in the paper’, Coses que passen a la vida! ‘Things which happen in life’ (i.e. ‘just one of those things’). The distinction drawn by grammarians between physical place and figurative place cannot always be clearly made, and the difference in usage in these two contexts is more realistically thought of as a tendency or a preference.
14.1.1.4 Verbal complements with a, en
Certain verbs require prepositional phrase complements with a or en, determined in each case by the verb in question; the preposition is carried over to constructions with a noun derived from the verb.
Verbs with a:
accedir a agree to
acostumar a accustom (someone) to
arriscar-se a take a risk in
confiar a entrust (someone / something) to
contribuir a contribute to
so contribució a contribution to
convertir a convert(someone) to
so conversió a conversion to
dedicar a dedicate (someone / something) to
so dedicació a dedication to
excitar a excite (someone) to
exposar a expose (someone / something) to
so exposició a exposure to
procedir a proceed to
Verbs with en:
afanyar-se en work hard at
complaure’s en take pleasure in
so complaença en pleasure in
confiar en trust in
so confiança en trust in
consistir en consist of/in
convertir en convert/turn (something) into
creure en believe in
so creença en belief in
delitar-se en delight in
so delit en delight in
entossudir-se en obstinately persist in
so tossuderia en obstinacy in
entretenir-se en spend time in, amuse oneself at
equivocar-se en be mistake in
so equivocació en mistake in
exercitar-se en train in/at, practise
implicar en implicate (someone) in
influir en have influence on
so influència en influence on
insistir en insist on
so insistència en insistence on
interessar en interest (someone) in
so interès enobstinar-se enparticipar en interest inpersist inparticipate in
so participació, participation,
participant en participant in
(participar a is also found but is judged incorrect)
pensar en think about, have (something) in one’s thoughts
tardar en, trigar en delay in
so tardança/trigança en delay in
vacil·lar en hesitate in
so vacil·lació en hesitation in
However, it is important to note that, when the complement of such a verb + preposition is an infinitive, en is replaced by a (20.3.1.1), thus:
Tot consisteix en això.
Everything consists in that.
Tot consisteix a fer això.
Everything consists in doing that.
Tarden molt en la resolució de l’afer.
They are taking a long time in the resolution of the matter.
Tarden molt a venir.
They are taking a long time in coming.
En followed by an infinitive occurs only in temporal adverbial expressions (see 20.4).
The prepositions en and a are dropped before a complement clause introduced by que (14.1.5 and 32.4.2).
14.1.1.5 A and en in time expressions
Both a and en are used in time expressions; some examples containing a were given in 13.3. A is the general preposition for ‘time to which’, and often for ‘time at which’ (especially before the definite article) as in the following:
arribar a final de mes get to the end of the month
Dinarem a les dues. We shall have lunch at 2 o’clock.
Hi anàvem a la tardor. We used to go there in autumn.
Va viure al segle XIX. She lived in the nineteenth century. (merely locates the period of her existence)
En may focus on an extent of time, and corresponds often to ‘during’ or ‘within’:
fer una cosa en quinze dies do something in/within a fortnight
Ho vaig fer en un moment. I did it in a very short time.
en els darrers mesos … in recent months …
en les èpoques posteriors … in subsequent periods …
En el segle XV es va desenvolupar molt la prosa catalana. In/during the fifteenth century Catalan prose underwent great development.
However, before words other than the definite article, en may also express no more than a point in time:
En aquell temps Jesús digué. At that time Jesus said.
En dies així tothom està content. On days like this everyone is happy.
Us ho contaré en altres ocasions. I’ll tell you about it on other occasions.
Note expressions like d’avui en quinze ‘a fortnight from today’, de dijous en vuit ‘a week on Thursday’.
The construction of temporal (and causal) infinitive clauses with the preposition en is favoured by normative grammars (see 20.4):
En arribar als vint anys, entraven en quinta.
On reaching the age of twenty, they were called up.
The construction with al (a l’) is also found, though frowned upon by grammarians:
A l’arribar a la plaça, la legió s’escampà.
On arriving in the square, the legion spread out.
14.1.1.6 Idioms with a + infinitive
Verbs of perception, particularly sentir ‘hear’ and veure ‘see’, may take a before an infinitive complement, particularly in the expressions sentir a dir and veure a venir:
He sentit (a) dir que no vi
ndrà.
I have heard that she won’t come. (lit…. have heard (to) say that…)
L’hem vist (a) venir.
We saw him coming.
Pronominal quantifiers such as res ‘anything’/’nothing’, alguna cosa/quelcom ‘something’, molt ‘much’, gaire ‘(not) much’, poc ‘little’ require a before an infinitive:
No hi ha res a fer. There’s nothing to be done.
Si tenien alguna cosa a perdre. If they had anything to lose.
No tenien gaire a guanyar. They hadn’t much to gain.
Hi ha molt poc a dir sobre això. There is very little to be said about that.
Note the expressions tenir a veure amb ‘have to do with’: Què té a veure això amb el que he dit? ‘What has that got to do with what I said’, and és a dir ‘that is to say’, ‘I mean’.
14.1.1.7 Other constructions with en
En occurs in prepositional phrase adjuncts of manner, e.g.:
parlar en veu alta speak out loud (lit. in high voice)
and in prepositional phrase complements of certain nouns and adjectives, such as:
doctor en ciències Doctor of Science
un pais ric en minerals a country rich in minerals
14.1.2 AMB ‘WITH’
The correspondence of Catalan amb with English ‘with’ is close, though naturally there are some differences. The following senses can be identified:
Company:
Cada dia surt amb la Joana. He goes out with Joana every day.
Amb la Joana, sortim cada dia. Joana and I go out every day.
Concurrence (verbal notions which involve more than one party as subject):
Es casa amb el seu cosí. She is marrying her cousin.
S’ha barallat amb la seva millor amiga. She has fallen out with her best friend.
Contact:
Una barca es tocava amb l’altra.Aquella teoria topa amb dificultats. One boat touched the other.
That theory runs into difficulties, (topar amb ‘bump into’, ‘collide with’)
Instrument:
fregar les rajoles amb la baieta mop the tiles with the cloth
demostrar amb proves prove (lit. demonstrate with proofs)
viatjar amb tren/amb avió/amb autocar travel by train/plane/coach (en may also be used; see 3.2.3iv)
Manner:
escriure una paraula amb hac spell a word with Η
treballar amb agilitat work with agility
Certain verbs (not many) require an amb phrase as one of their complements:
amenaçar (algú) amb threaten (somebody) with
comptar amb count on, rely on
conformar-se amb content oneself with
somiar amb dream about
trobar-se amb algú meet/run into someone
haver-n’hi prou amb be enough to
N’hi ha prou amb sentir-ho una vegada. It’s enough to hear it once.
tenir-ne prou amb have enough with, suffice
En tenim prou amb els ingressos mensuals. Our monthly income is sufficient.
Often, before an infinitive, amb is replaced by another preposition (see 20.3.1.1): L’amenaçaven amb l’expulsió ‘They threatened him with dismissal’, but L’amenaçaven d’expulsar-lo ‘They threatened to dismiss him’; Vés amb compte amb la brutícia ‘Watch out for the muck’, but Vés amb compte a no embrutar-te ‘Take care not to get dirty’; N’hi ha prou amb la reproducció d’una part ‘It is enough with the reproduction of part of it’, but N’hi ha prou de/a/amb reproduir-ne una part ‘It is enough to reproduce part of it’.
14.1.3 DE ‘OF’, ‘FROM’, ETC.
De takes the form d’ before a word beginning with a vowel (which may be preceded by a silent h). The letter i may be consonantal, so exercicis de ioga ‘yoga exercises’. In Valencian, u may be consonantal also, thus Este diari no és de hui ‘This newspaper isn’t today’s’ (= General Catalan: Aquest diari no és d’avui). De is not reduced to d’ before the names of vowel letters: Quan va seguida de a, de ο i de u, s’escriu ç ‘When followed by a, ο, or u, ç is written’; nor before the titles of books, newspapers, etc. which are enclosed in inverted commas: els titulars de «El Temps» ‘the headlines in El Temps’. Some writers (esp. Valencian) prefer de to d’ before words beginning with the negative prefix a-: No veig res de anormal ‘I don’t see anything unusual’.
For de in ‘compound prepositions’, see below; for de ‘than’ in certain comparative constructions, see 5.2 and 5.2.3; for de with infinitive clauses see 20.2.1.
14.1.3.1 De + noun phrase as complement or adjunct of a verb
A prepositional phrase with de, as the complement or adjunct of a verb, may express a wide range of concepts.
Origin: sortir de casa go out of the house
El té de naixença. He has had it from birth.
Separation: L’hem exclosa de la comissió. We have excluded her from the committee.
Cause, motive: morir de set die of thirst
avergonyir-se de les seves accions be ashamed of one’s actions
Means: viure de renda live on investment income
Agent: estimat de tothom loved by everyone
(see below under per, and 29.1.2)
A prepositional phrase with de may be the obligatory complement (including infinitive complement) of certain verbs (mostly pronominal, see Chapter 23), for example:
abstenir-se de refrain from
adonar-se de realize
burlar-se de make fun of
doldre’s de complain of/about
dubtar de doubt, have doubts about
gloriejar-se de boast oflbe proud of
oblidar-se de forget/be forgetful of
parlar de speak of
penedir-se de repent (of)
queixar-se de complain of/about
recordar-se de remember
riure’s de laugh at
saber de know about, have knowledge of
No saben de música. They have no knowledge of music.
Temporal adjuncts with de:
Hi anem de nit. We go there by night.
Qui de jove no treballa … He who does not work when young …
14.1.3.2 De + noun phrase (or infinitive) complement of adjective or quantifier
Certain adjectives take a de complement, such as in:
ple de prejudicis full of prejudice amic de les arts fond of the arts
curt de vista short-sighted amic de discutir fond of arguing
Partitive complements (definite noun phrases), of numerals, quantifier adjectives, and adverbs, etc., are introduced with de:
tres de les seves companyes three of her comrades
pocs dels quadres few of the pictures
A dislocated noun phrase (left or right), specifying something already represented by the partitive clitic en, is expressed with de (cf. 12.6v):
De llibres, en té molts, però no el que necessite.
Books, he has a lot of, but not the one I need.
En vols més, de sopa?
Do you want any more soup?
14.1.3.3 De + pronominal adjective
An important feature of Catalan grammar is the use of de + adjective in an indefinite noun phrase where the noun is understood from the context (12.6v). In many cases this use corresponds to the English pronoun ‘one(s)’:
No tinc cigarrets americans, però si de francesos.
I haven’t got American cigarettes, but I have got French ones.
Seria preferible convertir aquesta frase tan llarga en dues de curtes.
It would be preferable to change this very long sentence into two short ones.
En este corral hi ha dos vaques teues i cinc de meues.
In this yard there are two of your cows and five of mine.
Si són necessaris més arguments, encara en tinc de més convincents.
If more arguments are necessary, I (still) have some more convincing ones.
A similar construction is found with res ‘anything’/’nothing’:
La pel·lícula no té res d’especial. The film hasn’t got anything special.
Si saps res de nou, m’avises. If you find out anything new, let me know.
14.1.3.4 De + noun phrase (or infinitive) as complement of noun phrase
The commonest way of using a noun phrase to modify another is with the preposition de; the range of semantic relations is very wide, corresponding not only to English ‘of’ and ‘from’. Here are a few examples:
vins del Penedès wines from the Penedès
una taula de marbre a marble table
manual de química chemistry textbook
dia de festa holiday (lit. day of holiday)
el martell del lampista the plumber’s hammer
la llum del sol the light of the sun
la ciutat de Lleida the city of Lleida
el mes d’octubre the month of October
la feina d’escriptor the task of a writer
la feina d’escriure the task of writing
14.1.4 PER AND PER A
The correct use of these prepositions is a topic of major controversy in Catalan normative grammar. It may be useful to set out briefly the source of the controversy, and to identify the positions taken up. Broadly speaking the two prepositions cover the semantic field of English ‘by’, ‘because of’, and ‘for’. In spoken Valencian per covers, roughly, the senses ‘by’ and ‘because of’ together with part of English ‘for’, with per a corresponding to the rest of ‘for’; this Valencian usage matches that of Spanish por and para closely. In the spontaneous speech of the rest of the Catalan-speaking area, only per is used, covering the whole semantic field. The standard grammatical tradition established by Pompeu Fabra, and defended and elaborated in recent years by Josep Ruaix, recommends a distinction in which per has a somewhat greater role than in spoken Valencian. Many users, however, have found the proposed distinction difficult to apply, particularly in infinitival clauses. Joan Coromines, supported more recently by Joan Solà, recommended a modification in the direction of (non-Valencian) spontaneous usage, by which the distinction in function between per and per a would be maintained only before noun phrase complements, with per alone being used elsewhere. Most written Catalan adheres more or less consistently either to the Fabra-Ruaix model (still the more prestigious), or to the Coromines-Solà model, despite the artificiality of both of them. A more radical solution, adopted explicitly in the 1980s in the Diari de Barcelona and associated publications, copied the spoken non-Valencian usage, and ignored per a altogether; this also appears to have been the practice of the major novelist Mercè Rodoreda. In what follows, we attempt to set out correct usage according to the Fabra-Ruaix model. The practical recommendation, for the non-native speaker outside Valencia, is: if in doubt, use per.