colloquial catalan: the complete course for beginners
TRANSCRIPT
Colloquial
Catalan
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The Colloquial SeriesSeries Adviser Gary King
The following languages are available in the Colloquial series
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Italian
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Somali Spanish Spanish of Latin America Swahili Swedish Tamil Thai Turkish Ukrainian
Urdu Vietnamese Welsh
Accompanying cassette(s) (and CDs) are available for all the above titlesThey can be ordered through your bookseller or send payment with order to Taylor amp FrancisRoutledge Ltd ITPS Cheriton House NorthWay Andover Hants SP10 5BE or to Routledge Inc 270 Madison AveNew York NY 10016 USA
COLLOQUIAL CD-ROMsMultimedia Language CoursesAvailable in Chinese French Portuguese and Spanish
Colloquial
Catalan
The Complete Course for Beginners
Toni Ibarz and Alexander Ibarz
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First edition published 2005by Routledge2 Park Square Milton Park Abingdon Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canadaby Routledge270 Madison Ave New York NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor amp Francis Group
copy 2005 Toni Ibarz and Alexander Ibarz
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented including photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publishers
British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataIbarz Toni
Colloquial Catalan the complete course for beginnersToni Ibarz and Alexander Ibarz
p cm ndash (The colloquial series)1 Catalan language ndash Textbooks for foreign speakers ndash EnglishI Ibarz Alexander 1974ndash II Title III SeriesPC 38275E5I33 2004449prime982421ndashdc22 2004010466
ISBN 0ndash415ndash23412ndash3 (Book)ISBN 0ndash415ndash23413ndash1 (Cassettes)ISBN 0ndash415ndash30256ndash0 (CDs)ISBN 0ndash415ndash23414ndashX(Pack)
This edition published in the Taylor amp Francis e-Library 2005
ldquoTo purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor amp Francis or Routledgersquoscollection of thousands of eBooks please go to wwweBookstoretandfcoukrdquo
ISBN 0-203-64125-6 Master e-book ISBN
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction viii
Pronunciation guide xiii
1 Benvinguda i benvingut 1
Welcome
2 Com es diu 8
What is your name
3 Un cafegrave sisplau 19
A coffee please
4 Quegrave vols 29
What would you like
5 Vols el meu mogravebil 38
Do you want my mobile
6 La meva famiacutelia 47
My family
7 Perdoni on eacutes lrsquoHotel Miramar 61
Excuse me where is the Miramar Hotel
8 Quina eacutes la teva adreccedila 72
What is your address
9 Tot passejant per la Rambla 83
A walk down the Ramblas
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10 Al Mercat de la Boqueria 102
At the Boqueria fresh food market
11 Com els vol 115
How would you like them
12 Al restaurant Planelles 131
At Planellesrsquo restaurant
13 La vida diagraveria 147
Daily life
14 Quegrave has fet avui 162
What have you done today
15 La sobretaula 175
After dinner talk
16 Quegrave vas fer 190
What did you do
17 Quin temps faragrave 202
What will the weather be like
18 Em podria donar informacioacute 213
Could you give me some information please
19 El transport puacuteblic 221
Public transport
20 Festa major 230
Grammar reference and verb tables 238
Key to exercises 252
CatalanndashEnglish glossary 276
EnglishndashCatalan glossary 285
vi
Acknowledgements
A language course is always the result of years of experiencelearning from those we teach The first acknowledgement goes tothem We also have to thank those involved in the quality controlPauline Hart an experienced lsquoteach yourselfrsquo language learner forchecking that the activities and the explanations work EstherMonzoacute (Universitat Jaume I) for reading and checking the text(but remaining mistakes are all ours) Puri Gomez and SpencerGroves of POLYGLOTA for their contribution to some of theunits Steve Woolley for the feedback Bob Britton for the illus-trations and Alan Yates to whom we are doubly indebted for his initial participation in this project and for his influential bookson the Catalan language Finally we thank the editorial team atRoutledge for their guidance and support
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What is ColloquialCatalan
This book is part of the Routledge Colloquial series lsquoColloquialrsquo isused with its full original meaning of lsquospoken languagersquo and not withthe meaning often favoured by Catalan-speakers of lsquoinformalrsquo evenlsquovulgarrsquo language
Colloquial Catalan is a course for absolute beginners whichoffers the possibility of learning enough spoken Catalan to commu-nicate effectively in real-life situations The topics included coverdaily life travel work and leisure making it suitable for the culturaltraveller those starting a new life in a Catalan-speaking area andthe university student who needs to learn the language in a shortperiod of time
Colloquial Catalan is structured around sequences of life-like dia-logues which offer access to the key aspects of the language and theculture of the Catalan-speaking peoples In this way the language isalways presented in a meaningful context After studying the firstfew units you will be able to engage in simple communication andgain the respect of local people The book covers the main aspectsof Catalan grammar and develops your listening and speaking skillstogether with reading and to a lesser extent writing
Individual learning and group teaching
Colloquial Catalan is designed mainly with the self-learner in mindIt requires no previous language learning experience because theexplanations are as straightforward and gradual as possible and areillustrated with examples The course offers the basic ingredients of language learning exposure to the language clear explanationsand opportunities to practise Therefore it can be easily adapted to small group and classroom teaching If used in the classroom it offers the advantage of freeing the tutor from spending timeexplaining the language This is particularly useful when the tutor is
not an English native speaker as is often the case and is not awareof the way some English speakers can be challenged by grammar
The Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language with many similarities to otherlanguages in this group such as Portuguese Italian or SpanishCatalan also shares many features with English which helps makeit easy to learn If you look at some of the texts you should be ableto identify quite a few words even before you start your studies
There are close to seven million speakers of Catalan in theeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula who have it as their mothertongue another 4 million understand Catalan and use it passivelyIt is also spoken in other areas linked to Catalonia by history andgeography Andorra where it is the official language Cerdagne andRoussillon in what is now south-eastern France and LrsquoAlguer(Alghero) on the island of Sardinia Catalan is less well known inthe English-speaking world than several other European languageswith fewer speakers because the areas where it is spoken do notcorrespond to the boundaries of a state It was only relativelyrecently that interest in the language has become more widespreadin anglophone countries One factor has been the consolidation ofBarcelona as a favourite tourist destination especially since theOlympic Games of 1992
This course focuses mainly on the Catalan spoken in the area ofBarcelona and central eastern Catalonia a variety sometimesreferred to as the central or standard variety which predominatesin the media and education system Catalan is also spoken in otherareas well known to the modern traveller such as the BalearicIslands and Valencia where the language has its own distinctivefeatures and its own creative force Learners whose interest islinked to these areas will still find this book useful The mainfeatures of the language are the same and you will soon pick upthe differences by listening closely to local speakers Speaking asthe locals do is after all an important aim of all language learners
How is the course structured
The course is divided into 20 units which in turn are divided intodialogues linked by a theme Most learners may choose to cover
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ix
one dialogue during each session of study Our advice is that youshould consider each dialogue as the basic unit of study becauseshort frequent sessions tend to be the most productive way ofapproaching language learning
Units 1ndash5 are short and focus on getting used to the sounds ofthe language developing good comprehension habits and becomingfamiliar with the basic grammar Units 6ndash10 cover most essentialvocabulary and structures for daily tasks such as talking about thefamily going shopping for food and going out In units 11ndash20 thelevel of difficulty increases and more advanced points of grammarare introduced progressively
How to work on each dialogue
The recordings are a fundamental part of this course Much can belearnt from the written text on its own but the ability to understandwhat others are saying is a key aspect of communication andlistening to the audio will allow you to imitate native speakers Here is the recommended procedure to follow with each of thedialogues
1) Read the rubric that precedes the dialogue so that you know thecontext in which it takes place
2) Resist the temptation to read the written version of the dialoguefirst It is much better if first you listen carefully to the audio justas you would do when someone talks to you or when you hearan announcement situations in which you donrsquot have any writtenhelp
3) Listen to the dialogue at least twice Try to find out or guess whatis going on and what the characters are saying
4) Now look at the written text5) Check the Vocabulary and read the Culture notes and the
Language points6) When you understand what the text means and you have read
the grammar points you should listen to or read the dialogueagain paying special attention to how things are said and howthe language is used
7) Complete the Exercises relating to the dialogue or to the wholeunit if appropriate
x
Complementary sections
The Pronunciation guide is no substitute for listening carefully tothe audio and imitating native speakers but it may help you withaspects of the sound system and intonation
The Grammar reference extends and complements some areasof grammar and allows for quick reference especially of verbendings
The Language builders have a similar function in relation tovocabulary and basic expressions
The CatalanndashEnglish glossary includes most words that appearin the book The EnglishndashCatalan glossary includes only wordsneeded to complete the exercises
The Key to exercises allows you to check your responses
Feedback
We would very much welcome any feedback on the experience ofusing this course and how it may be improved Please e-mail orwrite to the authors at Routledge
Dictionaries and further reading
You are going to find a bilingual dictionary very useful particularlyin the second half of the course where not all the words are listedin the glossaries Of the mid-size and affordable dictionaries we recommend Diccionari Oxford Pocket Catalagrave per a estudiantsdrsquoanglegraves (Oxford University Press second edition Oxford 2002)and Larousse Diccionari Pocket Catalagrave-Anglegraves English-Catalan(Larousse Barcelona 2000) The latter includes pronunciation ofCatalan words
The most up-to-date and authoritative Grammar in English is Max W Wheeler Alan Yates and Nicolau Dolccedil Catalan AComprehensive Grammar (Routledge London 1999)
For a modern introduction in English to the culture history andliterature which is especially strong on modernisme RobertHughes Barcelona (Harvill London 1992) Also highly informa-tive are Colm Toacuteibiacuten Homage to Barcelona (Picador paperbackLondon 2002) and John Payne Catalonia History and Culture(Five Leaves Publications Nottingham 2004)
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xi
For an introduction to politics Montserrat Guibernau CatalanNationalism Francoism Transition and Democracy (RoutledgeLondon 2004) and Albert Balcells Catalan Nationalism Past andPresent (with an introduction by G J Walker Macmillan London1995)
For gastronomy read Colman Andrews Catalan CuisineEuropersquos Last Great Culinary Secret (The Harvard Common PressBoston 1999)
Finally the Internet will give you access to an important rangeof resources that you may find very useful For example wwwcercatcomlincawebrecurscat and wwwxteces (Xarxa TelemagraveticaEducativa de Catalunya) Judicious use of a search engine shouldtake you to the sites that meet your individual interests andlanguage needs
xii
Pronunciationguide
The alphabet
a ab be (alta)c ceccedil ce trencadad dee ef efag geh haci ij jotak cal elam eman enao op peq cur erras essat teu uv ve baixaw ve doblex icsy i gregaz zeta
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Pronunciation
To achieve good pronunciation there is no substitute for listeningto the audio and if possible to native speakers Try to reproducethe sounds you hear Below are guidelines to keep in mind Notethat they relate to the pronunciation of lsquocentralrsquo Catalan sounds anddo not include regional variations
Colloquial pronunciation 1 consonants which differ from English
The sounds represented by Catalan consonants are very similar toEnglish The main difference is that consonants like b d g p thave a softer pronunciation Other differences are described below
bv After a vowel softer than English with only slightcontact between the lips autobuacutes avioacute habitual [b]
ceciccedil Always pronounced like s in city cervesa agravecid placcedilaBarccedila [s]
d 1) Between vowels and after r like the th in the or thatvida Gaudiacute perdoacute [eth]
2) At the end of a word Like the t in flat or hot butsofter liacutequid fred verd [t]
gegije Like s in measure and vision or g in general jardiacuteprojeccioacute general [z] [d]
h Always silent not pronounced home hotel histograveria
lmiddotl Represents a reinforced l sound intelmiddotligent novelmiddotla [ll]
r 1) In initial position and after l m n s rolled with the tipof tongue against the hard palate Rambla Roma [rr]
2) In intermediate positions pronounced with a singlecontact of tongue against palate Miroacute Girona CostaBrava [r]
3) In final position it is silent not pronounced This isthe case with infinitives and many nouns estudiarprofessor parador
xiv
s Between vowels pronounced like z in lazy nose ordoes casa muacutesica rosa [z]
t 1) In most positions the pronunciation is like take orcost with the tip of tongue against the top teethTarragona costar [t]
2) In a final position after l n or in the group rts it isnot pronounced molt dependent dimarts
x 1) At the beginning of a word it is pronounced like thesh of English shus xocolata Xina xoriccedilo [ʃ]
2) In other positions the pronunciation is similar toEnglish in exotic or fix exogravetic fixar egravexit [ks] [gz]
Colloquial pronunciation 2 word stress
On hearing Catalan words you will note that part of the wordcarries the main stress For example Barcelona pronounced Bar-ce-LO-na and universitat pronounced u-ni-ver-si-TAT Words ofone syllable are stressed with the exception of articles somepronouns and some prepositions As always the best advice is tolisten carefully and imitate what you hear
However when you come across a word in writing except insome good dictionaries which tell you where the stress is you canonly know where to place the stress by following 3 simple rules thatapply to most words
1 Stress falls on the next-to-last syllable of words ending in either
a single vowel (eg TarraGOna PALma AnDOrra)vowel + s (cerVEses CAses RAMbles)-en -in (viSIten)
2 Words ending in a consonant usually carry the stress on the final syllable (eg restaurANT vocAL consonANT hoTELvisiTAr)
3 Where neither 1 or 2 apply stress is indicated with a writtenaccent mark on the syllable which carries it (ie MUacutesicateLEgravefon americAgrave anglEgraveS)
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xv
Colloquial pronunciation 3 vowel sounds
Catalan vowel sounds are generally shorter and sharper than inEnglish
Unstressed and stressed i and u
i Like the i sound in teach (peach marine seen) but shorterand sharper pizza pintura difiacutecil [i]
u Similar to the u in pull (put full bull) ridiacutecul nuacutemerofurioacutes [u]
Unstressed a e and o
ae Both unstressed a and unstressed e represent a relaxedneutral sound similar to father sugar infant annoyExamples are hola Girona Sagrada Familia pare mare [ə]
o Unstressed o is the same sound as the letter u Montserratoral almiddotlegoria [u]
Stressed a e and o
a Between the a sounds in English cat (but more open) andcard Sagrada visitar agravelgebra [aacute]
e Open e is like the e in English sell (get bed air) cafegrave terratelegravefon comitegrave [ε]
Closed e is like the e sound in neighbour or rain (without thei sound) acceacutes congreacutes prudent [eacute]
o Open o is like in the English logic (obvious omnivoreopera) home dona ogravepera logravegica [ɔ]
Closed o is like the English in author or order Barcelonaestoacutemac autor [oacute]
xvi
Four considerations in relation to Catalan vowels
1 By looking at the examples you will notice that Catalan uses boththe grave or open (`) and the acute or close (acute) written accentsA graphic accent mark is used only in words that do not followrules 1 and 2 of word stress (see above) The grave accent is usedfor open stressed vowels and the acute for close stressed vowelsStressed a is always lsquoopenrsquo and is written with the grave accentagrave and i and u are always lsquoclosersquo written when appropriate as iacuteand uacute as in the examples in the chart above
2 As seen on the previous page e and o can be sometimes lsquoopenrsquoand sometimes lsquoclosersquo When e and o have an accent it is easy toknow whether the sounds are lsquoopenrsquo (egraveograve) or lsquoclosersquo (eacuteoacute)However if there is no written accent it is difficult to know unlesswe hear someone pronouncing the word or we pay close atten-tion to the audio Do not worry about this point It does notnormally interfere with comprehension and you will graduallymaster it Take into account that there are some regional varia-tions in the pronunciation of openclose vowels which allow foradaptability between listeners and speakers However whenwriting all users adopt the conventions outlined here
3 Many words have two vowel sounds next to each other (diph-thongs) In most cases they are pronounced as separate soundsfor example oasi client However if the second sound is lsquoirsquo orlsquoursquo the i sound changes to the sound of the English y in day(for example espai Lleida) and the u sound changes to thesound of the English w in now For example autobuacutes GaudiacuteSalou euro ciutat
4 When a word finishes in a vowel and the next word starts alsowith a vowel (above all unstressed e and a) they are usually runtogether (word liaison) For example una amiga meva va aAnglaterra a estudiar This is an important feature for tworeasons 1) Once you have mastered it your speech will soundmuch more natural and 2) In the early stages of contact with thelanguage the running of words together can be a challenge tothe untrained ear
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
xvii
Colloquial pronunciation 4 single sounds represented by two letters (digraphs)
Note that digraphs represent one sound So for example caixa ispronounced casha the i before the x in this case represents thesound sh (as opposed to the sound x in egravexit egsit)
qu 1) que qui is pronounced like k in cat kick chemicalor curtain que quilogravemetre orquestra [k]
2) qua quo quumle quumli represents qu in English quickquota quality or question quota qualitat quumlestioacute[kw]
gu 1) gue gui the same sound a gu in guide guitar gateor gold guerra guitarra [g]
2) gua guo guumle guumli wa in water or ambiguity aiguaambiguumlitat [gw]
ll Sounds like l and y together pronounced like lli inmillion llibertat lluna llengua [ʎ]
lmiddotl Represents a reinforced l sound intelmiddotligent novelmiddotla[ll]
ny Sounds like n and y together as in onion CatalunyaEspanya []
rr Is a rolled sound pronounced like Catalan r in initialposition Andorra Mediterrani [rr]
ss Like s in initial position the same as Picasso pass orclassic in English Picasso passar clagravessic [s]
-ix After a vowel -ix is pronounced like sh in shush CaixaEixample [ʃ]
-tx-ig Sounds like tch in English as in match or catch cotxesandvitx maig desig []
xviii
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FRANCE
CATALONIA
ARAGON
NEWCASTILE
Viella ANDORRAFRENCH
CATALONIAAndorrala Vella
Lleida
Reus
Perpinyagrave
Girona
BarcelonaFraga
Tarragona
Tortosa
Castelloacute de la Plana
Valegravencia
VALENCIA
BALEARIC ISLES
MURCIA
Alacant
IBIZA
MINORCA
MAJORCA
Palma de Mallorca
State frontier Regional boundary Language boundary
LrsquoAlguer
SARDINIA
Where Catalan is spoken
1 Benvinguda ibenvingutWelcome
In this unit you will learn about
bull Meeting and greeting peoplebull The present tense of ser lsquoto bersquobull Subject pronouns lsquoIrsquo lsquoyoursquo lsquohersquo lsquoshersquo etcbull Personal articlesbull Tu and vostegrave
bull The gender of nouns and adjectives
Welcome (benvinguda or benvingut) to our Catalan course Ourjourney begins like so many at the airport a typical place for meet-ings and greetings At first you will be dealing with familiar situa-tions and you may be able to make out the gist of the conversationsin the opening dialogues and perhaps even identify some words
Throughout the course we strongly recommend that you listento the audio before looking at the text of the dialogue In this wayyou will soon be able to cope with real situations in which Catalanis used In such situations you will be talking to people without anywritten support so start as you mean to finish
Dialogue 1
Rachel and Sara meet for the first time at Barcelona airport Saratries to find out if she is talking to the right person and welcomesRachel to Barcelona
bull Listen carefully to the audio twice and see how much you can
recognise
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
PUBLIC ADDRESS La companyia Air Litoral anuncia lrsquoarribada SYSTEM del vol AL673 procedent de Pariacutes
SARA Perdona ets la RachelRACHEL Siacute soacutec la Rachel WoodhouseSARA Hola jo soacutec la Sara FontRACHEL EncantadaSARA Igualment Benvinguda a BarcelonaRACHEL Gragravecies
Vocabulary
lrsquoarribada (f) arrivaldel vol of the flighthola helloperdona excuse meets are yousiacute yessoacutec I amencantat -da delightedpleased to meet youigualment so am Iequallybenvingut -da welcomea togragravecies thank you
From now on to help focus on comprehension whilst you listen tothe audio dialogues will often be preceded by questions or otheractivities In most cases the answers can be checked when you lookat the written version of the dialogue The language pointsbelonging to this dialogue will be explained after the next dialoguenow go straight on to Dialogue 2
Dialogue 2
Two travellers senyora Mata and Rosa Garcia are met by a hotelrepresentative (representant) senyor Massip who mistakes senyoraMata for Rosa Garcia As in Dialogue 1 listen to this dialogue twicebefore looking at the text
bull Whatlsquos the name of the hotel
2
REPRESENTANT Hola bon dia Vostegrave eacutes la senyora GarciaSENYORA MATA No la senyora Garcia eacutes ella jo soacutec la senyora
Mata I vostegrave qui eacutesREPRESENTANT Jo soacutec el senyor Massip de lrsquoHotel CentralSENYORA MATA Molt de gustREPRESENTANT EncantatSENYORA MATA Rosa el senyor Massip de lrsquoHotel CentralROSA GARCIA EncantadaREPRESENTANT Molt de gust
Vocabulary
bon dia good day good morning
la senyora Mrsqui whoel senyor Mrde of fromlrsquohotel (m) hotelmolt de gust a great pleasure
pleased to meet you
Language points
The verb ser lsquoto bersquo 1
The verb ser lsquoto bersquo takes the following forms for the present tense
Singular (jo) soacutec I am(tu) ets you are (familiar)(vostegraveellella) eacutes you are (formal) heshe is
Plural (nosaltres) som we are(vosaltres) sou you are (familiar)(vostegravesellselles) soacuten you are (formal) they are
The subject pronoun shown here in brackets is generally used onlyfor emphasis as in the first exchanges in our dialogue when ques-tions of identity are so important Otherwise the form of the verb
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
3
itself is sufficient to indicate person (lsquoIrsquo lsquoyoursquo lsquoshersquo etc) andnumber (singular or plural) Normally senyora Mata would intro-duce herself by saying simply soacutec la senyora Mata
The article 1 the personal article
You will have observed how in Dialogue 1 the names of Sara andRachel are preceded by la This is called the lsquopersonal articlersquo and is used before first names The masculine form is el soacutec el Jordi(= Irsquom Jordi) ets el Martin (= are you Martin) El and la are alsoused in front of senyor and senyora Example vostegrave eacutes la senyoraMassip
Note that when you are addressing a person without using theverb lsquoto bersquo no article is used as when Sra Mata in the dialoguesays to her friend Rosa Similarly if she were using her friendrsquostitle and surname to attract her attention she would say senyoraGarcia el senyor Massip de lrsquoHotel Central
Tu and vostegrave 1
Dialogues 1 and 2 illustrate the contrast between a context in which the familiar (tu) form of address is appropriate (the speakersare on first-name terms) and a more formal one where vostegrave isthe proper convention Note that vostegrave uses the third person of theverb the same as lsquohersquolsquoshersquo
Nouns 1
Nouns in Catalan in common with the other Romance languagesare either masculine or feminine and have a singular and pluralform In our vocabulary lists the gender of the noun is indicated bythe preceding masculine or feminine article (= the) el or la In afew cases the noun will be followed by (m) or (f) to indicate if itis masculine or feminine In this respect dictionaries are very usefulas they not only tell you the meaning of words but also give youother information Consider the entry felicitat nf happiness Theabbreviation nf tells you that the word is a feminine noun ndash andnm that it is a masculine noun It is worthwhile spending a fewminutes reading the introduction to your dictionary to learn how toget the most out of it
4
Adjectives 1
Another important point brought out in these first two dialogues ishow the word encantada is used by women and encantat by menThis is because it is an adjective and adjectives in Catalan alwaysagree with the noun to which they refer If the noun is masculinethe adjective will be masculine if the noun is feminine the adjec-tive is feminine This means that adjectives have two forms In ourvocabulary lists we give the masculine singular form first with anindication of the feminine singular form encantat -ada (= encan-tada) Benvinguda and benvingut referring to you female and malereaders and benvinguda in Dialogue 1 referring to Rachel arefurther examples of the use of the two adjective endings
Exercise 1
Fill in the gaps with the personal articles el or la or leave a blankspace as appropriate We use sentences 1 and 2 as examples
Example 1 Vostegrave eacutes ___ senyor WoodhouseAnswer el
Example 2 Hola _____ senyora Roger benvinguda aBarcelona
Answer blank no personal article is needed whenaddressing a person directly
1 Vostegrave eacutes _____ senyor Woodhouse2 Hola _____ senyora Roger benvinguda a Barcelona3 Vostegrave eacutes _____ senyora Font4 Soacutec _____ James5 Eacutes _____ senyor Borragraves6 Ets _____ Joana7 No soacutec _____ Laura8 Soacuten _____ senyor Bosquets i _____ senyora Petersen9 _____ Senyora Miroacute benvinguda a Castelloacute
10 Hola _____ Jordi benvingut a Palma
Exercise 2
Listen to the audio and decide whether the sentences are formal(using vostegrave) or informal (using tu) Number 1 has been done foryou
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
5
Formal Informal
1 2 _____ _____3 _____ _____4 _____ _____5 _____ _____6 _____ _____7 _____ _____
Exercise 3
Which form of the verb lsquoto bersquo do you hear on the audio Number1 has been done for you
1 soacutec2 _____3 _____4 _____5 _____6 _____7 _____8 _____
Exercise 4
Respond to each question using the appropriate form of lsquoto bersquofrom the box and the article el or la The first two have been donefor you
soacutec eacutes som soacuten
Question Answer
1 Qui ets (Maria) 1 Soacutec la Maria2 Qui sou (famiacutelia Woodhouse) 2 Som la famiacutelia
Woodhouse3 Qui ets (Marta) 3 ____________________4 Qui eacutes ell (Joan) 4 ____________________5 Qui soacuten (Maria i Pere) 5 ____________________6 Qui sou (famiacutelia Grau) 6 ____________________7 Qui eacutes vostegrave (senyor Sugranyes) 7 ____________________8 Qui ets (John) 8 ____________________
6
Exercise 5
Fill in the gaps in this variation of Dialogue 2 with the appropriateform of ella senyorsenyora encantatencantada For exampleVostegrave eacutes el senyor Viola
SENYORA BONET Hola bon dia Vostegrave eacutes _____ senyor ViolaSENYOR CASALS No el senyor Viola eacutes ell jo soacutec el _____ CasalsSENYORA BONET Jo soacutec _____ senyora Bonet de lrsquoHotel CentralSENYOR CASALS Molt de gustSENYORA BONET _____SENYOR CASALS Senyor Viola la _____ Bonet de lrsquoHotel CentralSENYOR VIOLA _____SENYORA BONET Molt de gust
Remember you can check your answers in the Key to exercises
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
7
2 Com es diuWhat is your name
In this unit you will learn about
bull Giving personal informationbull Numbers 1ndash10bull Irregular present tensesbull The verb tenir lsquoto haversquobull Questions and intonationbull Names of languages and adjectives of nationality
Dialogue 1
At the lost property office Elena is asked by an employee (empleat)for her personal details
bull Before you look at the text listen to the recording See if you
can
1 identify Elenarsquos surnames
2 recognise two or more digits of her telephone number
EMPLEAT Com es diuELENA Em dic Elena PeacuterezEMPLEAT I el segon cognomELENA ArnavatEMPLEAT Elena Peacuterez i Arnavat On viuELENA Visc a Girona Al carrer Nord nuacutemero 7EMPLEAT Teacute telegravefonELENA Siacute eacutes el 9-7-2 2-4-7-8-8-2EMPLEAT Moltes gragravecies
Vocabulary
empleat -ada (mf) employeecom es diu (vostegrave) what are you calledem dic Irsquom called on whereon viu (vostegrave) where do you livevisc a I live inel carrer streetel nuacutemero numberteacute telegravefon do you have a telephone (number)molt -a many
Culture notes
Surnames
All Catalans have two family names (cognoms usually the fatherrsquossurname first and the motherrsquos surname second) often linked withi (= and) and given together when appropriate In this case Elenarsquosfirst surname (el primer cognom) is Peacuterez and her second one (elsegon cognom) is Arnavat In many situations however you willhear only the first surname being used
Telephone area codes
All telephone numbers are preceded by the area code (el codi terri-torial) which must be used no matter where the call is made fromThe area codes of the regions in Spain where Catalan is spoken are
Alacant 96Barcelona 93Castelloacute 964Girona 972Illes Balears 971Lleida 973Tarragona 977Valegravencia 96
Note that the article is used when giving a telephone numberExample teacute telegravefon Si eacutes el
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9
Language points
Numbers 1ndash10
0 zero 3 tres 6 sis 9 nou1 u (un una) 4 quatre 7 set 10 deu2 dos (dues) 5 cinc 8 vuit
You can listen to these numbers on the audio and practise foryourself Numbers up to 100 are in Unit 4
U (un una) dosdues
U is used when number lsquoonersquo is on its own as in telephone numbersUn is used with masculine nouns (un senyor) and una before femi-nine ones (una senyora) When used in this way it is known as theindefinite article (= aan lsquoa manrsquo lsquoa womanrsquo)
Number lsquotworsquo also has a masculine and feminine form dossenyors dues senyores but you will also hear dos used by somespeakers for the feminine in colloquial language
These two points apply to all the numbers ending in 1 or 2Numbers 3ndash10 do not have a separate form for the feminine
Irregular verbs 1
The verb dir means lsquoto sayrsquo lsquoto tellrsquo and lsquoto callrsquo It is used as thestandard way of saying what your name iswhat you are called Inthe dialogue we hear how to say your name by saying em dic (= I call myself rarr I am called) and how to ask someone else whattheir name is in a formal way by saying com es diu (vostegrave) (=What are you called)
The forms viu visc are part of the verb viure (= to live) and teacuteis from tenir (= to have) Like ser in Unit 1 these two verbs areirregular There is a list of irregular verbs in the Grammar refer-ence at the end of the book that you may find useful later on in thecourse
Most verbs in Catalan are regular in that they follow a lsquoregularrsquopattern in the lsquoIrsquo lsquoyoursquo lsquohersquolsquoshersquo etc set of forms These patternsare referred to as conjugations The ways in which such verbs areconjugated will be explained gradually as you progress Irregular
10
verbs tend to be the ones most commonly used and the first onesto appear when colloquial everyday speech is being used
The article 2 the definite article
The words el and la are also definite articles (= the) Their use issimilar to that of lsquothersquo in English but there are some differencessuch as the use of el before telephone numbers The article is alsoused with street names but as in English not with townsTherefore when considering the sentence visc a Girona al carrerNord nuacutemero 7 (= I live in Girona at 7 North Street) a whichmeans both lsquoinrsquo and lsquoonrsquo appears alone in visc a Girona but as al(the combination of a + el = al) in al carrer Nord
You have probably observed another characteristic of the articleIf a singular noun begins with a vowel sound both el and la arewritten as lrsquo for example lrsquohotel which is masculine and lrsquoaigua(= water) which is feminine As indicated earlier this is shown invocabulary lists with an (m) or an (f) Remember that the letterlsquohrsquo is silent and therefore lrsquohotel is a word that begins with a vowelsound
The corresponding plural articles are els (masculine) and les(feminine) els senyors les senyores
Saying lsquothank yoursquo
Gragravecies was used earlier Now you can say lsquothank you very muchrsquo= moltes gragravecies Note that the spontaneous response to lsquothank yoursquois de res literally lsquofor nothingrsquo that is lsquodonrsquot mention itrsquo or lsquothatrsquosall rightrsquo There is less of a tendency to say gragravecies in Catalan thanlsquothank yoursquo in English But when gragravecies is used it is much morecommon to hear de res in Catalan than it would be to hear lsquodonrsquotmention itrsquo in English
Exercise 1
Listen to the audio and write down the six telephone numbers thatyou will hear The first one has been done for you
1 9-7-7 3-2-4-0-2-72 _______________3 _______________
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
11
4 _______________5 _______________6 _______________
Exercise 2
Listen to the audio Which is used a or al The first one has beendone for you
1 al2 ______3 ______4 ______5 ______6 ______
Dialogue 2
Anna is asked by Enric for some personal details on arrival inBarcelona
bull What are Annarsquos surname nationality and phone number
Complete the following form
1 cognoms _______________________________
2 nacionalitat _______________________________
3 nuacutemero de telegravefon _______________________________
ENRIC Com et diusANNA Em dic AnnaENRIC I els cognomsANNA PrattENRIC Prat i el segon cognomANNA Nomeacutes tinc un cognom soacutec irlandesaENRIC Tens telegravefonANNA Eacutes el 9-7-1 9-0-4-1-7-8-6ENRIC Molt beacute Benvinguda a BarcelonaANNA Moltes gragravecies adeacuteuENRIC De res adeacuteu
12
Vocabulary
com et dius (tu) what are you callednomeacutes onlyirlandegraves -esa Irishadeacuteu goodbye
Culture note
Anna speaks Catalan so well she is taken for a native Her surnamePratt could easily be confused with the common Catalan surnamePrat (= meadow)
Language points
Tu and vostegrave 2
This conversation is more informal than the parallel situation inDialogue 1 Remember what has been said about the form of theverb indicating person and number Vostegrave is implied in com es diuwhile tu is implied in com et dius Compare also teacute telegravefon withtens telegravefon Similarly jo is not needed with em dic meaning lsquoI am calledrsquo
The verb tenir lsquoto haversquo
In the two previous dialogues we have heard tinc tens and teacute thethree singular parts of the present tense of tenir The full conjuga-tion is
Singular (jo) tinc I have(tu) tens you have (familiar)(vostegraveellella) teacute you have (formal)
heshe has
Plural (nosaltres) tenim we have(vosaltres) teniu you have (familiar)(vostegravesellselles) tenen you have (formal)
they have
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
13
Asking questions 1
It is easy to ask a question in Catalan as no change in word orderor other complications are involved The statement tens telegravefon(= you have a telephone) with the rising intonation that is heardon the audio becomes the question tens telegravefon (= do you have atelephone) Similarly the intonation in the statement vostegrave eacutes lasenyora Garcia (= you are senyora Garcia) is different from thequestion vostegrave eacutes la senyora Garcia (= are you senyora Garcia)
Adjectives 2
Remembering that the Catalan adjective always agrees with itsnoun note here the feminine forms irlandesa and benvinguda andthat -a shows the feminine singular agreement The feminine pluralappears in moltes as in moltes gragravecies with the characteristic -esending The basic model for the adjective can be illustrated withmolt (= much plural lsquomanyrsquo)
Masculine Feminine
Singular molt moltaPlural molts moltes
Consider
Menorca teacute molts monuments prehistogravericsTarragona teacute molta influegravencia romana
However molt (= very) is often heard as an adverb lsquointensifyingrsquoanother word as in molt beacute (= very well) or molt confortable(= very comfortable) or molt intelmiddotligent (= very intelligent) inwhich case its ending does not change
Exercise 3
You hear some snippets of conversations Can you tell if they areformal (vostegrave) or informal (tu) The first one is done for you
Formal Informal
1 2 _____ _____
14
3 _____ _____4 _____ _____5 _____ _____6 _____ _____7 _____ _____8 _____ _____
Exercise 4
Identify which form of the verb tenir is heard on the audio Thefirst one is done for you
1 tens2 _____3 _____4 _____5 _____6 _____7 _____
Exercise 5
Listen to the audio and decide if the sentences you hear are state-ments or questions Indicate your answers below
Example1 vostegrave eacutes la senyora Garcia
Question Statement
1
2 _____ _____3 _____ _____4 _____ _____5 _____ _____6 _____ _____7 _____ _____8 _____ _____
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15
Exercise 6
Listen to Elvira giving her personal details over the phoneincluding her address ndash lrsquoadreccedila (f) ndash and fill in the card below
Exercise 7
Add the appropriate form molt molta molts moltes in thefollowing sentences paying special attention to the agreement ofadjectives
Example1 Tenen moltes cases (= They have many houses)
1 Tenen _____ cases2 Mallorca teacute _____ hotels3 _____ gragravecies4 _____ de gust5 El Joan teacute _____ telegravefons Dos mogravebils i dos normals6 La Rachel teacute _____ disciplina
Exercise 8
Now take part in a conversation using the tu form with someoneyou have met putting the English below into Catalan For examplein your first turn to speak you have to say Hola
16
Nom Elvira
Primer cognom
Segon cognom
Adreccedila
Telegravefon
Telegravefon mogravebil
YOU Say HelloLIDIA Hola bon diaYOU Ask What is your nameLIDIA Em dic LiacutediaYOU Say And surnameLIDIA Montaner I tuYOU Say your own name and surnameLIDIA EncantadaYOU Say I am pleased to meet you
Ask And where do you liveLIDIA Visc a Figueres i tuYOU Say I live in
Ask Have you got a phone number
Language builder talking about origins and languages
Drsquoon etsDrsquoon eacutes vostegrave (= Where are you from)
Soacutec escocegraves(= I am Scottish)
Quina nacionalitat teacute (= What nationality do you hold)
Tinc nacionalitat sudafricana (= I hold South African nationality)
alemany -a German irlandegraves -esa Irish
americagrave -ana American japonegraves -esa Japanese
anglegraves -esa English mallorquiacute -ina Mallorcan
agraverab (mf) Arab marroquiacute -ina Moroccan
basc -a Basque nigeriagrave -ana Nigerian
catalagrave -ana Catalan rus russa Russian
escocegraves -esa Scottish sud-africagrave -ana South African
espanyol -ola Spanish valenciagrave -ana Valencian
francegraves esa French xilegrave -ena Chilean
galmiddotlegraves -esa Welsh xinegraves -esa Chinese
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17
The masculine form of the adjective also corresponds to the nameof the language So
Quina llengua parles (= What language do you speak)Parlo galmiddotlegraves (= I speak Welsh) Parlo agraverab (= I speak Arabic)Parles catalagrave (= Do you speak Catalan)Siacute parlo catalagrave (= Yes I speak Catalan)Siacute una mica (= Yes a little)No parlo catalagrave (= I donrsquot speak Catalan)
18
3 Un cafegrave sisplauA coffee please
In this unit you will learn about
bull Ordering a drinkbull Asking what things arebull Asking people to speak slowlybull First conjugation verbsbull Pronunciationbull The present tense of voler lsquoto wantrsquobull The gender of nounsbull Articles
Dialogue 1
Toni meets Miquel and introduces his friend Rachel to him
1 Which of these three expressions are heard on the recording
Benvinguda
Quina sorpresa
Pots parlar meacutes a poc a poc
2 What is the nationality of Miquelrsquos friend
TONI Hola Miquel com estagravesMIQUEL Hola Toni Quina sorpresa Molt beacute I tuTONI Mira anar fent Miquel et presento una amiga anglesa
es diu RachelMIQUEL Molt de gust Vols prendre alguna cosaRACHEL Perdona pots parlar meacutes a poc a poc sisplauMIQUEL Eacutes clar vols un cafegraveRACHEL Siacute siacute gragravecies
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Vocabulary
com estagraves how are youquina sorpresa what a surprisemolt beacute very wellmira well then well (literally lsquolookrsquo)anar fent not too bad OKpresentar to present to introduceamiga female friendvoler to wantprendre to take to have (drink etc)alguna cosa somethingpots can you (from poder = to be able)parlar to speakmeacutes morea poc a poc slowlysisplau pleaseeacutes clar of course
Language points
Useful expressions
Note the standard question com estagraves (= how are you) and sometypical positive replies beacute (= well fine) molt beacute (= very well) anarfent (= not too bad OK) If you are not well say malament (= notwell) A colloquial alternative to com estagraves is quegrave tal This is oftencombined with hola in the phrase hola quegrave tal (= hi howrsquos itgoing)
Parlar meacutes a poc a poc (= to speak more slowly)
Gragravecies as well as meaning lsquothank yoursquo is the standard reply when accepting an offer and is thus sometimes the equivalent oflsquopleasersquo
The formula et presento is often used in introductions (for vostegrave it would be li presento) The literal meaning is lsquoI present[Rachel] to yoursquo but as with so many colloquial expressions there is no direct word-for-word correspondence between the twolanguages
20
Silent letters
If you listen carefully to the dialogue you will observe that anar fent is pronounced something like narsquofen on the recording with the final -r of anar and the -t of fent silent This is a standardfeature of the pronunciation of r and t (see Pronunciation guide)An example you are already familiar with is molt (pronouncedmol)
Another case of a silent letter is the first -r- of prendre pro-nounced on the audio as pendre Prendre alguna cosa illustratesanother characteristic of Catalan pronunciation Words that end in a vowel in contact with words starting with a vowel are oftenpronounced together especially unstressed a and e in contact with another vowel On the tape we hear pendralguna This is important not only for good pronunciation as awareness of thischaracteristic should make comprehension of what you hear easier
Finally note eacutes clar is pronounced approximately skla
Regular verbs first conjugation
As was explained earlier the majority of Catalan verbs arelsquoregularrsquo that is to say they are conjugated according to regularpatterns and there are three main groups By far the largest has an infinitive ending in -ar (parlar presentar etc) The infinitive isthe basic form of the verb and this is the form you will find in dictionaries It is like the lsquotorsquo form in English (ie lsquoto speakrsquo etc) Verbs with an infinitive ending in -ar form the first conjuga-tion The pattern of endings for the present tense of -ar verbs is as follows
Singular (jo) parlo I speak(tu) parles you speak (familiar)(vostegraveellella) parla you speak (formal)
heshe speaks
Plural (nosaltres) parlem we speak(vosaltres) parleu you speak (familiar)(vostegravesellselles) parlen you speak (formal)
they speak
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
21
The verb voler lsquoto wantrsquo
As mentioned earlier many frequently used verbs like voler areirregular Voler is conjugated as follows
Singular vull I wantvols you want (familiar)vol you want (formal) heshe wants
Plural volem we wantvoleu you want (familiar)volen you want (formal) they want
Exercise 1
Listen out for the pronunciation of the following four sentencesOnce you have listened to them a few times and are familiar withtheir sounds look at them written down paying special attentionfirst to silent letters and second to words that lsquorun into each otherrsquoUnderline the ones you can identify and check them against theKey to exercises
1 LrsquoHotel central eacutes molt confortable Teacute molts bars i eacutes possibleprendre cafegraves excelmiddotlents
2 El senyor Sugranyes viu a Sant Cugat al carrer Pariacutes3 La senyora es diu Ballester4 Hola benvinguda a Barcelona
Exercise 2
Which form of the verb parlar is used in each of the sentences heardon the audio The first one has been done for you
1 parla2 _______3 _______4 _______5 _______6 _______7 _______8 _______
22
Exercise 3
Write the appropriate form of the present tense of the regular verbsgiven in brackets
1 Example El Bernat _____ (estudiar) informagravetica als EstatsUnits
Answer estudia (Bernat studies computer science in theUnited States)
2 El Josep _____ (parlar) anglegraves3 Jo i la Rachel _____ (visitar) Perpinyagrave4 La televisioacute no _____ (funcionar)5 El Pere i la Roser _____ (estudiar) francegraves a la universitat6 Tu _____ (visitar) el Museu Daliacute de Figueres7 (Jo) et _____ (presentar) un senyor marroquiacute que es diu Salim8 Els professors _____ (parlar) molt9 Vosaltres quegrave _____ (estudiar) a la universitat
Exercise 4
Here are the irregular verbs that you have learnt so far but someforms are missing Can you remember what they are
Ser _____ Volersoacutec tinc __________ tens volseacutes _____ volsom tenim __________ teniu voleusoacuten _____ volen
Dialogue 2
Rachel and her Catalan-speaking friends order drinks
bull Put the following useful phrases in the order in which they are
spoken on the audio
1 eacutes clar ______
2 quegrave eacutes aixograve ______
3 quegrave vols prendre ______
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
23
DANI Quegrave vols prendreMARTI Jo un cafegraveDANI I tuPAU Jo un tallatRACHEL Quegrave eacutes aixograve Un tallatPAU Eacutes un cafegrave amb una mica de lletRACHEL I com es diu un cafegrave amb molta lletPAU Eacutes un cafegrave amb lletRACHEL Eacutes clar
Vocabulary
quegrave whataixograve thisthatun tallat espresso coffee with a dash of milkuna mica a littlela llet milkcom howamb withcafegrave amb llet coffee with hot milk
24
Language points
Useful expressions
Com es diu means lsquoHow does one say rsquo and is a usefulformula for building up your vocabulary Simply ask com es diu encatalagrave lsquomousersquo (= what is the Catalan for lsquomousersquo)
As in English the pronoun can be used alone with the sense ofthe verb implied as in i tu (quegrave vols) Jo (vull) un tallat
Nouns 2 gender
As you know all nouns are of either masculine or feminine genderand the easiest way of identifying the gender of a noun is by lookingat the article that precedes it or by the (m) or (f) that follows itin dictionaries Gender is a very important characteristic of thelanguage because it also affects the form of accompanying wordssuch as adjectives possessives pronouns etc
You may be pleased to know that patterns can also be observedin this area of grammar and you will find it useful to look out forthem The ending of the singular noun often gives a clue as to thegender
1 Words ending in -a are normally feminine (eg la sorpresa larosa la persona la discoteca)
2 Other vowel endings tend to be masculine (eg el metro el meloacuteel vi el taxi el notari el cafegrave lrsquooncle)
3 Words ending in a consonant are more likely to be masculinethan feminine (eg el cognom el telegravefon el futbol el Parlamentel tuacutenel)
4 Remember that there are exceptions to our very generalguidelines Some of these have to be learnt individually (like lallet in the previous dialogue) Others can be seen as belonging toestablished patterns that are very useful to know The main onesare as follows
Masculine Feminine
Words ending in -ma are Words ending in -ioacute -tat andnormally masculine -tud are normally feminine
el problema la solucioacuteel sistema lrsquoexplosioacute
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
25
el clima la versioacuteel cinema la ciutatel diploma la veritatel programa lrsquoactitud
Some nouns referring to humans and familiar animals have mascu-line and feminine forms Here are some examples
Masculine Feminine
el senyor Mr la senyora Mrsel professor teacher la professora teacherlrsquohome man la dona womanlrsquoamic friend lrsquoamiga friendel gat cat (male) la gata cat (female)el cardiograveleg cardiologist la cardiograveloga cardiologistel sociograveleg sociologist la sociograveloga sociologist
The indefinite article 1
You have already come across the indefinite article in relation tothe number lsquoonersquo In this dialogue the singular nouns that appearare introduced by the indefinite article un for the masculine anduna for the feminine (both are equivalent to lsquoarsquo or lsquoanrsquo in English)
Exercise 5
Insert the appropriate form of the articles el la lrsquo The first one hasbeen done for you
1 el conyac2 _____ senyor3 _____ tallat4 _____ hotel5 _____ cervesa6 _____ aigua7 _____ aeroport8 _____ llet
26
Exercise 6
Add un or una as appropriate
1 un tallat2 _____ cafegrave3 _____ aigua4 _____ mica de llet5 _____ hotel6 _____ senyora7 _____ telegravefon8 _____ carrer
Exercise 7
Decide if the nineteen words you are going to hear are masculineor feminine
Exercise 8
Divide the words in the box into two groups according to gender
convent claredat museu teatre gastronomia
creacioacute civilitzacioacute model llibertat solitud
espectacle tren oficina art rock catalagrave
compassioacute vanitat restaurant
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
27
Masculine Feminine
Exercise 9
You are in a cafeacute with your friend Mireia Take part in this conver-sation by putting our English suggestions into Catalan Forexample in your first turn to speak you have to say Hola Mireia
MIREIA HolaYOU Say Hello MireiaMIREIA Quina sorpresaYOU Say How are youMIREIA Anar fent i tuYOU Say I am very well May I introduce you to an English
friend He is called Darren He speaks CatalanDARREN Hola encantatMIREIA Hola parles catalagrave Jo no parlo anglegravesYOU Say Do you want anything to drinkMIREIA Siacute un tallat I tuYOU Say A coffee with milk
Language builder lsquomore slowly pleasersquo
Meacutes a poc a poc sisplau More slowly please
Pots repetir sisplau Can you repeat pleasePot repetir-ho sisplau Can you repeat it please
No ho entenc I donrsquot understand (it)No trsquoentenc I donrsquot understand you (informal)No lrsquoentenc I donrsquot understand you (formal)No ho seacute I donrsquot know (it)
Com es diu lsquo rsquo en catalagrave How do say lsquo rsquo in CatalanCom srsquoescriu lsquo rsquo en catalagrave How do you write lsquo rsquo in
CatalanCom es pronuncia aixograve en How do you pronounce this in
catalagrave CatalanQuegrave vol dir lsquo rsquo What does lsquo rsquo meanSisplau em pot explicar Excuse me can you explain Pot traduir sisplau Can you translate pleaseQuegrave eacutes aixograve sisplau What is this please
Ho sento (molt) Irsquom (very) sorry
28
4 Quegrave volsWhat would you like
In this unit you will learn about
bull Ordering snacksbull Asking what things are calledbull Paying the billbull Pessetes and eurosbull Questions and intonationbull The plural of nounsbull The indefinite articlebull The verb poder lsquoto be ablersquobull Numbers 11ndash100
Dialogue 1
Rachel asks her Catalan friend Martiacute what he wants to drink
bull Can you identify two drinks and two tapas mentioned in this
dialogue
RACHEL Martiacute quegrave volsMARTI Jo vull una cervesa I tuRACHEL Com es diu en catalagrave un cafegrave amb conyacMARTI Eacutes un lsquocarajillorsquo Vols un lsquocarajillorsquoRACHEL No perograve vull saber el nomMARTI Ah I quegrave vols beure doncsRACHEL Tambeacute una cervesaMARTI I per picarRACHEL Picar
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
MARTI Siacute calamars patates fregides olives RACHEL Doncs unes olives
Vocabulary
la cervesa beerel conyac cognacel carajillo coffee laced with liqueurperograve butsaber to knowel nom namedoncs then welltambeacute alsoper (in order) toels calamars squidpatates fregides crisps chipslrsquooliva (f) olive
Culture note
Like other Mediterranean peoples many Catalans are fond of theircoffee The basic drink is un cafegrave a small strong espresso Un tallatis an espresso with a small amount of (usually warm) milk Un cafegraveamb llet is a full white coffee made with hot milk a staple break-fast drink alongside una pasta (= a pastry frequently a croissant)Un (cafegrave) americagrave is a coffee made with a lot of water as well assome milk On hot days un cafegrave amb gel (coffee poured over icecubes) or un granitzat de cafegrave (coffee in crushed ice) are refreshingalternatives Un carajillo (also known as un cigaloacute) is made byadding a generous dash of spirit usually brandy to a single coffee
With other drinks people often order a small snack known asuna tapa The verb picar is used to refer to this custom of takinguna tapa or a variety of tapes to complement a drink
Language points
Pronunciation
Doncs (= lsquothenrsquolsquowellrsquo or even lsquoin this casersquo) is a very commonlyheard Catalan word used to fill pauses in conversation often as
30
here between question and answer Note also how it is pronounceddons and that the pronunciation of vull is bui Finally pay specialattention to the word liaison in the sentence perograve vull saber el nompronounced as bui sabel nom
Asking questions 2
In this dialogue you also hear an example of the two most commonways of asking questions One is by using question words like quegrave vols (= what do you want) on viu (= where do you live)as seen in Unit 2 and in this unit (Dialogue 2 below) quant eacutes(= how much is it)
Another common way of asking questions is to change the into-nation of a statement as we heard in Unit 2 This type of questionusually only requires a yesno answer Examples in this dialogue arevols un carajillo and i per picar Without a rising intonation thesame words in the same order would mean lsquoyou want a carajillorsquoand lsquoand for a snackrsquo
Nouns 3 plurals
The basic formation of plurals is with a final -s Many masculineforms are written with just this final -s The frequent feminineending -a becomes -es for the plural In central standard speech thevowel sound does not change between the singular and the pluralSo the final vowel sound of singular oliva patata etc is identical tothat of plural olives patates etc
The indefinite article 2
The plural form of the indefinite article is uns for the masculine andunes for the feminine In practice the plural article tends not to beused calamars patates fregides olives as in the dialogue When itdoes appear it reinforces the meaning of lsquosomersquo or lsquoa fewrsquo as whenRachel replies saying unes olives
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
31
Exercise 1
This activity is based on two conversations on the audio A waiter(un cambrer) in the Cafegrave de la Vila is taking some clientsrsquo ordersMake a note of the orders by marking the right-hand columns ofthe menu Read the menu first
32
Cafegrave de la VilaPort OliacutempicBarcelona
1 2
BEGUDES
cafegrave 120euro
cafegrave amb llet 160euro
tallat 145euro
descafeinat 140euro
cafegrave americagrave 140euro
te 150euro
te amb llimona 160euro
infusioacute 160euro
xocolata 150euro
aigua mineral (amb gas) 120euro
aigua mineral (sense gas) 120euro
suc de fruita 150euro
suc de taronja natural 250euro
cervesa 200euro
vi 150euro
TAPES
olives 150euro
calamars 250euro
patates fregides 135euro
PASTES
croissant 150euro
ensaiumlmada 170euro
Vocabulary
el te teael te amb llimona lemon teala infusioacute herbal teala xocolata chocolatelrsquoaigua (f) wateramb gas fizzysense gas stillel suc juicela fruita fruitla taronja orangeels calamars squidel vi wine
Now listen to Dialogues 1 and 2 on the audio
Exercise 2
Listen to the prompts on the audio pause the recording and giveyour Catalan version After the pause you will hear the suggestedresponse
Exercise 3
Now take part in a conversation with Toni a friend of your Catalanhost whom you have invited for breakfast Put our English sugges-tions into Catalan For example in your first turn to speak you cansay Hola Toni com estagraves
YOU Say Hello Toni how are youTONI Anar fent i tuYOU Say Very well What do you wantTONI Jo vull un cafegrave i tuYOU Say I want a tea with lemon Do you want
a croissantTONI Doncs siacute i quegrave vols tuYOU Ask What is an ensaiumlmadaTONI Eacutes una pasta una especialitat de MallorcaYOU Say In that case yes I want an ensaiumlmada
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
33
Dialogue 2
Dani Martiacute and Rachel settle the bill
1 How much is the coffee
2 How much is the beer
DANI Sisplau pot cobrarCAMBRER Siacute a veureDANI Un cafegrave un tallat una cervesa dos croissants i una
aigua mineralCAMBRER Molt beacute soacuten cinc euros amb setantaMARTI Quant eacutes el cafegraveCAMBRER Eacutes un euro vintRACHEL I la cervesaCAMBRER Un euro amb cinquantaRACHEL Moltes gragravecies
Vocabulary
pot can you cobrar to take paymenta veure letrsquos seequant how much
Culture note
The currency now in use is the euro Pessetes are still sometimesreferred to particularly with large amounts as in house prices Notehow euros are expressed by stating the number of euros and cents(cegraventims) together When you hear two figures the first stands forthe number of euros and the second for cents So you will heardos cinquanta or dos amb cinquanta You will also hear dos euroscinquanta and dos euros amb cinquanta for even greater clarityNote also that the division between euros and cegraventims is expressedin writing with a comma and not with a point This is important tobear in mind as particularly with larger amounts this detail canlead to confusion
34
Language points
Numbers 11ndash100
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35
11 onze12 dotze13 tretze14 catorze15 quinze16 setze17 disset18 divuit19 dinou20 vint
21 vint-i-u (ununa)
22 vint-i-dos (dues)
23 vint-i-tres24 vint-i-quatre30 trenta31 trenta-u
(ununa)36 trenta-sis
40 quaranta48 quaranta-vuit50 cinquanta60 seixanta70 setanta80 vuitanta84 vuitanta-
quatre90 noranta
100 cent
Now listen to these numbers on the audio
Note i is added between 20 and 29 only Also note how the pronunciation of vint= vin changes to vinti
The verb poder lsquoto be ablersquolsquocanrsquo
Earlier you heard pots parlar meacutes a poc a poc here we hear asimilar construction in pot cobrar In Dialogue 1 the speakers
addressed each other in the informal tu form whilst here they areusing the vostegrave form As you will have noticed -s is the character-istic ending of the tu form Poder (= to be able) is a common irreg-ular verb used to introduce a request The full set of forms for thepresent tense are
Singular puc I canpots you can (familiar)pot you can (formal) heshe can
Plural podem we canpodeu you can (familiar)poden you can (formal) they can
Exercise 4
Practise saying the following telephone numbers then use the audioto check that yoursquove got them right and to check your pronuncia-tion Two of the numbers on the audio will be different Can youspot which ones
1 2-92-73-21-36
2 9-65-05-21-25
3 7-73-21-19-37
4 7-3-33-75-92
5 3-33-29-65-62
Exercise 5
Now practise asking for the bill by putting our suggestions intoCatalan in this conversation
YOU Ask for the billCAMBRER Siacute un moment Quegrave tenenYOU Say A natural orange juice and still mineral waterCAMBRER Soacuten tres setantaYOU Ask How much is the orange juiceCAMBRER Soacuten dos euros cinquantaYOU Say Thank you
36
Exercise 6
Read the text below and do Activities 1 and 2
Activity 1 Can you guess from the text what lsquocelrsquo and lsquoonarsquomean
Activity 2 Underline the words that you think are similar toEnglish words Use the glossary at the end of the book to help you
Els bars soacuten un aspecte molt important de la vida mediterragravenia i dela vida catalana Moltes persones passen meacutes drsquouna hora al dia albar Eacutes un centre social on es formen i desenvolupen les relacionspersonals i professionals Un eslogravegan publicitari diu que el nom dela ciutat de Barcelona conteacute els ingredients principals de la vidabarcelonina BAR ndash CEL ndash ONA lsquoBarrsquo eacutes evident lsquocelrsquo es refereix alrsquoatmosfera (celestial) i lsquoonarsquo soacuten les ondulacions que provoca elmoviment del mar Molt apropiat
(There is an English version of this text in the Key to exercises)
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37
5 Vols el meumogravebilDo you want my mobile
In this unit you will learn about
bull Asking people to repeat somethingbull Understanding short messagesbull The present tense of estar lsquoto bersquobull Possessive adjectivesbull Adjectives in comparisonsbull Superlatives
Dialogue 1
Rachel wants to call her parents in England
RACHEL Hi ha telegravefon aquiacuteDANI Siacute hi ha un telegravefon a la sortida Eacutes de monedesRACHEL Pots repetir sisplau meacutes a poc a pocDANI Siacute eacutes clar Eacutes un telegravefon que va amb monedes
Funciona amb monedes drsquoeuro Monedes de cinccegraventims deu cegraventims vint cegraventims cinquanta cegraventimsun euro i dos euros Perograve escolta vols el meu mogravebilEacutes meacutes fagravecil
RACHEL Ets molt amable perograve vull telefonar als meus pares ia la meva germana per dir que estic beacute
DANI Telefona dona la famiacutelia eacutes la famiacutelia
Vocabulary
hi ha is there there isaquiacute here
la sortida exitva works (from anar = to go to work)la moneda coinfuncionar to function to workfagravecil easyescolta listenmogravebil mobileamable kindmeu meva myel pare fatherels pares parentsla germana sisterla dona woman wifela famiacutelia family
Language points
Useful expressions
With hi ha you can ask where something is and give theanswer Notice how Rachel uses a rising intonation to ask the ques-tion hi ha telegravefon
We have heard dir in the expressions com et dius em dic com es diu en catalagrave Here it has its basic meaning lsquoto sayrsquo lsquoto tellrsquoin per dir que estic beacute (= to say that I am well)
Telefona is the command form of the verb telefonar meaninglsquodo phonersquo or simply lsquophonersquo
Dona is used to reinforce what is being said addressed as hereto a woman The masculine equivalent home (= man) occurs moreoften and is heard even when talking with a woman eacutes clar home(= of course) siacute home siacute (= yes definitely)
The present tense of estar lsquoto bersquo
Estic is the lsquoIrsquo form of the present of the irregular verb estar (= tobe to feel to stay) We have already heard com estagraves the standardway of asking lsquohow are yoursquo The reply was molt beacute without a verbform because the verb was understood (estic molt beacute)
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
39
Singular estic I amestagraves you are (familiar)estagrave you are (formal) heshe is
Plural estem we areesteu you are (familiar)estan you are (formal) they are
The two verbs for lsquoto bersquo ser and estar 1
Here we come across the two verbs that are used in Catalan toexpress what in English would be expressed with lsquoto bersquo Estic inthe dialogue represents one of the main uses of estar asking whatlsquostatersquo someone is in There are also many examples of the use ofser which is the verb used to express identity or origin as in soacutec laSara drsquoon ets Soacutec de Nova York or as in the dialogue to expressinherent characteristics For example eacutes de monedes ets moltamable la famiacutelia eacutes la famiacutelia
Possessive adjectives
References to members of the family are often accompanied by thepossessive At this point it is useful to note two important charac-teristics of its behaviour
1 The possessive is used with the corresponding article (LA mevagermana ELS meus pares)
2 The possessive as any other adjective agrees with the noun towhich it refers and has to be used with the appropriate ending(la meVA germana els meuS pares) Consider the table below
Masculine Feminine
my el meu la mevayour el teu la tevahisher (your vostegrave) el seu la sevaour el nostre la nostrayour el vostre la vostratheir (your vostegraves) el seu la seva
Notes1 The masculine el nostre and el vostre and feminine la nostra and la vostra are
not distinguished in pronunciation2 They are normally used with the article
40
If more than one object is possessed you will need to use the plural form made by simply adding an -s to the end (eg els meusels teus etc in the masculine) and by replacing a by es (eg lesmeves les teves etc in the feminine) Consider the followingsentences
1 El Felip i la seva germana soacuten drsquoAndorra (= Felip and his sister are from Andorra)
2 La Laura i la seva germana soacuten drsquoAndorra (= Laura and her sister are from Andorra)
3 El senyor i la senyora Garcia i la seva filla soacuten drsquoAndorra (= senyor and senyora Garcia and their daughter are fromAndorra)
In all three cases la seva agrees with the feminine noun qualified(germana and filla) unlike in English which needs lsquohisrsquo lsquoherrsquo andlsquotheirrsquo respectively
Adjectives 3 making comparisons
Eacutes meacutes fagravecil contains an implied comparison eacutes meacutes fagravecil telefonaramb el meu mogravebil que des drsquoun telegravefon puacuteblic (= it is easier tophone with my mobile than from a public phone) Comparison ofadjectives in Catalan is straightforward It is simply a case of puttingmeacutes before the appropriate form of the adjective in question Forexample la meva germana eacutes meacutes amable que el meu germagrave (= mysister is kinder than my brother) Consider how the second elementof comparison is introduced by que (= than) Similarly menys(= less) is complemented with que to express that one element isless than another For example el Felip eacutes menys militant que elteu germagrave (= Philip is less militant than your brother) To say they are lsquoas much asrsquo tan com is used Consider el Felip eacutes tanmilitant com el teu germagrave
Superlatives
The superlative corresponding to lsquothe most rsquo is formed byadding the article to the comparative meacutes followed by de (= themost of) Consider el meu germagrave eacutes el meacutes simpagravetic de la famiacutelia(= my brother is the nicest in the family)
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41
Another important form of the adjective is formed by adding theending -iacutessim-iacutessima This is known as a suffix an ending that canbe attached to nouns and adjectives to add a nuance This suffixserves to intensify the force of an adjective and is equivalent tolsquoveryrsquo lsquomostrsquo lsquoreallyrsquo according to context It is often used to addintensity when giving opinions el teu pare eacutes amabiliacutessim (= yourfather is really friendly) lrsquoescultura de la teva mare eacutes belliacutessima(= the sculpture of your mother is very beautiful indeed)
Exercise 1
Listen to the audio Mark below the sentences that use either a formof the verbs poder and estar or the form hi ha The first one hasbeen done for you
poder estar hi ha
1 2 _____ _____ _____3 _____ _____ _____4 _____ _____ _____5 _____ _____ _____6 _____ _____ _____7 _____ _____ _____8 _____ _____ _____9 _____ _____ _____
Exercise 2
You already know much more Catalan than you think Considerthe lists of adjectives below you should be able to understand mostof them In each of the four groups there is a word which is not anadjective Can you identify it
1 elegant horrible intelmiddotligent pragravecticsincer eloquent comunicar humoriacutestic
2 tranquil repelmiddotlent intelmiddotlectual famoacutesestuacutepid ridiacutecul educat ilmiddotlustrecognom
3 eficient excelmiddotlent satisfaccioacute satiacuterictolerant lliberal democragravetic
4 investigar curioacutes informatiu favorablesistemagravetic ideal regional
42
Exercise 3
Pau and Eloi are being talked about by their friends Decide whichone of the two receives a more favourable appraisal in each of thefollowing statements
Pau Eloi
1 El Pau eacutes meacutes eficient i responsable que lrsquoEloi ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
2 LrsquoEloi eacutes amabiliacutessim i eacutes meacutes fagravecil parlar amb ell ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
3 LrsquoEloi eacutes lrsquoamic ideal Eacutes el meacutes amable dels meus amics ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
4 LrsquoEloi eacutes menys sistemagravetic que el Pau i eacutes menys puntual ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
5 El Pau eacutes menys tolerant que lrsquoEloi el meacutes tolerant ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
6 El Pau eacutes ambicioacutes i despogravetic LrsquoEloi eacutes meacutes acceptable ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
7 LrsquoEloi eacutes molt meacutes educat que el Pau i meacutes generoacutes ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
8 El Pau eacutes el meacutes elegant dels dos ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash9 LrsquoEloi eacutes simpatiquiacutessim ndashndashndashndash ndashndashndashndash
Exercise 4
Translate the following sentences using ser and estar and the appro-priate form of the possessive
1 Jennifer and her brother are from Glasgow2 Felip and his family are very well3 Tom and his parents are really friendly4 Tom and his brother are not well5 Rachel and her parents are friendly
Exercise 5
Now take the part of Rachel in this conversation with senyorSugranyes a friend of her parents putting our English suggestionsinto Catalan You may need to look back at the previous units tocomplete this exercise
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43
(Note it is quite common when two people of different agesmeet for the older person to use tu and the younger vostegrave The repe-tition of anar fent to give an idea of monotony is not uncommoneither)
SR SUGRANYES Hola Rachel quina sorpresaRACHEL Say Hello Sr Sugranyes how are you
(use vostegrave)SR SUGRANYES Oh anar fent anar fent gragravecies I tuRACHEL Say I am very well thank youSR SUGRANYES Et presento el meu amic Daniel Lafont El Daniel
eacutes francegraves perograve parla catalagraveRACHEL Say Itrsquos a pleasureDANIEL Encantat Ets catalanaRACHEL Say No I am EnglishDANIEL Doncs parles catalagrave molt beacuteRACHEL Say Thank you and you also speak Catalan very
well Where are you fromDANIEL Jo soacutec de Perpinyagrave de la Catalunya Nord
Text 1
Teresa sends an email to her friend James giving her new addressand contact details and mentioning a friend she would like him tomeet Read this text first without looking at the vocabulary tryingto understand the gist Then study the text with the vocabulary andprepare yourself for Exercise 6 The text is translated in the Key toexercises
44
Estimat James estic beacute i tu com estagraves Connecto per emailperquegrave el teu telegravefon no funciona Quegrave passa Et telefono moltsovint perograve no hi ha resposta El teu telegravefon sempre comunicaVull parlar amb tu Ara tinc una adreccedila permanent Eacutes elcarrer Monterols nuacutemero 16 El meu telegravefon eacutes el 675 8942Tinc una sorpresa per tu Et vull presentar el meu amic MarcLa seva dona eacutes anglesa i ell eacutes arquitecte com tu Soacutensimpatiquiacutessims Tenen molt intereacutes per Gaudiacute i volen parlaramb tu Una abraccedilada Teresa
Vocabulary
estimat -da dearconnectar to connectperquegrave becausepassar to happenet telefono I phone yousovint oftenla resposta answer reply responsesempre alwayscomunicar to be engaged to communicateara nowpermanent permanentlrsquoarquitecte (m) architectcom like as (when not a question word)simpagravetic -a nice likeable friendlylrsquoabraccedilada (f) embrace love
Exercise 6
James has received the sentences in the wrong order Your job isto reorder them without looking back at Text 1 Write the numbersin the right order below You can check your answers against thetext of the message
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
1 Vull parlar amb tu Ara tinc una adreccedila permanent Eacutes el carrerMonterols nuacutemero 16 El meu telegravefon eacutes el 675 8942
2 La seva dona eacutes anglesa i ell eacutes arquitecte com tu Soacutensimpatiquiacutessims Tenen molt intereacutes per Gaudiacute i volen parlaramb tu Una abraccedilada Teresa
3 Connecto per email perquegrave el teu telegravefon no funciona Quegravepassa Et telefono molt sovint perograve no hi ha resposta El teutelegravefon sempre comunica
4 Tinc una sorpresa per tu Et vull presentar el meu amic Marc5 Hola James estic beacute i tu com estagraves
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45
Exercise 7
Read the short text in the box and rewrite it
1 First changing the verbs underlined into the we form (lsquowecontact yoursquo lsquowe phone yoursquo etc)
2 Second changing the verbs underlined into the they form (lsquotheycontact yoursquo lsquothey phone yoursquo etc)
Connecto per email perquegrave el teu telegravefon no funcionaQuegrave passa Et telefono molt sovint perograve no hi haresposta El teu telegravefon sempre comunica Vull parlaramb tu Ara tinc una adreccedila permanent Estic molt beacutetot va beacute Puc telefonar gratis eacutes fantagravestic
46
6 La meva famiacuteliaMy family
In this unit you will learn about
bull Asking and answering questionsbull Describing peoplebull Family lifebull Formation of plural nounsbull Demonstrativesbull Weak pronounsbull Clothes and colours
Photos and texts 1ndash5
In this section you will hear people describing pictures of theirfamily Look at the pictures and listen to the audio Use the activityin the box to help you focus on what you hear The Vocabularybuilder contains the names of the members of the family and otheruseful terms
Circle the word which is not spoken in each description
Text 1 cosins famiacutelia germans petit
Text 2 blanc i negre la boda poble el gos
Text 3 tinc tres fill molts
Text 4 guapo casat alemany francegraves
Text 5 dona tenim si Deacuteu vol poble
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48
Text 1
Hola Em dic Andreu Visc a Barcelona Et presento la mevafamiacutelia Aquest eacutes el Pere eacutes el meu germagrave Som sis germans Tincdues germanes i tres germans El Pere eacutes el meacutes petit Aquesta eacutesla meva germana gran la Isabel Avui eacutes el vint-i-cinc aniversari dela boda dels pares les bodes de plata dels nostres pares
Text 2
ndashQui eacutes el senyor drsquoaquella fotondashEl senyor drsquoaquella foto en blanc i negre eacutes el meu avi
Malauradament lrsquoagravevia ja no eacutes amb nosaltres Lrsquoavi viu sol al poblea Mequinenccedila a la Franja drsquoAragoacute Bueno sol no viu viu amb elseu gos el Misto que li fa companyia
Text 3
ndashPau tens germansndashNo no tinc germans soacutec fill uacutenic Perograve tinc molts cosins i aixograve
compensa una mica Mira aquests dos soacuten cosins meus
Text 4
Mira aquest tio tan guapo eacutes el meu cunyat es diu Tolo eacutes deNigegraveria i estagrave casat amb la meva germana Viuen al Poble Sec Parlafrancegraves anglegraves ioruba swahili castellagrave i catalagrave
Text 5
Mira aquesta eacutes la meva dona Es diu Montse Tenim dos fills unnen i una nena
ndashVoleu tenir meacutes fillsndashSiacute si Deacuteu vol siacute
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49
Vocabulary
aquest -a thispetit -a smallgran big oldavui todaylrsquoaniversari (m) anniversary birthdayla boda weddingla plata silveraquell -a thatblanc -a whitenegre -a blackmalauradament unfortunatelyja no longersol -a aloneel poble village small townbueno well el gos dogli himfer companyia to keep companyfill -a son daughterel fill uacutenic only childcompensar to compensateel tio guy bloketan so asguapo -a handsome good lookingcasat -ada marriedsi Deacuteu vol if God is willing
Culture note
The five pictures on page 48 illustrate how from being a predomi-nantly Catholic society reflected in si Deacuteu vol and in sis germansalthough there has been a tendency towards smaller families and towards a more multicultural and multiethnic society Text 2which refers to the grandfather shows the strong connection thatmany people who live in cities still have with the country Whentalking about the family el poble usually refers to the village orsmall town where one of the older members of the family comesfrom originally In this case the village (Mequinenccedila) is in theFranja drsquoAragoacute the strip of Aragon bordering Catalonia whereCatalan is spoken
50
El Poble Sec is a popular and colourful working-class district ofBarcelona
Language points
Castilian words used in Catalan
There are very well-established Spanish (Castilian) words which areused frequently in colloquial Catalan We have already seen cara-jillo In describing the photos we also hear bueno guapo tio allwith the characteristic Spanish ending in -o pronounced -u inCatalan because it is an unstressed -o Of the three the one that ismost easily replaced by a Catalan word is bueno where often theCatalan beacute is heard Tio (feminine tia) means literally lsquounclersquo(lsquoauntiersquo) but it is colloquially used to mean lsquoguyrsquo lsquoblokersquo etc (orfemale equivalent) in Spanish as well as in Catalan
Nouns 4 plural patterns
We have seen that the standard pattern to form the plural is to add-s to the masculine and -es to the feminine
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
el pare la germana els pares les germaneslrsquoavi lrsquoamiga els avis les amigues
Most nouns ending in a stressed vowel add -ns to make the pluralFor example
el germagrave els germansel cosiacute els cosinsel catalagrave els catalansla televisioacute les televisions
Masculine nouns
Masculine nouns that would be impossible or difficult to pronounceif you just added -s to form the plural tend to add -os instead(pronounced us) For example masculine singular words endingin -s -ccedil -x or with clusters of consonants like -rs -sc -xt form theplural as follows
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
51
el gas els gasosel braccedil (= arm) els braccedilosel paiacutes (= country) els paiumlsosel pis (= apartment) els pisosel text els textosel complex els complexosel vers (= verse) els versoslrsquoanglegraves els anglesos
The demonstratives
The demonstratives (lsquothisrsquo and lsquothatrsquo) are used to indicate wherepeople or things are in relation to us By now you will be familiarwith the need to change the ending of adjectives to agree with thenoun Here is the pattern of endings
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
this aquest aquesta these aquests aquestesthat aquell aquella those aquells aquelles
Note that aquest is pronounced aket and aquests akets In thefeminine singular and plural however the s is pronounced
Exercise 1
This exercise practises terms for the members of the family and alsothe possessive adjectives which we saw in the previous unit
La famiacutelia de la Rosina
Mercegrave = Agustiacute Laura = Marc
Jordi = Rosina
Alba Neus
52
Rosina has written a short description of her family On the dottedline write the appropriate form of the possessive (meu teu etc)and on the continuous line the name of the family member
El pare es diu _________ i la mare es diu_________ El marit es diu _________ i els sogres es diuen _________ i _________ El Jordi i laRosina tenen dues filles les filles es diuen Alba i_________ Els avis es diuen Agustiacute i Marc
Exercise 2
Your friend Dani asks you to show him some of your family snapsTake part in the audio role play
Exercise 3
Organise this list of words into four categories under the headingsAndashD
patates cosins dona filles francesos
contextos generacions context valencians
amigues pantalons dinastia mare plurals
cafegraves americanes nacions amic telegravefons
irlandesos discos
A Masculine singular B Feminine singular
C Masculine plural D Feminine pluralExample patates
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
53
Text 6
Albert sends John a photo of his cousin Clagraveudia to answer a ques-tion John has asked him Read the note he sends John along withthe photo
Vocabulary
com va aixograve howrsquos it goingtot -a alltot va beacute all goes wellpreguntar to asktenir anys to be years oldcasteller -a someone who takes part in human towersenviar to sendla impressora printercolor colourla camisa shirtvermell -a red
54
John com va aixograve Aquiacute totva beacute Em preguntes quinaeacutes la Clagraveudia a la foto delscastellers Ara trsquoenvioaquesta foto drsquoella amb laseva mare i la seva tia Lameva cosina teacute vint-i-tresanys Malauradament notinc impressora de color La camisa eacutes vermella elspantalons blancs i la faixanegra
Eacutes un vestit tradicional de pagegraves catalagrave
Salut Albert
la faixa sash beltel vestit costumeel pagegraves peasant farmer or farmworker(la) salut health cheers
Culture note
La faixa is a long stretch of cloth which is tied around the waist forsupport Traditionally this was worn by pagesos Nowadays it is stillused by castellers Castells (literally lsquocastlesrsquo) consist of teams ofmen and women who stand on each otherrsquos shoulders in an effort tobuild and then safely dismantle the highest human tower usuallyseven eight or even nine human storeys high The design and heightof a castell depends mainly on the number of castellers who formthe base The province of Tarragona is famous for its groups espe-cially els Xiquets de Valls but nowadays there are castle-buildinggroups all over Catalonia and they hold trobades (= meetings) tocelebrate patron saintsrsquo days and other special festivities
Language points
Pronunciation
A reminder on the pronunciation of -ix- in aixograve and faixaRemember that ix is one letter the Catalan equivalent of the Englishsh So faixa is pronounced fasha and aixograve asho (See the sectionon digraphs in the Pronunciation guide) The same is true of -ny- asin Catalunya or any The plural of any is roughly pronounced anshbecause of the difficulty presented by this cluster of consonantsWhen you hear them on the audio see if you can distinguish thesewords clearly
Weak pronouns 1
Em preguntes (= you ask me) and trsquoenvio (= I send you) in Text 6and li fa companyia (= is company for himkeeps his company) inText 2 provide examples of a verb with a weak object pronoun Theyare called weak because they are unstressed and pronounced as partof the verb they accompany They are usually placed immediately
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
55
before or after the verb They are placed before most verb formsbut are normally placed after the verb with the infinitive andcommand forms Most forms change according to whether the firstor last letter of the verb (whichever they come into contact with) isa consonant or a vowel
At this stage you may want to concentrate on recognising theirpresence and be aware of their approximate meaning In time youwill become confident in their use The Grammar referencecontains tables with further information and the dialogues incor-porate many examples of their use Here is some basic advice to getyou into the habit of recognising the singular forms
1 An m sound immediately before or after the verb is the formcorresponding to lsquomersquo in English There are four possibilities mrsquoem -me rsquom Consider em dic Rosa telefonarsquom sisplau
2 A t sound immediately before or after the verb is the formcorresponding to lsquoyoursquo in English (the t showing its link to thesubject pronoun tu) There are four possibilities trsquo et -te rsquotConsider trsquoenvio la foto de la Clagraveudia et presento la Mercegrave
3 An l sound immediately before or after the verb is the formcorresponding to lsquohimrsquo lsquoherrsquo or lsquoyoursquo (= vostegrave) The possibilitiesare li el la lrsquo -lo -la rsquol Consider vols telefonar-la vullenviar-li la foto de la Claugravedia
Further examples
Sound Before verb After verb
m mrsquoescolta em presento vol donar-me parlarsquom
t trsquoescolto et parlen vol agafar-te presentarsquot
l lrsquoescolten li diuen vull escoltar-lo estudiarsquolella miren volem entendre-la
Asking questions 3
There are several examples in this section of the type of questionswhich require a question word
56
1 Quants Albert mentions Clagraveudiarsquos age saying teacute vint-i-tresanys (= she is twenty-three years old) The way to ask someonersquosage is quants anys tensteacute literally lsquohow many years do youhaversquo The standard answer would be tinc vint-i-tres anysQuant quanta quants quantes are question words used to asklsquohow much rsquo or lsquohow many rsquo As adjectives they agreewith the noun so quants anys teacute quantes filles teacute (= how manydaughters do you have)
2 Quan (= when) is another important question word as in thesentence quan comenccedila el programa (= when does the pro-gramme start) It should not be confused with quant althoughthey are pronounced the same As an adverb quan only has oneform unlike the adjective quant
3 Quin Another set of adjectives used to ask questions isquin quina quins quines meaning lsquowhich (one) rsquo or lsquowhat rsquo as in quina eacutes la Clagraveudia a la foto (literally lsquowhich isClagraveudia in the photorsquo implying lsquoof the several girls in the photowhich one is Clagraveudiarsquo) Quin would also be used to ask for thecolour of something the standard question being de quin coloreacute s (literally lsquoof which colour is rsquo)
Exercise 4
Listen to the audio Match the items of clothing in the left-handcolumn with the colour that describes them in the right-handcolumn Use the Vocabulary builder to help you (The first one hasbeen done for you)
1 camisa a vermella _____1a
2 sabates b vermell _____
3 pantalons c verda _____
4 jaquetes d blanques _____
5 abric e negres _____
6 americana f blaves _____
7 jersei g blau _____
8 faldilla h blanca _____
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
57
Exercise 5
Match the questions with the answers The first one has been donefor you
1 Qui eacutes aquest senyor a El pare seixanta-sis i la mare seixanta _____1g
2 Quants anys tens b Un germagrave i dues germanes _____
3 Quants anys tenen els c Soacuten els meus germansteus pares _____
4 Qui eacutes aquesta senyora d Anar fent _____5 Qui soacuten aquests e Eacutes verd _____6 De quin color eacutes el f Eacutes la meva cosina
jersei _____7 Com es diu la seva filla g Eacutes el meu oncle _____8 Quants germans teacute h Trenta anys _____9 Com va aixograve i Es diu Teresa _____
Exercise 6
Listen to these sentences and decide which column the pronounsused correspond to
1st person m 2nd person t 3rd person l
1 ______________ ______________ ______________2 ______________ ______________ ______________3 ______________ ______________ ______________4 ______________ ______________ ______________5 ______________ ______________ ______________6 ______________ ______________ ______________7 ______________ ______________ ______________8 ______________ ______________ ______________
Exercise 7
Now practise asking questions by taking the part of Nicholas in thisconversation with one of Clagraveudiarsquos brothers Eduard whom youhave just met Use the English suggestions to help you
EDUARD Hola escolta tu ets el NicholasNICHOLAS Say Yes I am Nicholas Ask Who are youEDUARD Soacutec lrsquoEduard Soacutec el germagrave gran de la Clagraveudia
58
NICHOLAS Ask How many brothers does she haveEDUARD Tres Mira aquiacute tinc una fotoNICHOLAS Ask Who is thisEDUARD Eacutes lrsquoEnric eacutes el meu germagrave petitNICHOLAS Ask How old is heEDUARD Teacute trenta anysNICHOLAS Ask Does he have childrenEDUARD Siacute teacute tres fillesNICHOLAS Ask How old are theyEDUARD Cinc set i deu
Exercise 8
Now take part in this conversation with your Catalan hostdiscussing your family using the English suggestions to help you
HOST Quants germans tensYOU Say I have two brothers and a sisterHOST Tens una foto de la teva famiacuteliaYOU Say Yes This is a photo of my family My sister is this
one with the white shirt and the orange skirt She livesin Australia
HOST Que exogravetic I qui eacutes aquest senyor Eacutes el teu germagraveYOU Say No he is called Daniel he is the husband of my
sister My brothers are these ones This one is Jamesand that one is Terry
HOST I com es diu la teva germanaYOU Say She is called Anne she lives in Melbourne she is
twenty years old She has a daughter and a son
Vocabulary builder
Members of the family
els pares parentsels fills childrenlrsquoavi grandfather lrsquoagravevia grandmotherel pare father la mare motherel fill son la filla daughterel nen boy la nena girlel germagrave brother la germana sister
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59
el cosiacute cousin la cosina cousinlrsquooncle uncle la tia auntel marit husband la dona wifeel cunyat brother-in-law la cunyada sister-in-lawel sogre father-in-law la sogra mother-in-law
Personal information
casat casada marriedsolter soltera singledivorciat divorciada divorcedseparat separada separated
Clothing
la roba clothesla camisa shirtels pantalons trousersla faldilla skirtla jaqueta casual jacketlrsquoamericana suit jacketlrsquoabric coatles sabates shoesel jersei jumper
Colours
vermell -a redverd -a greenblanc -a whitenegre -a blackgroc groga yellowblau blava bluetaronja orange
60
7 Perdoni on eacuteslrsquoHotel MiramarExcuse me where is the Miramar Hotel
In this unit you will learn about
bull Booking into a hotelbull Finding your waybull Asking and giving directionsbull The two forms of the verb lsquoto bersquo ser and estar
bull Numbers 101ndash1000bull Ordinal numbers 1ndash10bull The command form
Dialogue 1
Richard is asking a passer-by for directions
RICHARD Perdoni lrsquoHotel MiramarPASSER-BY Com ha ditRICHARD Sap on eacutes lrsquoHotel MiramarPASSER-BY Ah siacute Eacutes a la placcedila del SolRICHARD On eacutes la placcedila del SolPASSER-BY A veure la placcedila del Sol eacutes molt a prop al final
drsquoaquest carrer Soacuten dos minuts
Vocabulary
com ha dit what did you saya prop nearal final at the endla placcedila squareel minut minute
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
Language points
Useful expressions
Perdoni is the formalpolite equivalent of perdona both translatinglsquoexcuse mersquo
Com ha dit is a common way of asking politely for somethingto be repeated literally lsquowhat have you saidrsquo (= what did yousay) Pot repetir sisplau or pot repetir-ho sisplau which wehave come across earlier would be alternatives We have also heardrepeteixo in audio exercises which means literally lsquoI repeatrsquo
The article 4 contractions with prepositions
This dialogue contains another example of how a (= inat) combineswith the article el to form al (AL final drsquoaquest carrer) Similarlyde (= offrom) with el forms del on eacutes la placcedila DEL Sol This hasto do with the running together of vowel sounds and explains whyin the feminine a la and de la remain separate The other commonpreposition that contracts is per + el = pel
Tu and vostegrave 3
This type of conversation with a stranger is usually conducted withthe polite form of address using vostegrave However young people orpeople of the same age would normally use tu and many peoplebelieve that tu is gaining ground over the use of vostegrave Rememberthat the vostegrave form is used with the verb in the third person andthat the word vostegrave itself is very often left out as in sap on eacutes More examples (vostegrave) parla beacute el catalagrave on viu (vostegrave)
The present tense of the irregular verb saber lsquoto knowrsquo
seacute sabemsaps sabeusap saben
62
The two verbs ser and estar lsquoto bersquo 2
We have heard how ser is used to express identity (as in soacutec elMartin) origin (as in soacutec anglegraves) and inherent characteristics (as ineacutes de plagravestic) In this dialogue we observe another important use ofser to express position and it is heard with this meaningthroughout the rest of this unit in the question on eacutes (= whereis ) and the appropriate replies
Estar was used earlier to ask and explain how someone isfeels(com estagraves estic beacute) a state that may change It should be notedthat estar is often also used to express position and on estagrave instead of on eacutes is another way of asking where a place is Asindicated in the Introduction we focus on the Catalan spoken incentral Catalonia and we have pointed out that there are variationsin the way the language is spoken in other areas The use of estaris one such variation For example Catalan speakers in Valenciawill always use estar to express position
Exercise 1
Fill in the gaps following the model given in the example (question 1)Use perdoniperdona sapsaps eacutes ala la
1 ndashPerdoni sap on eacutes lrsquoHotel MiramarndashEacutes a la placcedila del Sol
2 ndash_____ sap on eacutes el bar MatiasndashEacutes _____ placcedila drsquoHegravercules
3 ndash_____ saps on eacutes el restaurant PirineundashEacutes _____ carrer Antic
4 ndashPerdoni _____ on eacutes el Camp NoundashEacutes _____ carrer Maillol
5 ndashPerdoni sap on _____ el cafegrave PariacutesndashEacutes _____ placcedila del Pi
6 ndashPerdona _____ on eacutes la bibliotecandashEacutes _____ final drsquoaquest carrer
7 ndash_____ sap on eacutes la universitatndashEacutes _____ final drsquoaquesta placcedila
8 ndash_____ saps on eacutes la discotecandashEacutes _____ carrer Major
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63
Exercise 2
Translate the following sentences into Catalan
1 Where are you from I am Mallorcan2 Hello good morning how are you3 What is this please4 What colour is the shirt Itrsquos yellow5 Which one is your brother6 How is Martiacute Is he well No he is not well7 Where is your father from8 My name is Noah and I am from San Francisco9 I am very well and how are you
10 Do you know where the library is11 James is Scottish He is very well now He is in the placcedila del
Sol in a cafegrave near the Rambla
Dialogue 2
Richard arrives at his hotel and speaks to the receptionist
RICHARD HolaRECEPCIONISTA Hola bona tardaRICHARD Tinc una habitacioacute reservadaRECEPCIONISTA Com es diu vostegraveRICHARD Nightingale RichardRECEPCIONISTA Com srsquoescriuRICHARD N-I-G-H-T-I-N-G-A-L-ERECEPCIONISTA Molt beacute Pot signar sisplau Teacute la tres-cents
deu Lrsquoascensor eacutes al final a la dreta Eacutes al tercerpis
RICHARD GragraveciesRECEPCIONISTA De res
Vocabulary
bona tarda good afternoonlrsquohabitacioacute (f) roomreservat -ada reserved bookedsignar to sign
64
lrsquoascensor (m) lift elevatora la dreta on the righttercer -a thirdel pis floor
Language points
Bon dia is the usual way of saying lsquogood dayrsquo and lsquogood morningrsquoFrom early afternoon the appropriate greeting is bona tardaboth for lsquogood afternoonrsquo and lsquogood eveningrsquo lsquoGood nightrsquo is bona nit
Numbers from 101ndash1000 and beyond
Masculine Feminine
101 cent ucent un cent una102 cent dos cent dues110 cent deu120 cent vint200 dos-cents dues-centes300 tres-cents tres-centes400 quatre-cents quatre-centes500 cinc-cents cinc-centes600 sis-cents sis-centes700 set-cents set-centes800 vuit-cents vuit-centes900 nou-cents nou-centes
1000 mil1001 mil u (mil un) mil una1002 mil dos mil-dues1010 mil deu1100 mil cent1200 mil dos-cents mil dues-centes2000 dos mil dues-mil
100000 cent mil
1000000 un milioacute2000000 dos milions
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
65
The gender of numbers
The hundreds and numbers ending in one and two have a mascu-line and a feminine form Other numbers have the same form forboth genders Consider dues-centes tres-centes quatre-centescinc-centes lliures esterlines (= pound200 pound400 pound500 etc) because lalliura is a feminine word (but note cinc-cents euros because lrsquoeurois masculine)
Exercise 3
You are asked to check some figures on a list Listen to the audioand check if the numbers listed below correspond to the ones youhear There are four discrepancies
373 452 995 123 2861 382
765 215 3578 640 189 62432
Exercise 4
In the hotel the receptionist asks some guests to spell their namesListen to the audio and see if you can write the names down Referto the alphabet in the Pronunciation guide if necessary
1 __________________2 __________________3 __________________4 __________________5 __________________
Exercise 5
Match the questions in the left-hand column with the answers in theright-hand column (You may want to refer to the Language builderat the end of Unit 8)
Questions Answers
1 Nom a Placcedila Major 322 Cognoms b una habitacioacute doble3 Adreccedila c la de quaranta euros4 Habitacioacute individual o d el dia sis de novembre
doble
66
5 Amb bany o sense e Miquel6 Quantes nits f amb bany7 Dia drsquoarribada g Rodriacuteguez i Gilabert8 La de 40euro o la de 60euro h dues nits
amb vista al mar
Dialogue 3
Richard enquires at reception about somewhere to eat
1 Is there a restaurant in this hotel
2 How long will Richard have to walk for
RICHARD Escolti que hi ha restaurant a lrsquohotelRECEPCIONISTA Ho sento restaurant no perograve hi ha cafeteriaRICHARD On eacutesRECEPCIONISTA Eacutes al segon pisRICHARD I hi ha un restaurant a propRECEPCIONISTA Siacute perograve si vol un restaurant una mica bo eacutes meacutes
lluny A deu minutsRICHARD Eacutes fagravecil de trobarRECEPCIONISTA Siacute Eacutes el primer carrer a magrave dreta i llavors agafi
el segon carrer a lrsquoesquerra Eacutes a la cantonada esdiu Barcino
RICHARD Moltes gragravecies fins despreacutes
Vocabulary
ho sento I am sorryla cafeteria snack bar cafeacutesi ifuna mica a little fairlybo bona goodlluny fartrobar to finda magrave dreta on the right-hand sidellavors thena lrsquoesquerra on the leftla cantonada cornerfins despreacutes see you later
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
67
Language points
Useful expressions
Ho sento (molt) The ho means lsquoitrsquo so when you say sorry inCatalan you are literally saying lsquoI feel itrsquo
In eacutes fagravecil de trobar we see how some expressions take a prepo-sition In English this phrase corresponds with lsquoit is easy to rsquo orlsquois it easy to rsquo if a question Two further examples eacutes fagravecil defer (= itrsquos easy to do) eacutes fagravecil drsquoanar al restaurant Barcino (= itrsquoseasy to go to restaurant Barcino) etc Note that in Catalan a prepo-sition can only be followed by an infinitive while in English theoption lsquogoing to Restaurant Barcino is easyrsquo exists
The command form 1
Escolti like perdoni is a command form Both have the character-istic -i ending which is used to make polite (vostegrave) requests It is avery useful ending when giving directions or listening to othersgiving directions In earlier units we heard the equivalent in the lessformal tu form escolta and perdona In this context other verbsare frequently heard for example
vagi (from anar = to go) as in
Vagi fins al final del carrer i eacutes a lrsquoesquerra(= Go to the end of the street and it is on the left)
agafi (from agafar = to take to catch) as in
Agafi el primer carrer a la dreta(= take the first street on the right)
giri (from girar = to turn) as in
Al final del carrer giri a lrsquoesquerra(= turn left at the end of the street)
Prengui (from prendre = to take) which appeared earlier in thecontext of having drinks is also used in directions like anar it isirregular For example
Prengui el primer carrer a la dreta
68
The command form can be used with most verbs Consider parlimeacutes a poc a poc sisplau
Ordinal numbers
The ordinal numbers (first second etc) up to tenth which you canlisten to on the audio are as follows
1r primer 1a primera2n segon 2a segona3r tercer 3a tercera4t quart 4a quarta5egrave cinquegrave 5a cinquena6egrave sisegrave 6a sisena7egrave setegrave 7a setena8egrave vuitegrave 8a vuitena9egrave novegrave 9a novena
10egrave desegrave 10a desena
Exercise 6
Following the model in the example give the directions you areasked for by consulting the street plan on p 70
Example1 Siacute agafi el tercer carrer a magrave esquerra i eacutes a la dreta
1 el bar Pepis2 el Banc de Sabadell3 la farmagravecia
Perdoni sap on eacutes 4 el cine Kursal5 la floristeria Sant Jordi6 el supermercat7 el videoclub8 el cafegrave Girona
Exercise 7
Using the same street plan complete the answers for places thatare not nearby following the model given in the example Note thatcaixa (pronounced casha) means lsquosavings bankrsquo and that herbo-lari is a lsquoherbalistrsquo
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
69
Example1 Ho sento no hi ha un restaurant a prop perograve hi ha el cafegrave
Girona i el bar Pepis
1 un restaurant2 un mercat
Perdona saps si hi ha 3 una Caixa de a prop drsquoaquiacuteTarragona
4 un teatre5 una cliacutenica6 un herbolari
Exercise 8
You have arrived at your hotel Now take part in a conversationwith the receptionist by putting our English suggestions intoCatalan The receptionist addresses you
RECEPCIONIST Hola bona tardaYOU Say Good evening I have reserved a roomRECEPCIONIST Com es diu vostegraveYOU Say My name is MilnerRECEPCIONIST Com ha ditYOU Spell M-i-l-n-e-rRECEPCIONIST A veure no no teacute una reservaYOU Ask Can you repeat that please
70
Tu ets aquiacute
el Bancde Sabadell
el supermercatBona Compra
el barPepis
la floristeriaSant Jordi
el videoclub la farmagravecia el cafegraveGirona
el cineKursal
RECEPCIONIST No hi ha una reserva amb aquest nom AhPerdoni siacute siacute eacutes la tres-cents vint-i-cinc Perdoni
YOU Say Very well thank you Ask Where is the liftRECEPCIONIST Al final a la dreta Lrsquohabitacioacute eacutes al tercer pisYOU Say See you later
Exercise 9
Translate this text into English You can check it in the Key to exer-cises
Barcelona eacutes una ciutat gran una de les meacutes importants del Med-iterrani La seva poblacioacute eacutes aproximadament dos milions drsquohabi-tants perograve la seva agraverea metropolitana teacute meacutes de quatre milionsEstagrave situada entre el mar i la muntanya Eacutes un important centrecomercial i administratiu Hi ha molta activitat cultural comercial iesportiva concerts ogravepera teatre festivals de cinema exposicionsfires internacionals convencions i reunions sobre temes molt diver-sos Eacutes la ciutat europea preferida per molts turistes per visitesbreus i teacute meacutes de cinc-cents hotels de diverses categories
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
71
8 Quina eacutes la teva adreccedilaWhatrsquos your address
In this unit you will learn about
bull Giving and understanding addresses and locationsbull LrsquoEixample
bull The verbs anar lsquoto gorsquo venir lsquoto comersquo and viure lsquoto liversquobull The pronoun hi
bull Prepositions and adverbial expressions of place
Dialogue 1
From the hotel Richard phones his friend Elisenda whom he hasnrsquotseen for some time
1 Where is Richard staying in Barcelona
2 What street does Elisenda live in
RICHARD Elisenda soacutec el Richard Soacutec a BarcelonaELISENDA Quina sorpresa Quegrave fas On etsRICHARD Soacutec a Barcelona A lrsquoHotel Miramar Saps on eacutesELISENDA No no seacute on eacutes I per quegrave no veacutens a casa mevaRICHARD No seacute on vius perograve puc agafar un taxi On vius
Quina eacutes la teva adreccedilaELISENDA Visc al carrer Mallorca 175 entre Casanova i
Muntaner Eacutes el segon primeraRICHARD Carrer Mallorca 175 segon primera Molt beacute fins
ara ElisendaELISENDA Fins ara Richard
Vocabulary
fer to do to makevenir to comela casa house homeentre betweenfins ara see you soon
Culture note
LrsquoEixample
The street plan below shows a section of the Eixample an area ofBarcelona built mainly in the second half of the nineteenth centurywhich contains most of the cityrsquos modernist buildings Noted for itsgrid system of streets the Eixample was built on the empty landbetween what was then Barcelona and the surrounding villages ofGragravecia Sants Sarriagrave etc To a great extent these areas of Barcelonacontinue to foster their own quite distinctive character inside thelarge conurbation The main arteries of the Eixample are el passeig(= promenade) de Gragravecia and lrsquoavinguda (= avenue) Diagonal Asits name suggests this avenue crosses the Eixample diagonally
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
73
Paris
Londres
Valegravencia
Cograversega
Mercatdel Ninot
AragoacutePl Dr
Ldtamendi
Consell de Cent
Provenccedila
Rosselloacute
Pl delGall
Com
te B
orre
ll
Com
te d
rsquoUrg
ell
Cas
anov
a
Vill
arro
el
Enr
ic G
rana
dos
Rb
la C
atal
unya
Bal
mes
Pau
Cla
ris
Arib
au
Pg
Gragrave
cia
Arib
au
Mun
tane
r
Mallorca
Pl ReiJoan Carles I
PaiauRobert
MM
Casa BatlloCasa Amatller
Casa LleoacuteMorera
HospitalClinic
HospitalClinic i Provincial
DiagonalProvenccedila
Eixample
2
30
18
i
Pl DrFerrer
l Cajigal
Language points
Useful expressions
Quegrave fas is a simple present tense but in English would often betranslated as lsquowhat are you doingrsquo showing us that the English andCatalan present tenses do not correspond exactly
Fins means lsquountilup torsquo with regard to both time and space In this dialogue it is used in combination with ara (= now) to formthe expression fins ara which is the standard way of saying lsquosee you soonrsquo
Giving directions
Because of the design of the Eixample and whole areas of otherCatalan cities when giving directions it is normal to give the nameof the street and the two intersecting streets The woman in the dialogue says Visc al carrer Mallorca 175 entre Casanova iMuntaner literally lsquoI live on Mallorca Street between Casanova and Muntanerrsquo Note that carrer can be left out Note also that the preposition de which appears in the street plan is usuallyomitted
Giving your address
Most people live in blocks of apartments The way of saying theaddress involves saying the street the door number the floor andthe apartment door number For example
Enric CanalsC Quintana 28 4t 3a17300 Blanes
Enric lives in Quintana Street (c = carrer) at number 28 on thefourth floor (el pis) and his is the third door (la porta) on thatlanding His postal code (el codi postal) is 17300 in the seaside townof Blanes So in the dialogue Elisenda lives on the second floor ofher block door number 1
74
Regular verbs the present of the secondand third conjugations
New verbs continue to appear in the dialogues Many like agafarare regular and will follow the model introduced earlier with parlarWe have also heard some irregular verbs and you are probablybecoming aware of some emerging patterns which are common tomost verbs and tenses
The following forms end in the following letter
Singular (jo) ndash(tu) -s(vostegraveellella) ndash
Plural (nosaltres) -m(vosaltres) -u(vostegravesellselles) -n
A good way of mastering the verb forms is to look for existingpatterns You could start by comparing the endings of regular firstconjugation verbs (infinitive in -ar) with the endings of regularsecond conjugation ones (infinitive in -re or -er) and the third conju-gation (infinitive in -ir) Regular verbs of the second and thirdconjugation are relatively few in number you will hear examples insome of the dialogues Also Unit 15 will expand on the basicpatterns which are
First Second Third conjugation conjugation conjugation
parlar perdre (= to lose) dormir (= to sleep)1 parl-o perd-o dorm-o2 parl-es perd-s dorm-s3 parl-a perd dorm4 parl-em perd-em dorm-im5 parl-eu perd-eu dorm-iu6 parl-en perd-en dorm-en
Once you are familiar with the endings all you need to do is to addthem to the stem The stem is the infinitive minus the -ar -er-re-ir ending
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
75
Irregular present tenses anar venir viure
Now see how even verbs that are irregular conform to a large extentto the basic pattern The present tenses of anar venir and viure are
anar (to go) vaig vas va anem aneu vanvenir (to come) vinc veacutens ve venim veniu veacutenenviure (to live) visc vius viu vivim viviu viuen
Exercise 1
Listen to the following nine sentences and mark the appropriatecolumn according to the ending of the verb you hear
Example1 El Manu i la Maria visiten la seva famiacutelia is 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
2 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____3 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____4 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____5 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____6 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____7 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____8 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____9 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Exercise 2
Fill in the gaps with the appropriate forms of the verbs learnt inthis unit
1 ndash_____ (I live) al carrer Ausiagraves March a prop de la placcedilaUrquinaona On _____ (do you live use vosaltres)ndash_____ (we live) al carrer Provenccedila entre la Diagonal i laSagrada Famiacutelia _____ (are you coming use tu) arandashAra no primer _____ (I go) a casa de la meva germana _____(she lives) al carrer RosselloacutendashEacutes a prop Per quegrave no _____ (you come use vosaltres) totsdos despreacutes a fer el cafegrave
76
2 ndashOn _____ (do you goare you going use lsquotursquo)ndashPrimer _____ (I goIrsquom going) a visitar el meu cosiacutendashOn _____ (does he live)ndashA GuinardoacutendashI on _____ (do you goare you going use lsquovosaltresrsquo) despreacutesndashDespreacutes _____ (we gowe are going) al cinema _____ (Do youwant to come use lsquotursquo)
Exercise 3
Following the model in the example ask and answer questionsabout the addresses that appear below Use the map of theEixample on page 73 to help you with your answers The first onehas been done for you
1 ndashOn vius Enric (carrer Valegravencia 206)ndashOn viviuAnswer ndashVisc al carrer Valegravencia entre Aribau i Muntaner
2 Maria (carrer Aragoacute 192)
3 Francesc (carrer Villarroel 151)
4 Oriol i Enriqueta (carrer Muntaner 92)
5 Isabel (Enric Granados 95)
6 Elena i Josep (Casanova 119)
Dialogue 2
Richard asks a passer-by for directions to Elisendarsquos
RICHARD Per anar al carrer Mallorca sisplauPASSER-BY Quina part del carrer MallorcaRICHARD 175 entre Casanova i Muntaner Eacutes millor agafar un
taxiPASSER-BY No cal eacutes a prop Pot anar-hi a peu soacuten vint minutsRICHARD I com srsquohi vaPASSER-BY Agafi el carrer Cograversega fins a la cantonada amb
Muntaner a lrsquoesquerra i torni-ho a preguntar No eacutesdifiacutecil
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77
Vocabulary
millor better besta peu on footpreguntar to ask
Language points
Useful expressions
Per + infinitive means lsquoin order torsquo as in per anar lsquoto go to rsquoTornar a means to do something (in this case preguntar) againNo cal is a very expressive way of saying lsquoit is not necessaryrsquo The
phrase no eacutes necessari also exists but it is not very frequently usedIt can also be used in the positive cal agafar el primer carrer a ladreta (= you need to take the first street on the right)
If the address given is on a corner it is very easy to express visca la cantonada de Mallorca i Muntaner Or even visc a Mallorca
78
amb Muntaner The plans produced by the architect Ildefons Cerdagrave(1815ndash76) original designer of the Eixample incorporated cornersthat were chamfered to overlook the junctions and squares As aresult of this design each corner (cantonada) contains a number ofaddresses Giving directions to a taxi driver can also be very easysimply a Mallorca amb Muntaner sisplau
Weak pronouns 2 the pronoun of location hi
We have already seen hi in the phrase hi ha (= there is) Like ho(= it that) here seen with torni-ho a preguntar (literally lsquoask (that)againrsquo) hi also makes an important contribution to the Catalanlanguage Hi means lsquotherersquo referring back to a place alreadymentioned pot anar-hi a peu (= you can go there on foot) insteadof repeating pot anar al carrer Mallorca entre Casanova iMuntaner a peu
Com srsquohi va takes advantage of the flexibility and brevity whichhi offers and combines it with another characteristic pronoun es (considered later in more detail) The pronoun es (= oneoneself)takes the form srsquo when followed by a vowel the h is silent there-fore hi begins with a vowel sound So the English equivalent to comsrsquohi va is lsquohow does one get therersquo
Prepositions
These dialogues involving directions are peppered with preposi-tions Prepositions usually establish a relationship between words(lsquoinrsquo lsquoatrsquo lsquoonrsquo lsquobyrsquo lsquowithrsquo lsquofromrsquo lsquoofrsquo lsquoforrsquo etc) The prepositionmost frequently used here is a because it means both lsquoinrsquolsquoatrsquo (posi-tion) a lrsquoesquerra a la cantonada and lsquotorsquolsquotowardsrsquo (direction) peranar al carrer Mallorca sisplau Other important prepositions forgiving directions are de lsquoofrsquo and entre lsquobetweenrsquo quina part delcarrer Mallorca entre Casanova i Muntaner Also fins a lsquountilrsquofins a la cantonada Another preposition des de meaning lsquofromrsquo isused in Exercise 5 below where there are also several uses of thepreposition per meaning lsquothroughrsquo and lsquoin order torsquo (A list ofcommon prepositions is included in the Language builder)
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79
Exercise 4
Fill in the gaps with the prepositions a de fins a amb a prop deentre and the contractions al and del
1 Jo visc _____ carrer Aribau _____ Pariacutes i Cograversega _____ lacantonada Aribau-Pariacutes
2 Per anar _____ casa _____ la meva filla agafo el carrer Pariacutes_____ la Via Augusta Eacutes molt a prop eacutes _____ final _____carrer _____ lrsquoesquerra Soacuten dos minuts
3 ndashViviu _____ la placcedila LessepsndashSiacute relativament vivim _____ el Park Guumlell i el Carmel
4 ndashNo seacute on viu el PaundashViu _____ carrer Diputacioacute a la cantonada _____ Roger deLluacuteria _____ les estacions de metro de Girona i de Passeig deGragravecia
Exercise 5
Indicate the place that each of the hi pronouns refers to in this text
Example 1 Menorca
Vull tornar a visitar Menorca perograve no vull anar-hi (1) quan hi ha moltsturistes Hi (2) vaig al novembre quan srsquohi (3) estagrave molt tranquil Nocal passar per Mallorca per anar-hi (4) Hi ha vols directes des de lesIlles Britagraveniques Tambeacute eacutes bona idea visitar Mallorca eacutes una illameravellosa Jo hi (5) passo les vacances sempre que puc Srsquohi (6)pot anar molt fagravecilment per mar des de Barcelona i Valegravencia i ambavioacute des de moltes ciutats europees
Exercise 6
Referring to the map of the Eixample (p 73) find out which twostreets you would end up on if you followed the directions on theaudio Turn to the Language builder to help you
Exercise 7
Read the description of some of Barcelonarsquos best-known neigh-bourhoods els barris and answer the following questions
1 According to this text which is the district of Barcelonapreferred by visitors
80
2 Which district was built during the industrial revolution3 Which district is recommended for its social life4 In which part of Barcelona is the cathedral situated5 According to the text around which public spaces does most of
the social life in the district of Gragravecia take place
Al segle XIX Barcelona eacutes una ciutat molt petita eacutes nomeacutes la parton ara soacuten els barris del Raval i Ciutat Vella Una seccioacute importantde Ciutat Vella eacutes el Barri Gogravetic que eacutes el barri preferit de moltsturistes i visitants i teacute edificis histograverics molt importants perexemple la Catedral o el Saloacute del Tinell A finals del segle XIX laconstruccioacute de lrsquoEixample eacutes el resultat de la Revolucioacute Industrial iconteacute els edificis de molts arquitectes famosos com per exempleDomegravenech i Montaner Puig i Cadafalch i el meacutes famoacutes de totsAntoni Gaudiacute LrsquoEixample connecta Barcelona amb altres poblacionsque ara soacuten barris de Barcelona per exemple el popular barri deGragravecia on hi ha un ambient molt agradable amb una granconcentracioacute de bars restaurants i espais puacuteblics Una de lescaracteriacutestiques principals drsquoaquest barri eacutes que la vida social esconcentra a les places per exemple la placcedila del Sol la placcedila delDiamant la placcedila Rius i Taulet etc
Language builder
Booking a hotel room
Tenen habitacions lliures Do you have any vacant roomsIndividual o doble Single or doubleAmb bany o sense bany With bathroom or without a
bathroomPer quantes nits For how many nightsPer dues nits For two nightsQuin preu teacute lrsquohabitacioacute per How much is a room for one
una nit nightQuin dia arriba What date do you arrive onlrsquoarribada arrival
Directions Prepositions
a la dreta on the right a in at toa magrave dreta on the right- en in at
hand side
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81
a lrsquoesquerra on the left de ofa la cantonada on the corner amb witha prop near sense withoutlluny far des de fromal final (de) at the end of entre betweentot recte straight ahead fins (a) until
onaquiacute here cap a towardsallagrave there per through by
in order to
Position
a sobre on davant (de) in front ofa sota underneath darrere (de) behindal costat (de) next to
82
9 Tot passejant per la RamblaA walk down the Ramblas
In this unit you will learn about
bull Telling the timebull Finding out about opening hoursbull Discussing what to dobull Arranging to meet someonebull The present tense of the verbs fer lsquoto dorsquo sortir lsquoto go outrsquo
tancar lsquoto closersquo obrir lsquoto openrsquobull Adverbs ending in -ment lsquo-lyrsquobull Parts of the daybull The days of the weekbull Exclamations
Dialogue 1
Josep and Nuacuteria wake up late and decide what they are going to do
bull In which order do the following phrases appear in this dialogue
No eacutes possible _____
Vull fer moltes coses _____
Soacuten les onze _____
Tant eacutes _____
Gragravecies maco _____
NURIA Quina hora eacutesJOSEP Soacuten les tresNURIA Que tard No eacutes possible Avui vull fer moltes coses
Va quina hora eacutes
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JOSEP Soacuten les onzeNURIA Ah Gragravecies maco Vols anar a esmorzar a la
RamblaJOSEP Siacute perograve si no marxem aviat potser dinar en lloc
drsquoesmorzarNURIA Esmorzar dinar berenar sopar Tant eacutes Podem
passar tot el dia a la RamblaJOSEP Perograve no dius que vols fer moltes cosesNURIA Siacute perograve eacutes que a la Rambla hi pots fer de tot
Vocabulary
lrsquohora (f) hour timeque tard how latetard lateavui todaymarxar to leavela cosa thingmaco -a sweetheart nice goodaviat soon earlypotser maybe perhapsen lloc de instead oftant eacutes it doesnrsquot matterpassar to spend passel dia dayfer de tot to do anythingeverything
Culture note
La Rambla
La Rambla is the world-famous boulevard that links the centre ofBarcelona with the sea It is celebrated for its cafeacutes shops flowerstalls restaurants and above all as a focal point for locals andtourists alike It comprises several sections la Rambla dels Estudisla Rambla de les Flors la Rambla dels Caputxins and la Ramblade Santa Mogravenica This explains the use of the plural les Rambleswhich is also often used (lsquolas Ramblasrsquo in Spanish) A stroll downthe Ramblas offers a variety of experiences two of which arereferred to in the next dialogue being entertained by street
84
performances in this case a mime group and the opportunity tovisit a traditional and very lively market el Mercat de la Boqueria
Language points
Useful expressions
bull Tant eacutes = it doesnrsquot matterit is not important A commonalternative would be no importa
bull No eacutes possible = itrsquos not possible
The main meals of the day
lrsquoesmorzar (m) breakfastel dinar lunchel berenar afternoon snack afternoon teael sopar evening meal
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85
Note that they are all verbs as well as can be seen in theseexamples
Sempre esmorzo al bar Zurich(= I always have breakfast at Zurichrsquos)
la Maria dina molt tard(= Maria has lunch late)
As in previous units you may wish to turn to the Language builderas you work through in order to complement points discussed
The present tense fer lsquoto dorsquolsquoto makersquo
The verb fer is an often used irregular verb It appears here in theinfinitive In the next dialogue it appears in the present tense whichis as follows
faig fas fa fem feu fan
Asking and telling the time 1 the hours
The basic formula for asking and telling the time is as we hear inthis dialogue quina hora eacutes Soacuten les tres (= what time is it It isthree orsquoclock) Note that hora is feminine and therefore the femi-nine article is used here because it refers to the feminine plural les hores For the same reason lsquoit is two orsquoclockrsquo is soacuten les duesthe feminine form of dos In the case of lsquoit is one orsquoclockrsquo = eacutes launa the verb is not soacuten but the singular eacutes
Hi used for emphasis
Notice how hi is used in a la Rambla hi pots fer de tot referringback to a la Rambla for greater emphasis This is a particularfeature of the spoken language
86
Exercise 1
Following the model in the example write out the times givenbelow
1 Quina hora eacutes 600 Soacuten les sis2 1100 ___________3 900 ___________4 400 ___________5 100 ___________
Dialogue 2
Josep and Nuacuteria stroll down the Ramblas
Activity 1
1 The two speakers mention one meal Which meal is it
2 There are many mentions of specific times What are they
discussing
Activity 2
Put these new words in the order you hear them in the dialogue
grup de mim _____
tancar _____
tranquilmiddotlament _____
la llibreria _____
ogravendia _____
vols entrar-hi _____
lrsquohorari _____
NURIA Aquest eacutes el Mercat de la Boqueria Vols entrar-hiJOSEP No ara no podem tornar aquesta tarda a comprar-hi
el sopar Ara eacutes millor passejar tranquilmiddotlament Quinhorari fan
NURIA Em sembla que obren a les vuit i tanquen a les cincJOSEP I les llibreries quin horari fan a BarcelonaNURIA Depegraven Hi ha llibreries que obren tot el dia Perograve
algunes tanquen al migdia Generalment al matiacuteobren a les nou i tanquen a la una i a la tarda obrena les quatre i tanquen a les vuit
JOSEP Mira aquest grup de mim
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87
NURIA Quegrave fanJOSEP No ho seacute Perograve mira mira coneixes aquesta noiaNURIA NoJOSEP Segur que noNURIA A veure Ogravendia Perograve si eacutes la meva germana
Vocabulary
entrar to go intornar to return to come back to do something againcomprar to buypassejar to strolltranquilmiddotlament leisurelylrsquohorari (m) opening hoursem sembla I think it seems to meobrir to opentancar to closela llibreria bookshopdepegraven it dependsalguns -unes someel grup de mim (group of) mime artistsno ho seacute I donrsquot know (it)conegraveixer to know (people) be acquainted withnoi -a boy girlsegur sureogravendia gosh crikey wow etc
Language points
Useful expressions
The last two lines of the dialogue when Nuacuteria realises her sister isone of the members of the mime group have an idiomatic flavourwith several colloquial expressions Segur que no (= (Are you)sure (that you do) not) Ogravendia is an exclamation expressing admi-ration or surprise
Perograve si does not translate literally as lsquobut ifrsquo which is themeaning of the two words Instead the combination is used with two meanings
88
1 To express mild protest as we heard in Dialogue 1 perograve si nomarxem aviat (= but unless we get going soon) Or in a sentencelike perograve si jo no he fet res (= but I havenrsquot done anything)
2 To express surprise in sentences such as perograve si eacutes la mevagermana in this dialogue
Adverbs ending in -ment lsquo-lyrsquo
There is quite a close correspondence between the way in whichEnglish forms adverbs by adding lsquo lyrsquo and the Catalan systemwhich is to add -ment to the feminine form of the adjective In thedialogue we hear tranquilmiddotlament from tranquilmiddotla the feminineform of tranquil Other examples ragravepid rarr ragravepida rarr ragravepidamentexacte rarr exacta rarr exactament preciacutes rarr precisa rarr precisamentetc
Present tense obrir lsquoto openrsquo and tancarlsquoto closersquo
Obrir and tancar illustrate important aspects of the way Catalanverbs work In Unit 2 we saw that most regular verbs end in -arTancar belongs to this group In the spoken language this verb iscompletely regular However there is a spelling change in thewritten form
tanco tanques tanca tanquem tanqueu tanquen
A few verbs behave like this the spelling change (in this case c toqu) is necessary in order to preserve the same k sound throughoutthe conjugation of the verb Obrir is an example of the verbs withthe infinitive ending in -ir the small group of verbs known as thethird conjugation many of which have minor irregularities
obro obres obre obrim obriu obren
Asking and telling the time 2 opening hours
Quin horari fan is a good way of asking about opening hoursComplementary questions are a quina hora obren (= at what time
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89
do they open) and a quina hora tanquen (= at what time do theyclose) Note how the preposition a plays an important part in theseconstructions usually corresponding to the English lsquoatrsquo obren a lesvuit tanquen al migdia a la tarda obren a les quatre etc Anotheruseful preposition is de in expressions like les quatre de la tardales deu del matiacute For the names given to the different parts of theday look at the Language builder at the end of this unit
Exercise 2
Following the example write the following opening and closingtimes in full
Pregunta Obren Tanquen
1 Quin horari fan a la farmagravecia 900 1300Resposta Obren a les nou del matiacute i
tanquen a la una del migdia
2 A quina hora obren el supermercat 800Resposta _______________________
3 A quina hora tanquen el supermercat 2300Resposta _______________________
4 Quin horari fan al videoclub 1000 2100Resposta _______________________
5 Quin horari fan a la llibreria 1600 2000Resposta _______________________
6 Quin horari fan a la gasolinera 500 2200Resposta _______________________
7 Quin horari fan a la discoteca 2400 600Resposta _______________________
Exercise 3
Listen to the sentences on the audio deciding if they contain wordsor phrases belonging to the following four categories Somesentences may have more than one type of word or phrase The firstone has been filled in for you
A Time expressions
B Exclamationsquestions
C Adverbs in -ment
D Meals
90
A B C D
1
2 _____ ______ _____ ______
3 _____ ______ _____ ______
4 _____ ______ _____ ______
5 _____ ______ _____ ______
6 _____ ______ _____ ______
7 _____ ______ _____ ______
8 _____ ______ _____ ______
9 _____ ______ _____ ______
10 _____ ______ _____ ______
11 _____ ______ _____ ______
12 _____ ______ _____ ______
Dialogue 3
Nuacuteria makes arrangements to go out with her friend Liam
bull Decide which verb forms you hear in the dialogue
1 vull vols vol
2 surto surts surt
3 sopo sopes sopa
4 dormo dorms dormir
NURIA Quin vespre vols sortir la setmana que veLIAM El dilluns i el dimarts surto molt tard de la feina Quegrave
et sembla dimecresNURIA Impossible sopo amb els meus pares DijousLIAM Siacute vinga dijous A quina horaNURIA A dos quarts de deuLIAM Millor una mica meacutes aviat no vull anar a dormir molt
tardNURIA Doncs a un quart de deuLIAM Drsquoacord Fins dijous a un quart de deu A la Font de
CanaletesNURIA Siacute eacutes clar com sempre
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91
Vocabulary
el vespre eveningla setmana que ve next weekla feina work jobimpossible impossibleels pares parentsdormir to sleepdrsquoacord agreed OK finecom sempre as always as usual
Language points
Useful expressions
Vinga is another example of the frequent use of exclamations andinterjections which are such an important feature of colloquialCatalan They are often difficult to translate In this case it meanslsquothatrsquos decidedrsquo lsquoagreed thenrsquo It is often used to express encour-agement lsquoletrsquos do it thenrsquo Sometimes it is even used as an informalway of saying lsquogoodbyersquo
92
Drsquoacord is the standard way of expressing agreement La Fontde Canaletes is a popular meeting point at the beginning of theRamblas in placcedila Catalunya Legend has it that visitors who drinkfrom the fountain will return to Barcelona
In the previous dialogue we came across em sembla meaninglsquoI thinkrsquolsquoIt seems to mersquo We now hear it as a question quegrave etsembla dimecres (= what does Wednesday seem like to youWhat(do you think) about Wednesday)
The days of the week (els dies de la setmana)
Refer to the Language builder at the end of this unit for the listNote that the article el is used to perform the function of lsquoonrsquo inEnglish el dilluns surto molt tard de la feina (= on Monday(s) Ileave work very late)
The present tense sortir lsquoto go outrsquo
Sortir is used here with its two main meanings In the first questionit means lsquoto go outrsquo whilst in the answer it is used to mean lsquoto leaversquolsquoto finish workrsquo It is also a third conjugation verb like obrir and itsendings are a good example of the endings characteristic of thisgroup
surt -o sort -imsurt -s sort -iusurt (no ending) surt -en
The spelling change (in this case sort to surt) does not change theway the different forms are pronounced the stem is always surt asyou can hear in the dialogue
Asking and telling the time 3 counting in quarters
There are several ways of telling the time in Catalan The simplestway is the lsquointernational methodrsquo simply stating the hour and theminutes For example soacuten les deu vint-i-cinc soacuten les onze quaranta
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
93
When using this method common for example with railway timeta-bles speakers sometimes link the hours and minutes with i and alsosometimes add the word minuts for example soacuten les deu i vint-i-cinc minuts
If you find any of the explanations below difficult it is useful toknow that you can always resort to this method However when itcomes to understanding others telling the time you are going tohear a variety of expressions which you should at least be able tounderstand There are two such expressions in this dialogue whichuse the traditional way of telling the time based on counting thequarters to the next hour
Consider the following examples
Eacutes un quart de deu = 915 (literally one quarter of ten)Soacuten dos quarts de deu = 930 (literally two quarters of ten)Soacuten tres quarts de deu = 945 (literally three quarters of ten)
Exercise 4
Here is an opportunity to practise the mental arithmetic necessaryto count in quarters Listen to the audio and write down the timesyou hear
1 ___________2 ___________3 ___________4 ___________5 ___________6 ___________
Exercise 5
Using the same method write the following times in full in Catalan
1 315 ______________________________________________2 1130 ______________________________________________3 445 ______________________________________________4 1030 ______________________________________________5 615 ______________________________________________6 245 ______________________________________________7 130 ______________________________________________
94
Dialogue 4
Liam asks in the street if there is a chemistrsquos nearby
1 Why is the farmagravecia closed
2 What time is it
LIAM Perdoni Que hi ha una farmagravecia en aquest barriDONA Siacute a la cantonada Perograve no eacutes oberta eacutes lrsquohora de dinarLIAM I sap a quina hora obrenDONA Siacute a les cincLIAM Gragravecies I perdoni Quina hora eacutes araDONA Soacuten dos quarts de cincLIAM Dos quarts de cincDONA Beacute entre dos i tres quarts O sigui dos quarts i mig de
cincLIAM Ho sento perograve no lrsquoentenc Quina hora diu Les quatre
trentaDONA Siacute home perograve meacutes exactament les quatre i trenta-set o
trenta-vuit minuts
Vocabulary
en inobert -a opentancat -ada closedentendre to understando sigui that is (to say)meacutes exactament more preciselyexactly
Language points
Useful expressions
No lrsquoentenc (= I do not understand you) Notice here that el(lrsquo before a vowel) is the object pronoun corresponding to lsquohimrsquolsquoherrsquolsquoitrsquo This pronoun appears here because the vostegrave form of
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
95
address is being used If the familiar tu form of address were beingused the speaker would say no trsquoentenc
Asking and telling the time 4 alternativeways
Liamrsquos problem in this exchange is that he is not used to the systemof counting in quarters especially when as is the case here thequarter is subdivided The woman says entre dos i tres quarts(= between two and three quarters) and then adds dos quarts i migde cinc (= two quarters and a half towards five (15 + 15 + 75) =about 2223 minutes to five)
Minor misunderstandings are not uncommon It appears thatcounting in quarters is easier for those who are used to looking atthe conventional clock dial The traditional method probably orig-inated with the very approximate way the time used to be referredto when time keeping was a more relaxed affair The only way ofknowing the time when working in the fields and unable to see thechurch clock or sundial was to listen out for the bells striking thehour and quarter chimes
Time past the hour
Telling the time past the hour is very easily expressed simply addminutes to the hours with i For example soacuten les cinc i deu Soacuten lescinc i tres minuts Soacuten les cinc i vint
When it comes to soacuten les cinc i trenta (530) many speakersprefer to say soacuten les cinc i mitja (mig mitja = half) If using thetraditional method you can also add minutes to the quartersConsider the following examples
Eacutes un quart i cinc de set (620)Soacuten tres quarts i cinc de set (650)Soacuten dos quarts i deu de set (640)
Mig is also used in the traditional way See if you can make out themeaning of the last sentence on the audio in Exercise 6
96
Exercise 6
Write the following times in full in Catalan The first one has beendone for you
1 703 Soacuten les set i tres minuts
2 812 _______________________________________
3 217 _______________________________________
4 335 _______________________________________
5 850 _______________________________________
6 722723 _______________________________________
Time to the hour
Time to can be expressed in two different ways using falten peror with menys In the first case falten replaces soacuteneacutes This can beexpressed in relation to the hours or to the quarters Consider thefollowing examples
Falten deu minuts per les onze (1050)Falten cinc minuts per dos quarts de dues (125)Soacuten dos quarts menys cinc de dues (125)Soacuten les deu menys vint (940)
The combination of falten per with the counting in quarters isthe traditional way
Exercise 7
Write the following times in full in Catalan The first one has beendone for you
1 1150 Falten deu minuts per les dotze
2 955 _______________________________________
3 1227 _______________________________________
4 1240 _______________________________________
5 750 _______________________________________
6 525 _______________________________________
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97
Exercise 8
Translate the following sentences
1 Today we want to do a lot of things
2 We always have lunch at two orsquoclock
3 What are your opening hours (What is your timetable) (use vostegrave)
4 At what time do you close (use vostegrave)
5 We open at four orsquoclock and we close at eight orsquoclock
6 On Wednesday and Thursday he leaves work very late
7 On Sunday we go out
8 I donrsquot understand Can you speak more slowly please What time are you saying exactly (use vostegrave)
Exercise 9
Now take part in this conversation with Josep (use tu)
JOSEP Quegrave vols ferYOU Say I want to go for a walkJOSEP Em sembla beacute Anem a la Rambla Vull anar a una
llibreria que hi ha a la RamblaYOU Say OK Ask And what do you want to do this eveningJOSEP Vull sortir a sopar amb la Nuacuteria Vols venirYOU Say Yes at what timeJOSEP A quarts de dotzeYOU Say I donrsquot understand you What time do you sayJOSEP Entre un quart i tres quarts de dotze o meacutes fagravecil entre
les onze i les dotzeYOU Say Wow how late
98
Exercise 10
First read this message sent by Teresa Then listen to what Teresasays on the audio and compare the two accounts There are nineimportant differences Can you identify them
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
99
VINT-I-QUATRE HORES A LA RAMBLA
Hola Com estagraves Em dic Teresa i de cognom Amador soacutec lagermana de la Nuacuteria visc al carrer Ample a dos minuts de laRambla Tinc un grup de mim amb dos amics el Joan i la RosiEll eacutes de Lleida una ciutat de lrsquointerior de Catalunya i ella eacutesargentina de Mendoza El grup va molt beacute Generalmentcomencem a actuar a les onze del matiacute perquegrave eacutes quan hi hameacutes turistes i fem dues o tres hores Anem a dinar a unrestaurant i despreacutes de dinar jo vaig a casa a descansar unamica Al vespre fem quatre o cinc hores el clima eacutes meacutesagradable i la gent eacutes meacutes interessant A la nit jo passejotranquilmiddotlament per la Rambla hi tinc molts amics i amigues isempre hi ha coses interessants per fer Vaig a dormir a lestres o les quatre de la matinada perograve a la Rambla encara hi haanimacioacute Em sembla que a la Rambla hi ha vida les vint-i-quatre hores del dia Lrsquouacutenic dia que no soacutec a la Rambla eacutes eldiumenge perquegrave vaig a casa de la meva mare Ella no volvenir a la Rambla diu que eacutes caogravetica i molt estressant
Una abraccedilada
Teresa
Language builder
Greetings (les salutacions)
hola hellobon dia good morningbona tarda good afternoonbona nit good nightfins aviat see you soonfins ara see you soonfins despreacutes see you latera reveure see you againadeacuteu goodbyepassi-ho beacute goodbye (formal)que vagi beacute have a good time
Parts of the day (les parts del dia)
el dia dayla matinada early morningel matiacute morningel migdia middayla tarda afternoonel vespre eveningla nit night
Before and after
abans beforedespreacutes afterahir yesterdayavui todaydemagrave tomorrowla setmana passada last weekla setmana que ve next weeklrsquoany passat last yearlrsquoany que ve next year
Meals (els menjarsels agravepats)
lrsquoesmorzar breakfastel dinar lunchel berenar afternoon snackel sopar evening meal
100
Days of the week (els dies de la setmana)
dilluns Mondaydimarts Tuesdaydimecres Wednesdaydijous Thursdaydivendres Fridaydissabte Saturdaydiumenge Sunday
Months (el mes els mesos)
gener juliolfebrer agostmarccedil setembreabril octubremaig novembrejuny desembre
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101
10 Al Mercat de la BoqueriaAt the Boqueria fresh food market
In this unit you will learn about
bull Buying and asking for thingsbull Understanding weights and pricesbull Expressing likes dislikes and opinionsbull Revising the use of adjectivesbull The pronoun libull The use of res
bull The use of en
bull Object pronouns
Dialogue 1
Mireia and Vicent arrive at the Boqueria fresh food market with theirshopping list
bull Can you identify which shop Mireia wants to go to first
MIREIA Tens la llistaVICENT Siacute primer la pastisseria despreacutes la peixateria i final-
ment la carnisseriaMIREIA No jo vull anar a la verduleriaVICENT Per quegraveMIREIA Perquegrave vull comprar fruitaVICENT Drsquoacord A quina anemMIREIA LrsquoEnriqueta teacute la millor fruita
VICENT Tambeacute eacutes meacutes caraMIREIA Nomeacutes una mica I algunes coses soacuten meacutes barates
Vocabulary
la llista listla pastisseria cake shop bakerydespreacutes after thenla peixateria fishmongerrsquosfinalment finallyla carnisseria butcherrsquosla verduleria greengrocerrsquosla fruita fruitcar -a expensivebarat -a cheap
Culture note
El Mercat de la Boqueria
There are over forty fresh food markets in Barcelona one in everybarri all in covered halls The most spectacular is la BoqueriaThey are not only full of opportunities for the discerning shopperbut they are also an ideal environment for the study of localcustoms and social conventions However as in other major citiessupermarkets (els supermercats) and department stores (els gransmagatzems) are playing an increasingly important role The generalterm (els) centres comercials covers most of the modern types ofshopping complexes
Botiga is the general word for a traditional lsquoshoprsquo It is often usedto name shops la botiga de verdures (= the greengrocerrsquos) la botigade comestibles (= the grocerrsquos) la botiga de roba (= the clothesshop) etc The pastisseria sells mainly cakes pastries confectioneryand some bread The main place to buy bread is the forn (orlsquobakeryrsquo proper) Bread is still part of most peoplersquos staple diet andbecause of its importance the price is standardised across SpainThe main units are les barres de quart de mig de quilo (white stickloaves of 250g 500g and 1000g)
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103
Language points
Useful expression
Per quegrave (= why) and perquegrave (= because) have slightly differentwritten forms which reflect the slight difference in intonation
Adjectives 4
This dialogue involves descriptions and so it is worth revising herethe importance of the adjectivendashnoun agreement in Catalan Payspecial attention to the way cara agrees with fruita (or Enriqueta)and barates with coses You are already familiar with how to formplurals
Exercise 1
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate form of theadjectives in brackets The first one has been done for you
1 La verduleria de lrsquoEnriqueta eacutes cara (car)2 La fruita del Ramon eacutes _____ (barat)3 El restaurant que hi ha a la Boqueria eacutes molt _____ (barat)4 La carnisseria i la peixateria del Mercat de Sant Antoni soacuten
molt _____ (barat)5 El bar i el restaurant de lrsquohotel soacuten _____ (car)6 Hi ha botigues _____ (car) amb roba molt _____ (bo bona)
que tenen sempre un producte en oferta especial que eacutes molt_____ (barat)
7 Els centres comercials i les botigues de la Diagonal soacuten molt_____ (car)
Dialogue 2
Vicent at the greengrocerrsquos
DEPENDENT Qui eacutes araVICENT JoDEPENDENT Quegrave li posoVICENT Un quilo drsquoaquestes pomes
104
DEPENDENT Alguna cosa meacutesVICENT Siacute teacute figues Voldria mig quilo de figuesDEPENDENT Siacute un moment Passa una mica del mig quilo Li
estagrave beacuteVICENT No nomeacutes en vull mig quiloDEPENDENT Un moment ai doncs ara falta una mica pel mig
quiloVICENT Eacutes igual ja estagrave beacuteDEPENDENT Tingui Quegrave meacutesVICENT Res meacutes Gragravecies
Vocabulary
dependent -a shop assistantqui whoposar to put to serve to givequilo(gram) kilo(gram)la poma applela figa figpassar to exceed to go overvoldria I would liketingui here you are
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105
Culture note
Shopping etiquette
Catalans are less given to standing in queues than some othernationalities The normal procedure on entering a shop if busy isto ask the other customers who was the last to come in with thequestion qui eacutes lrsquouacuteltim (as illustrated in the next dialogue) or qui eacutes lrsquouacuteltima as appropriate In this way you know when it willbe your turn The shopkeeper after serving one customer will ask who the next to be served is with the question qui eacutes ara (= who is it now) as in the opening sentence of this dialogueLarge shops tend to replace this traditional system with the issue of numbers
Language points
Useful expressions
Voldria is a polite alternative to vull and a common way ofexpressing requests When giving something to somebody tingui isa polite way of accompanying a gesture (it is the vostegrave form of thecommand form of tenir)
Eacutes igual like tant eacutes in the previous unit is a way of saying lsquoitdoesnrsquot matterrsquo Ja estagrave beacute means lsquothatrsquos OKrsquo
Passar and faltar which we have seen in the previous unit in rela-tion to time are used here to indicate that the weight is either moreor less than requested
Passa una mica de mig quilo means lsquoit is just over half a kilorsquoAra falta una mica means that lsquonow it is a little bit underrsquo
Weak pronouns 3 the indirect object pronoun li
In lsquoWeak pronouns 1rsquo you learnt that an l sound immediatelybefore or after a verb is likely to be a third person pronoun Limeans lsquoto himrsquo lsquoto herrsquo or lsquoto yoursquo when using the vostegrave form asin this dialogue Unlike other pronouns its form never changesregardless of position It is an indirect object pronoun which means
106
that the person it represents benefits from the action of the verbConsider li dono euros (= I give euros to you) where euros is thedirect object the thing given and lsquoto yoursquo (li) benefits from theaction of the verb lsquoto giversquo So quegrave li poso means lsquowhat do Iputserve (to) yoursquo This phrase is one of several ways shopkeepershave of initiating a conversation with a customer In everydayspeech it would be equivalent to expressions like lsquocan I help yoursquo
Another interesting pronoun used in this dialogue is en whichwill be discussed in more detail in the next dialogue Here thesentence en vull mig quilo means lsquoI want half a kilo (of figs)rsquo Soen replaces the word lsquofigsrsquo
The use of res
After each item is passed on to the customer the shopkeeper asksalguna cosa meacutes (= anything else) or simply quegrave meacutes until thecustomer runs out of items and says res meacutes (= nothing else) Wehave heard res earlier combined with de in de res meaning lsquofornothingrsquo or lsquodonrsquot mention itrsquo as the usual response to gragravecies Herein res meacutes it combines with meacutes to mean lsquonothing morersquo or lsquonothingelsersquo again a standard response to indicate that the order iscomplete
The basic meaning of res is lsquothingrsquo but it has come to be usedmainly in negative statements for example no no vull res (= no I donrsquot want anything) and in no res which means exactly lsquono thingrsquoIn some expressions however no is implied as in res meacutes whenpronounced as a reply as in this dialogue Pronounced as a ques-tion however res meacutes means lsquoanything elsersquo We see thereforethat the meaning of lsquothingrsquo is still preserved Other examples arevols res (= do you want anything) li falta res meacutes (= do youneedlack anything else)
Exercise 2
Match the questions on the left to the answers on the right
1 Qui eacutes lrsquouacuteltim a Posirsquom mig quilo de sardines2 Alguna cosa meacutes b No en tinc ho sento3 A quina botiga anem ara c Perquegrave vull comprar
croissants i una coca ambsucre
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107
4 Teacute enciam d Soacutec jo5 Quegrave li poso e Jo vull anar a la peixateria6 Per quegrave vols anar a la f Siacute tambeacute voldria tres quilos
pastisseria de patates
Dialogue 3
Mireia goes into the grocerrsquos asks for her place in the queue and aftera short wait is served
MIREIA Hola bona tarda Qui eacutes lrsquouacuteltimHOME Soacutec joMIREIA GragraveciesHOME De res
DEPENDENT Qui eacutes araMIREIA Jo Posirsquom pernilDEPENDENT Quant en volMIREIA Vuit tallsDEPENDENT Quegrave meacutesMIREIA Que teacute formatge de cabraDEPENDENT Siacute en tinc de Menorca i del PirineuMIREIA Quant val el de MenorcaDEPENDENT El de Menorca val quatre vuitanta i el del Pirineu val
tres seixantaMIREIA El de Menorca mrsquoagrada meacutesDEPENDENT Quant en volMIREIA Posi-mersquon quatre-cents gramsDEPENDENT Alguna cosa meacutesMIREIA No gragraveciesDEPENDENT Soacuten nou euros del pernil i dos amb trenta del
formatge en total onze trentaMIREIA TinguiDEPENDENT Moltes gragraveciesMIREIA Passi-ho beacuteDEPENDENT Adeacuteu
Vocabulary
el pernil cured hamel tall slice
108
el formatge cheesela cabra goatquant val how much is itmrsquoagrada I like
Language points
Useful expressions
Quant val is the standard way of asking the price of somethingNote that the verb will have to change if it refers to more than oneitem quant val el paquet de cafegrave but quant valen les ampolles dellet There are alternative ways of asking the price For items thathave a price that changes regularly as is often the case in a marketstall it is frequent to hear a quant vavan (= how much is itarethey going for) For example a quant va la sardina a quant vanles pomes
El de is a construction that cannot be translated literally inEnglish El de Menorcael del Pirineu mean lsquothe one from Menorcathe one from the Pyreneesrsquo
Passi-ho beacute is a formal way of saying adeacuteu Note that unlikeEnglish speakers who tend to say hello when passing people theyknow in the street Catalan speakers will tend spontaneously to saygoodbye (adeacuteu or passi-ho beacute and not hola)
Weak pronouns 4 command forms with an indirect object pronoun
As you learnt in lsquoWeak pronouns 1rsquo an m sound immediatelybefore or after the verb is the form corresponding to lsquomersquo inEnglish Four possibilities (mrsquo em -me rsquom) were mentioned In thisdialogue we see rsquom used as an indirect object pronoun in the phraseposirsquom often used by a customer in shopping situations This phrasecorresponds to the formality of using the vostegrave form and indicatesa polite request or command Therefore posirsquom pernil means lsquocouldI have some hamrsquo (literally lsquoserve ham to mersquo where we see thatlsquohamrsquo is the direct object and lsquoto mersquo the indirect
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109
This short statement contains several grammatical points whichmay be listed
1 Posi is a verb in the vostegrave command form2 In commands any pronouns are attached after the verb rsquom is the
object pronoun me in the form it takes when immediatelypreceded by a vowel
3 There is no single word equivalent to lsquosomersquo in Catalan whenasking for things like lsquosome hamrsquo or lsquosome cheesersquo
Weak pronouns 5 the use of en
As you have observed earlier hi is used in Catalan as an econom-ical device to refer to a place already mentioned There is anotherweak pronoun ndash en ndash which works in a similar way The differenceis that en refers to things already mentioned as we hear in thedialogue
HOME Posirsquom pernilDEPENDENT Quant en volHOME Vuit talls
It contains the idea of lsquoof itrsquo and does not translate easily intoEnglish The question quant en vol means lsquoHow much do youwantrsquo (literally lsquoHow much of it (the ham) do you wantrsquo)
In this dialogue we also hear how Mireia says posi-mersquon quatre-cents grams En here follows posirsquom to produce what in speech isclearly recognisable as pogravesimen This appears in the writtenlanguage as posi-mersquon When two weak pronouns are in contact ifa change in the spelling is necessary it is the second pronoun thatchanges form Therefore according to this spelling convention enis reduced to rsquon
Contrasting the direct and indirect objects
We have referred several times to indirect and direct objects adistinction which is very useful in Catalan when you make yourchoice of pronouns In the language point above we saw a sentencein which the distinction was clear lsquoserve ham to mersquo As explainedearlier the direct object has the action performed on it the
110
indirect object receives the benefit Consider further examplesinvolving pronouns First with an indirect function in em regala(= heshe gives me (a present for example)) and mrsquoagrada(= (something) is pleasing to me) and second as a direct object emmira (= heshe looks at me) mrsquoestima (= heshe loves me)
Exercise 3
Decide if the underlined words in the sentences below are the director indirect object
1 El Joan et compra una cagravemera digital2 La Maria compra un cotxe per la seva mare3 Us portarem a Valls en cotxe4 Mrsquoagrada la muacutesica nigeriana5 No els visito sovint6 LrsquoEnric em regala una tele7 Li compro una bicicleta
Contrasting que and quegrave
As we have seen earlier Que is frequently used to introducesimple questions Note the difference of pronunciation and meaningwith Quegrave The contrast is clearly shown in the dialogue Quegravemeacutes (= What else) and Que teacute formatge de cabra (= Do youhave any goatrsquos cheese)
Exercise 4
Decide if quegrave or que is used in the questions you can hear on theaudio Tick your answers in the column provided
Que Quegrave
1 ________ ________2 ________ ________3 ________ ________4 ________ ________5 ________ ________6 ________ ________7 ________ ________8 ________ ________
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111
Exercise 5
You are in a xarcuteria (delicatessen specialising in coldcuredmeats and cheeses) Read this dialogue and decide which word eachuse of en refers back to
CLIENT Teacute pernilXARCUTER No en (1) tinc Vol xoriccedilo En (2) tinc de molt bo
drsquoAndalusia Que el vol provar (= Would you like totaste it)
CLIENT Posi-mersquon (3) Eacutes molt bo siacute senyor Molt beacute doncsen vull (4) cent grams
XARCUTER I tinc botifarra En (5) tinc de blanca i de negraCLIENT Quegrave eacutes la botifarraXARCUTER Vostegrave eacutes anglegraves Doncs eacutes una mica com el lsquoblack
puddingrsquo Tambeacute eacutes un producte de porc En (6)venem (from vendre = to sell) molta Eacutes una espe-cialitat de la casa Que en (7) vol Al poble els paresen (8) fan tots els anys abans de Nadal
Exercise 6
Fill in the gaps with the missing words in the box Use each optiononly once
DEPENDENT Qui eacutes araCLIENT Jo _____ preu tenen aquelles pomes vermellesDEPENDENT Un amb cinquantaCLIENT _____ dos quilosDEPENDENT _____ meacutesCLIENT _____ teacute formatge drsquoAndorraDEPENDENT Siacute Quant _____ volCLIENT Quatre-cents gramsDEPENDENT _____ cosa meacutesCLIENT No _____ gragravecies
que alguna res meacutes quin en
posi-mersquon quegrave
112
Exercise 7
Write down what each person buys and the price paid in each ofthe conversations on the audio
Item Cost
1 1 kg of pears 135euro2 _______________ ______3 _______________ ______4 _______________ ______5 _______________ ______6 _______________ ______
Exercise 8
Your Catalan friend has given you a shopping list You now go tothe local botiga de comestibles Here is your shopping list
DEPENDENT Qui eacutes araYOU Say It is my turnDEPENDENT Quegrave li posoYOU Ask for items 1 and 2DEPENDENT Alguna cosa meacutesYOU Ask for item 3DEPENDENT Alguna cosa meacutesYOU Ask for items 4 and 5
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113
1 cafegrave 1 paquet
2 patates fregides 1 bossa
3 llet 1 ampolla
4 mandarines 1 kg
5 meloacute petit 12 kg
6 calamars 34 kg
DEPENDENT Quegrave meacutesYOU Say Yes and ask for item 6DEPENDENT Ho sento no venem calamars Vagi a la peixateriaYOU Ask Where is the fishmongerrsquosDEPENDENT Sap on eacutes lrsquoHotel MiramarYOU Say Yes at the end of the road on the left-hand side
near the squareDEPENDENT Exactament Vinga fins aviat Ai un moment que
li cobro
Language builder
Quines botigues hi ha per aquiacute What shops are there around here
On puc comprar postals i segells Where can I buy postcards and stamps
A lrsquoestanc At the tobacconistOn eacutes lrsquoestanc meacutes proper Where is the nearest
tobacconiststationerrsquos
la pastisseria confectionerrsquos (pacirctisserie)la peixateria fishmongerrsquosla carnisseria butcherrsquosla ferreteria ironmongerrsquoslrsquoestanc (m) tobacconist and stationerrsquos
un litre a litredos-cents grams 200 gramsun tros a pieceuna dotzena a dozenun parell a couple
una ampolla a bottleun paquet a packetuna bossa a bag
114
11 Com els volHow do you like them
In this unit you will learn about
bull Indicating preferencebull Expressing likes dislikes and opinionsbull Pa amb tomagravequet and paella
bull The verb agradar lsquoto likersquobull Expressing opinions with semblar
bull Using jabull The perfect tense
Dialogue 1
At the greengrocerrsquos Vicent is busy choosing very ripe tomatoes tomake pa amb tomagravequet (see below) and greener tomatoes to makea salad with
DEPENDENT Com vol els tomagravequetsVICENT En teacute de molt madurs per fer pa amb tomagravequetDEPENDENT Miri aquests soacuten molt madursVICENT I per amanirDEPENDENT Com li agradenVICENT Mrsquoagraden meacutes aviat verds Aquells grossos que hi ha
al costat dels melonsDEPENDENT Tingui Alguna cosa meacutesVICENT No gragravecies
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Vocabulary
el tomagravequet tomatomadur -a ripeel pa breadmiri formal of mira (lsquolookrsquo)amanir to dress to seasonmeacutes aviat rather sooneraquell -a that one (over there)gros grossa big largeal costat de next toel meloacute melonpassi-ho beacute goodbye
Culture notes
Pa amb tomagravequet
In his guide to Barcelona Miles Turner writes under the headingpa amb tomagravequet lsquothe essence of Catalonia fishermen have it for breakfast housewives eat it mid-morning returning from a boutof shopping in the mercat with a loaf of bread in hand and a bag of ripe tomatoes bursting with juice and flavour Tapas bars serve sophisticated versions of it topped with strips of anchoviescapers artichoke hearts and translucent slivers of mountain hamrsquo(Paupersrsquo Barcelona London 1992) Originally a way of recyclingdried-up bread it is a very simple recipe The basic ingredients are French-style bread ripe flavourful tomatoes olive oil and salt(oli drsquooliva i sal) The tomato is cut in half and rubbed against thebread then oil and salt are added As indicated in the quote it isusually served with a variety of delicatessen-type foods
Language points
Expressing likes and dislikes 1
1 Agradar is the verb most frequently used to express likes anddislikes It does not correspond exactly to the English lsquoto likersquoits essential meaning is lsquoto pleasersquolsquoto be agreeablersquo
116
2 Because agradar means lsquoto pleasersquo its form will vary accordingto whether what is liked is singular or plural
Mrsquoagrada la paella (= paella pleases meI like paella)Mrsquoagraden les roses (= roses please meI like roses)
This point is also illustrated in the dialogue Consider the twosentences
El (formatge) de Menorca mrsquoagrada (= Menorcan cheese pleases meI like Menorcan cheese)
Mrsquoagraden (els tomagravequets) verds (= Green tomatoes please meI like green tomatoes)
3 To express dislike simply add no to the beginning of the state-ment Examples no mrsquoagrada la carn (= I donrsquot like meat) no mrsquoagraden les verdures (= I donrsquot like greens)
The use of en with de
A small point in relation to the use of en is illustrated in the firstresponse of the customer when asked how she wants the tomatoesShe says en teacute de molt madurs per fer pa amb tomagravequet Theelement in the sentence already represented by en is preceded byde Another example is when Vicent says vull pernil i formatge andthe shop assistant responds quant en vol de pernil
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences with either mrsquoagrada or mrsquoagraden
1 Els melons de Valegravencia _____ molt2 Soacutec artista _____ lrsquoart modern Daliacute i Picasso _____ molt3 El pernil _____ perograve soacutec vegetariagrave4 Generalment el cinema americagrave no _____ perograve hi ha directors
americans que _____5 Formatge de Franccedila o de Siciacutelia _____ meacutes el de Siciacutelia6 Els vol verds o meacutes aviat madurs ndashDoncs els vull per amanir i
_____ meacutes els verds7 _____ els programes drsquohumor de la televisioacute perograve no _____
lrsquohumor satiacuteric
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117
Dialogue 2
Mireia goes to shop at Teresarsquos her local fishmonger
bull Underline one word in each line that you hear in the dialogue
1 la paella els tomagravequets els musclos
2 les gambes els pebrots lrsquoall
3 lrsquoarrograves el peix la carn
4 la siacutepia les cebes el julivert
MIREIA Teresa a quant van els musclosTERESA A dos vintMIREIA I les gambesTERESA Ho sento perograve ja no en tinc de gambes Avui veacutens
una mica tardMIREIA Quegrave tens per posar a lrsquoarrogravesTERESA Quegrave et sembla aquesta siacutepia eacutes molt fresca i estagrave molt
beacute de preuMIREIA A quant vaTERESA Per les bones clientes com tu a dos cinquantaMIREIA Ja estagrave doncs Posarsquom mig quilo de musclos i mig de
siacutepiaTERESA Per quegrave no fas paellaMIREIA Ai siacute em sembla bona idea
Vocabulary
el musclo mussella gamba prawnlrsquoarrograves (m) ricela siacutepia cuttlefishfresc -a freshbeacute de preu reasonably pricedel preu priceel client la clienta client customerla idea idea
118
Culture note
Valencian paella
If pa amb tomagravequet has been referred to as lsquothe essence ofCataloniarsquo the same writer might have called rice lsquothe essence of Valenciarsquo However rice is an essential component of the gastro-nomic map of all the Catalan-speaking areas and not just ValenciaThe best-known dish is paella In Catalan la paella also means afrying pan In Valencia the large shallow pan in which paella is cooked is known as el paelloacute Originally paella was a creativeway of making good use of any ingredients available In part thisexplains why there are so many variations The originality andsuccess of the dish stem from the way the rice is cooked the rice isadded to the other ingredients in the pan and then the boiling wateris added and the rice is cooked so that it absorbs the flavour of allthe ingredients in the pan
As a regular customer (bona clienta) Mireia is on first nameterms with Teresa This explains the use of tu and is reflected inthe verb endings (eg posarsquom instead of posirsquom)
Language points
The uses of ja
Ja has as its basic meaning lsquoalreadyrsquo for example in ja parlo unamica de catalagrave (= I already speak a little bit of Catalan) In a nega-tive sentence it tends to mean lsquono longerrsquo lsquonot any morersquo as in thisdialogue perograve ja no en tinc de gambes (= but I no longer have anyprawns) However it is often heard in a variety of expressionswhere a literal translation of ja would be difficult for example inja estagrave doncs in this dialogue Doncs maintains its usual meaningof lsquowell thenrsquo and ja estagrave which normally means lsquoit is readyrsquo couldbe translated by lsquothatrsquos itrsquo lsquothatrsquos all I wantedrsquo
Expressing opinions with semblar 1
In earlier dialogues we have heard em sembla with the two mean-ings lsquoI thinkrsquo and lsquoit seems to mersquo You have heard two further
111123456789101112111314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041114211
119
examples in this dialogue Semblar works like agradar consider thefollowing sentences
1 Quegrave et sembla aquesta siacutepia = literally lsquoHow does this cuttle-fish seem to yoursquo but in everyday English we would say lsquoWhatdo you think of this cuttlefishrsquo
2 Em sembla bona idea = literally lsquoIt seems a good idea to mersquo orlsquoI think itrsquos a good idearsquo
In such lsquoback-to-frontrsquo verbs lsquothe thingrsquo determines the ending ofthe verb and not the person Consider
3 Quegrave et semblen aquests musclos (= How do these mussels seemto youWhat do you think of these mussels)
You might have noticed a difference between semblar and agradarSemblar is preceded by em and agradar by mrsquo This is because asindicated earlier the pronoun em (= lsquoto mersquo the indirect objectpronoun) when followed by a consonant remains in the form embut changes to mrsquo when followed by a vowel The same happenswith the second person pronoun et trsquoagrada and et sembla Noticealso the pronunciation of quegrave et in quegrave et sembla and quegrave etsemblen which is pronounced ket according to the lsquorunningtogether of vowel sounds in contactrsquo In writing quegrave like que isnever shortened
Exercise 2
Now exchange opinions about the food you have just eaten with yourfriend Frederic
FREDERIC Quegrave et sembla aquest arrogravesYOU Say I like it Ask What do you think of the musselsFREDERIC Molt bons mrsquoagraden moltYOU Ask What do you think of the cuttlefishFREDERIC Excelmiddotlent eacutes molt frescaYOU Say I like this restaurant Ask What do you think of
the restaurantFREDERIC Mrsquoagrada Mrsquoagrada molt Perograve eacutes una mica car A tu
quegrave et sembla
120
YOU Say It does not seem expensive to me It is reasonablypriced and it is very good
FREDERIC I lrsquoambient trsquoagradaYOU Say Yes I like it a lot
Dialogue 3
In this extended dialogue four friends from Sitges Andreu MontseRaisha and Blai discuss going to the cinema in Barcelona
bull Answer the following comprehension questions
1 How many screens does the new cinema have
2 What does Blai think of this type of place
3 What is Blairsquos final decision about going to the cinema
4 What do the friends think of Blai
5 What kind of film have they seen
6 What does Andreu think of the film
7 Where is the director of the film from
8 Why is Blai in the bar
9 What do Montse and Raisha do in the end Why
ANDREU Quegrave voleu fer aquest vespre Passem el vespre a Sitgeso anem a Barcelona
MONTSE Quegrave us sembla si anem al cinema a BarcelonaRAISHA A mi em sembla beacute Han obert un multisales prop de
lrsquoautopista Em sembla que teacute divuit o vint salesANDREU A mi tambeacute Mrsquohan dit que eacutes forccedila agradable i que hi
ha un bon ambientMONTSE Al Blai no li sembla beacute oi que noBLAI A mi tant me fa perograve eacutes que no mrsquoagraden aquests
espais tan moderns i grans no soacuten gens acollidors soacutenmolt comercials A meacutes a meacutes penso que eacutes meacutesimportant saber quines pelmiddotliacutecules fan no us sembla
RAISHA En fan divuit o vint Sempre en fan una o dues debones
BLAI A mi mrsquoeacutes igual Peroacute nomeacutes fan pelmiddotliacutecules comercialsi les trobo meacutes aviat avorrides Eacutes que avui ha estat undia difiacutecil ha estat un dia traumagravetic amb moltsproblemes a la feina Estic molt cansat molt cansat Joprefereixo passar el vespre a casa tranquilmiddotlament iveure quegrave fan a la tele
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121
Later Andreu Montse and Raisha discuss the film
MONTSE Andreu a tu quegrave trsquoha semblat la pelmiddotliacuteculaANDREU Molt divertida a mi mrsquoha agradat forccedila i penso que
demostra que les pelmiddotliacutecules comercials tambeacute podenser intelmiddotligents
RAISHA Eacutes americana o anglesaMONTSE Em sembla que americana Eacutes un drsquoaquests directors
joves americans que treballen sempre a Nova YorkPerograve tambeacute pot ser anglegraves perquegrave hi ha molts directorsanglesos que treballen als Estats Units
MONTSE Que avorrit que eacutes el Blai No vol sortir maiRAISHA Quina llagravestima La pelmiddotliacutecula eacutes una mica llarga perograve eacutes
interessantiacutessima Mrsquoagrada molt el cinema drsquoaventuresquan estagrave ben fet
ANDREU Eacutes precisament el tipus de pelmiddotliacutecula que li agrada molta ell
ANDREU Mireu oi que eacutes el Blai aquell xicot que hi ha a laterrassa del bar
MONTSE Em sembla que siacute siacute que ho eacutes Perograve que no ha dit lsquoEacutesque avui ha estat un dia difiacutecil ha estat un diatraumagravetic amb molts problemes a la feina Estic moltcansat molt cansatrsquo Anem a parlar amb ell
ANDREU A mi no em fa res perograve no sembla gaire content Quegraveli passa
Finally the three cinemagoers speak to Blai
ANDREU Blai quegrave hi fas aquiacuteBLAI Prefereixo no donar explicacions Voleu prendre
alguna cosaANDREU Quegrave voleu ferMONTSE Home jo prefereixo anar cap a casa Tu quegrave vols fer
RaishaRAISHA Jo tambeacute prefereixo anar cap a casa Em sembla que
eacutes una mica tard
Vocabulary
multisales multiplexlrsquoambient (m) atmosphere
122
lrsquoespai (m) spaceno gens not at allacollidor -a welcominga meacutes a meacutes also besidespensar to think to hold an opinionavorrit -ida boringno mai not ever nevercansat -da tiredprefereixo I prefer (from preferir = to prefer)treballar to workdivertit -da funny entertainingquina llagravestima what a pitylrsquoaventura (f) adventureel tipus typeoi que isnrsquot this is this etcel xicot young manla terrassa terrace outside the barem sembla que siacute I think sono gaire (not) verydonar to givelrsquoexplicacioacute (f) explanationcap a towards
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123
Language points
Useful expressions
This dialogue dealing with opinions impressions etc contains alarge number of adjectives (agradable modern acollidors etc) andvarious ways of qualifying them like no gens and meacutes aviat
Exclamations are another device used here by the four friendsto express their feelings Note that if the exclamation contains anoun it is preceded by quinquina as in quina llagravestima (= whata pity) Another example quin concert (= what a concert)However if an adjective is involved it is preceded by que Asin que avorrit que eacutes en Blai (= how boring Blai is) Anotherexample que interessant (= how interesting)
Notice here two more expressions to indicate indifference a mitant me fa and a mi mrsquoeacutes igual both mean lsquoit doesnrsquot matter to mersquolsquoI donrsquot mindrsquo lsquoitrsquos all the same to mersquo In both cases a mi is usedfor greater emphasis They are frequently heard as simply tant mefa mrsquoeacutes igual or even eacutes igual which like tant eacutes you have alreadyheard
The perfect tense 1
The speakers in this dialogue introduce us to a new tense which isunderlined in the text Like its English counterpart the perfecttense in Catalan is formed using the present tense of the verb lsquotohaversquo with the past participle of the verb
Auxiliary haver Past participle -ar verbs
he parlat I have spokenhas parlat you have spokenha parlat heshe has spokenhem parlat we have spokenheu parlat you have spokenhan parlat they have spoken
Past participles end in -t Most end in -at (-ar verbs) -ut (-re-erverbs) -it (-ir verbs) There are a few irregular ones such as obert(from obrir) which you are already familiar with from shop openingtimes
124
There are many similarities between the use of the English andthe Catalan perfect tense However there is one important differ-ence in Catalan when referring to events that happened today theperfect tense is always used This is explored in more detail in Unit14 Consider the perfect tense forms that are heard in Dialogue 3
han obert un multisales (= theyrsquove opened a multiplexa multiplex has been opened)
mrsquohan dit(= they have told mesomeone told me)
a tu quegrave trsquoha semblat la pelmiddotliacutecula(= what did you think of the film)
a mi mrsquoha agradat forccedila(= I have liked it very muchI liked it very much)
ha estat un dia difiacutecil (= it has been a hard day)
ha dit (= he saidhe has said)
Expressing opinions with semblar 2
An opinion can be expressed in a variety of ways Semblar is usedin a wide range of statements several of which are heard in thedialogue At one point Blai uses one of the alternatives the verbpensar (= to think) The advantage of pensar is that it is easy to usebecause it works very much like its English counterpart althoughit is usually followed by que (= that) penso que eacutes una situacioacutepoliacutetica molt difiacutecil the disadvantage is that it has a more limiteduse than semblar which can also be used in this way followed byque em sembla que eacutes una situacioacute poliacutetica molt difiacutecil Pensartends to be used in more formal situations to express opinions orideas held
Semblar is very flexible because it combines easily with otherelements to express meaning The Language builder contains afuller range of expressions using semblar and agradar First con-sider these examples using semblar
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125
1 With adverbs and adjectives
em sembla beacute= it seems fine to me rarr I think itrsquos fine
et sembla fagravecil= does it seem easy to you rarr do you think itrsquos easy
li sembla interessant= heshe finds it interesting
You may have noticed that the adverb beacute (= well) becomes benwhen it precedes an adjective or past participle In the dialogue wecome across ben fet (= well made) Another example la pelmiddotliacuteculaestagrave ben dirigida (= the film is well directed) The opposite is malmal fet mal dirigida Other commonly used adverbs are includedin the Language builder forccedila and molt for positive statements andno gens no gaire for negative ones
2 With question tags
Note also how in the dialogue the statement al Blai no li sembla beacute(= Blai doesnrsquot agree) is reinforced with the question tag oi que no (= does he) In mireu oi que eacutes en Blai (= look isnrsquot thatBlai) we hear an example of how oi que is used at the begin-ning of a sentence this is a device used in rhetorical questions Theuses of oi and oi que will be discussed in more detail in Units 13and 15
3 With pronouns
It is quite common for the person involved to be mentioned twicefor emphasis either with a strong pronoun as in a mi em semblabeacute (= it seems fine to me) or with the name of the person al Blaino li sembla beacute (= Blai doesnrsquot agreethink it is a good idea)
Note that the first pronoun or the name of the person is precededby a (ala la)
In order to be confident in making sentences with semblar youneed to be familiar with the appropriate indirect object pronouns
126
The table below shows in bold the lsquoweakrsquo or unstressed pronounswhich always accompany semblar and the stressed pronounspreceded by a which are only used for additional emphasis
Pronouns used with lsquosemblarrsquo
(a mi) em sembla it seems to me(a tu) et sembla it seems to you(a ellella) li sembla it seems to himher(a vostegrave) li sembla it seems to you (formal)
(a nosaltres) ens sembla it seems to us(a vosaltres) us sembla it seems to you(a ellselles) els sembla it seems to them(a vostegrave) els sembla it seems to you (formal)
Exercise 3
Complete the sentences by matching the words on the left with thewords on the right
1 Has dormit a fruita2 Mrsquoha agradat b un dia difiacutecil3 Heu anat c un multisales4 Hem parlat d la farmagravecia Ja no eacutes oberta5 Mrsquohan dit e en anglegraves6 Han tancat f beacute7 Ha estat g al cinema Fan una pelmiddotliacutecula molt
bona8 Han obert h que eacutes forccedila agradable9 He comprat i forccedila
Exercise 4
Listen to Blairsquos answers in response to questions about his likes anddislikes and complete the table below
Li agradaagradenNo li agradaagraden
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127
gens ni gens gaire forccedila molt molt-mica iacutessim
1 museu Daliacute _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
2 les pintures de Miroacute _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
3 la Sagrada Famiacutelia _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
4 la muacutesica de Maria del Mar Bonet _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
5 Gerard Quintana _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
6 les danses tradicionals _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
7 els mercats de Barcelona _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
8 la muntanya _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____9 el mar _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Exercise 5
Which statement from column B is more likely to express the oppo-site opinion to the statements in column A
A B
1 Mrsquoagrada forccedila a No no mrsquoho sembla gens Eacutes difiacutecil
2 A mi em sembla molt beacute b Doncs a mi em sembla molt avorrit
3 Mrsquoagrada moltiacutessim c No mrsquoagrada gaire4 Li sembla molt ben feta d A mi em sembla que soacuten meacutes
aviat dolents5 Li sembla forccedila important e Doncs a mi molt malament6 Et sembla molt fagravecil f No mrsquoagrada gens ni mica7 Que interessant g A mi no em sembla gaire
rellevant8 Soacuten fantagravestics oi que siacute h Li sembla molt mal feta
128
Exercise 6
Fill in the gaps appropriately
1 A mi _____ sembla sofisticat i simpagravetic2 A tu _____ sembla superficial el programa3 A en Mateu no _____ sembla possible4 A vostegrave _____ sembla agradable aquest parc5 _____ tu et sembla fagravecil6 A _____ em sembla beacute7 A nosaltres _____ sembla fantagravestic tot el que ella fa8 A vosaltres _____ sembla que les autopistes soacuten ecologravegiques
Exercise 7
Translate into Catalan
Itrsquos been a difficult day Andreu Montse and Raisha havegone to the cinema in Barcelona but I donrsquot like commercialfilms I think theyrsquore quite boring no theyrsquore extremelyboring And Raisha always says lsquoHow boring you are Blairsquobut I donrsquot care I think itrsquos all right if I donrsquot do everythingthey want But they donrsquot like it one little bit I have gone tothe bar with Tere but it didnrsquot go very well What can I do Ithink itrsquos OK now I have spoken with Andreu
Language builder expressing degrees of feeling and opinions
Extent to which an opinion is held
Em sembla que siacute I think soEm sembla que no I donrsquot think soEm sembla que I think that Em sembla beacute I think itrsquos OKA mi em sembla beacute I think itrsquos OKEt sembla molt fagravecil Donrsquot you think itrsquos very easyAl Blai no li sembla gaire beacute Blai doesnrsquot think itrsquos very good
No li sembla gens interessant Heshe doesnrsquot think itrsquos at allinteresting
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129
No li sembla interessant Heshe doesnrsquot think itrsquos interesting
No li sembla gaire interessant Heshe doesnrsquot think itrsquos veryinteresting
Li sembla interessant Heshe thinks itrsquos interestingLi sembla forccedila interessant Heshe thinks itrsquos rather
interestingLi sembla molt interessant Heshe thinks itrsquos very interestingLi sembla interessantiacutessim Heshe thinks itrsquos extremely
interesting
Degrees of liking
No mrsquoagrada gens ni mica I donrsquot like it one little bitNo mrsquoagrada gens I donrsquot like it at allNo mrsquoagrada I donrsquot like itNo mrsquoagrada gaire I donrsquot like it muchMrsquoagrada I like itMrsquoagrada forccedila I like it quite a lotMrsquoagrada molt I like it a lotMrsquoagrada moltiacutessim I like it very much
130
12 Al restaurantPlanellesAt Planellesrsquo restaurant
In this unit you will learn about
bull Ordering a mealbull Describing thingsbull Eating habitsbull Adjective endingsbull Diminutivesbull Verbs like prendre
bull The preterite tense
Dialogue 1
Jane asks her Catalan friend Enric about eating times
1 What does Enric have to drink first thing in the morning
2 Between what times do most people eat their evening meal
according to Enric
3 What question does Enric ask Jane
JANE Escolta Enric tu a quina hora esmorzesENRIC Em sembla que lrsquohora drsquoesmorzar varia molt segons els
costums personals perograve eacutes tiacutepic de la gent drsquoaquiacuteesmorzar poc Jo a casa nomeacutes prenc un cafegrave amb lletperograve cap allagrave a les deu vaig al bar i faig un entrepagrave untallat i una cerveseta
JANE I el dinar i el sopar
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
ENRIC El dinar eacutes entre les dues i les tres i fins i tot meacutes tardi en general el sopar eacutes entre les nou i les onze o lesdotze
JANE Quegrave eacutes el berenarENRIC El berenar eacutes un agravepat lleuger eacutes al voltant de les sis de
la tarda Poques persones grans berenen Sobretotberenen els nens Em sembla que els grans fan elberenar meacutes aviat com a excusa per sortir amb els amicsa prendre alguna cosa Per exemple a Barcelona hi hagent que va a una granja a prendre no seacute potserxocolata amb xurros o un cafegrave amb una pasta o unaorxata Trsquoagrada lrsquoorxata Soacuten molt diferents les horesde menjar al teu paiacutes
Vocabulary
segons according tovariar to varyel costum habit customtiacutepic -a typical traditionalla gent peoplepoc little (the opposite of molt)lrsquoentrepagrave sandwich (m)fins i tot evenlrsquoagravepat (m) meallleuger -a lighttothom everybodysobretot above allel nen childels grans grown upsla granja milk barel paiacutes country
132
Culture note
El berenar
The words for meals (lrsquoesmorzar el dinar el berenar i el sopar)have appeared earlier Here Enric talks about meal times Elberenar is a mid-afternoon snack mainly for children but also usedby adults as an excuse to socialise and share a drink One traditionalsnack and a refreshing drink are introduced xurros (= long thinsweet fritters) and orxata (= cold tiger nut milk) A granja can bea very atmospheric place Granja literally means lsquofarmrsquo and it is thename given in Barcelona to a cafeacute where traditional drinks andpacirctisserie are on offer
Language points
Useful expressions
Cap allagrave a and al voltant de both mean lsquoat aboutrsquo in relation to timeIn contrast to a les deu en punt (= at ten orsquoclock precisely) thesephrases often mean a little later than the time stated For examplela festa comenccedila cap allagrave a les deu (= the party begins at about tenbut nobody is expected until 1030 or 1100)
Diminutives
In cerveseta we hear a word we are acquainted with already(cervesa) and notice its different ending In this case the femininediminutive suffix -eta (-et for masculine nouns) is used by Enric toplay down his habit of drinking lsquojust a little beerrsquo around ten orsquoclockin the morning Native speakers can be very creative with suchendings It takes time for a non-native speaker to get them rightbut it is useful to be able to recognise them A masculine examplewith this ending would be entrepanet or lsquolittle sandwichrsquoSometimes the ending is more unpredictable as in cafetoacute (a littlecoffee) and cafetonet (a tiny coffee) In reality though the amountof coffee consumed may not change
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133
Verbs like prendre
The distinctive sounding prenc in the phrase prenc un cafegrave is thefirst person singular of prendre (as indicated earlier the first lsquorrsquo isnot pronounced in the infinitive) This verb is part of a small sub-group of the second conjugation verbs that have the same endings(others are aprendre lsquoto learnrsquo and vendre lsquoto sellrsquo) The full conju-gation is prenc prens pren prenem preneu prenen
Exercise 1
Fill in the appropriate form of the verbs in brackets
Jo sempre _____ (1 esmorzar) a les sis del matiacute en punt i _____ (2 menjar) un entrepanet de truita i un croissant Sempre _____(3 anar) a dinar amb el meu germagrave Tots dos _____ (4 menjar)molt i _____ (5 passar) dues hores al restaurant El meu germagrave_____ (6 viure) molt a prop del restaurant Cap allagrave a les set jo_____ (7 sortir) de la feina i vaig a fer una tapeta abans de tornara casa Al voltant de les nou _____ (8 sopar) i despreacutes _____ (9 lsquoIlikersquo) sortir un parell drsquohoretes amb els amics sobretot eldissabte _____ (10 lsquoI thinkrsquo use semblar) que eacutes important viureuna mica
Exercise 2
Can you spot the three diminutives used in Exercise 1 They comefrom words you already know Which ones
Dialogue 2
Three friends Carles Helena and Enric are eating together atPlanellesrsquo restaurant
Activity 1
Listen to the dialogue and decide in which order these words and
phrases are heard
Jo tambeacute _____
I per beure _____
I de segon _____
Eacutes una especialitat de la casa _____
De primer escudella _____
134
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
135
Passeig Prim 8 43202 ReusTel 977 331677
MENUacute DEL DIAEntrants
Amanida verda
Escarola amb romesco
Suc de taronja
Primer platEscudella
Truita de patates
Paella marinera
Segon platCalamars a la romana
Lluccedil a la planxa
Conill amb allioli
Bistec de vedella
Pa postres aigua i vi
16 Euros (IVA inclograves)
Activity 2
Use Planellesrsquo menu to help you to identify what each person has
chosen
Entrant Primer Segon
Carles __________ __________ __________
Helena __________ __________ __________
Enric __________ __________ __________
Vocabulary
el plat plate dish courseels entrants starterslrsquoamanida (f) saladlrsquoescarola (f) broad-leaved endiveel plat course dish platelrsquoescudella (f) Catalan stewla truita omelettela paella marinera seafood paellaa la romana in batterel lluccedil hakea la planxa cooked on a hotplateel conill rabbitlrsquoallioli (m) garlic and oil pasteel bistec beefsteakla vedella vealles postres dessertIVA VATinclograves -osa included
CAMBRER Ja saben quegrave volenENRIC Siacute vinga comenccedila tu CarlesCARLES A veure quegrave recomanaCAMBRER El romesco eacutes una especialitat de la casaCARLES Doncs jo una escarola amb romescoENRIC I tu HelenaHELENA Jo tambeacute i tu EnricENRIC Jo vull un suc de taronja I de primer Carles quegrave
volsCARLES Doncs de primer escudellaENRIC I tu Helena
136
HELENA Jo paella marinera I tu EnricENRIC Per mi truita de patates I de segon quegrave et sembla
CarlesCARLES Doncs de segon conill amb allioliENRIC I tu HelenaHELENA Jo el lluccedil a la planxa I tu EnricENRIC Per mi calamars a la romanaCAMBRER Molt beacute I per beure quegrave volen ja han deciditHELENA Porti vi negre de la casa i aigua mineral sense gas
Vocabulary
comenccedilar to startrecomanar to recommendlrsquoespecialitat (f) specialitydecidir to decideportar to bring
Culture note
Catalan cuisine
This menu illustrates the type and variety of dishes usually on offerin restaurants Traditional cuisine incorporates mar i muntanya (=sea and mountain) products meats sausages and game from inlandblended with seafood and fish from the coast combined with freshvegetables and salads
As well as wine it is normal to have on the table a bottle of mineral water either still (sense gas) or sparkling (amb gas) Itmay be useful to learn what to say when going into a room wherethere are people eating bon profit (= enjoy your meal) and ifappropriate the response igualment (= you too)
Romesco is one of several celebrated Catalan sauces (= salsa)The ingredients vary but a typical recipe includes dried redpeppers tomatoes garlic and almonds Another sauce is allioli(often a kind of garlic mayonnaise but strictly speaking just oil andgarlic) As you know all means garlic and oli means oil Thisgarnish is also well known in the French ailloli one of many indi-cations of the close cultural past shared by Catalonia and southernFrance
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
137
Exercise 3
Listen now to the waiter passing on the order to the cook Manoloand the barman Cisco Does he make any mistakes
Exercise 4
Now take part in the following conversation with the waiter atPlanellesrsquo restaurant
CAMBRER Ja sap quegrave volYOU Ask Have you got fish and chipsCAMBRER Perdoni perograve no lrsquoentenc Aixograve eacutes un restaurant Vol
el menuacute o la cartaYOU Say I would like the menu of the day What do you
recommendCAMBRER El romesco eacutes una especialitat de la casaYOU Ask What is romescoCAMBRER Eacutes una salsa tiacutepica especialitat de la casaYOU Ask Have you got ketchupCAMBRER Perdoni perograve no lrsquoentencYOU Say A green saladCAMBRER I de primerYOU Say For the first course paella And for the main
course steakCAMBRER I per beureYOU Say A bottle of red wine
Dialogue 3
Sr Sugranyes a regular client is asked to give his opinion on themenu and the proprietors of Planellesrsquo restaurant
bull Consider how adjectives are used in descriptions by answering
the following questions
1 Give two reasons why Sr Sugranyes likes this restaurant
2 What words does he use to describe the wine
3 What words does he use to describe the proprietress
ENTREVISTADORA Sr Sugranyes vostegrave ve al Planelles sovint quegraveopina del restaurant i del menuacute
138
SR SUGRANYES A mi mrsquoagrada perquegrave tenen plats tradicionals iles quantitats soacuten generoses Em sembla que lacuina catalana tradicional eacutes molt saludableLrsquouacutenic plat que no mrsquoagrada eacutes lrsquoamanida verdaperquegrave la trobo avorrida Perograve el romesco quefan aquiacute eacutes excelmiddotlent els macarrons soacutengustosos el lluccedil sempre eacutes molt fresc la botifarraeacutes casolana el bistec el fan meacutes aviat cru com ami mrsquoagrada i el vi de la casa eacutes un vi agradablei refrescant La propietagraveria la Maria eacutes moltsimpagravetica i educada El Pere el propietagraveri eacutesmeacutes serioacutes perograve tambeacute eacutes molt educat i simpagravetic
ENTREVISTADORA I quegrave li sembla la clientelaSR SUGRANYES Home generalment eacutes gent molt maca perograve hi
ha alguns clients originals i demanen unes cosesAhir un estranger va demanar quetxup Perograve vamenjar el menuacute del dia i em sembla que li vaagradar
Vocabulary
lrsquoentrevistador -a (mf) intervieweropinar to think to express an opinionla quantitat quantitygeneroacutes -osa generousla cuina cuisine kitchensaludable healthyuacutenic -a the onlygustoacutes -osa tastyla botifarra cooked pork sausagecasolagrave -ana home-madecru -a rawagradable pleasantrefrescant refreshingpropietari -agraveria proprietorsimpagravetic -a nice fun to be witheducat -ada politeserioacutes -osa seriousla clientela clienteleahir yesterdaylrsquoestranger (m) foreignerva demanar he asked for
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
139
el quetxup ketchupva menjar he ateli va agradar he liked it
Language points
Adjectives 3 ending patterns
The majority of adjectives follow the normal pattern with fourendings that we have seen with molt In case of doubt you can iden-tify an adjective in a dictionary because it is usually followed by theabbreviation adj Consider Ilmiddotlegal adj Illegal
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
-a -s -esmolt molta molts moltesverd verda verds verdessimpagravetic simpagravetica simpagravetics simpagravetiques
In the spoken language the pattern is quite straightforward Inwriting there are a few spelling changes Remember for examplehow there is a spelling change between molta and moltes (a to e)but no sound change except for the additional s sound Similarlythere is no change in sound between simpagravetica and simpagravetiques
1 Adjectives with a different ending for the feminine
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
c rarr g groc groga grocs groguesu rarr v blau blava blaus blavest rarr d educat educada educats educades
2 Adjectives ending in a stressed vowel add an n to form thefeminine and plural forms
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
americagrave americana americans americanesbo bona bons bones
140
3 There are adjectives that have a different masculine pluralending As with nouns there are some adjectives that take theending -os
Singular PluralMasculine Feminine Masculine Feminineirlandegraves irlandesa irlandesos irlandesesanglegraves anglesa anglesos anglesesgeneroacutes generosa generosos generosesdolccedil dolccedila dolccedilos dolccediles
In this group dolccedil means lsquosweetrsquo Note the pronunciation of -oson the audio
4 Some adjectives are the same in the masculine and feminine andconsequently only have two forms singular and plural Mostadjectives with the following endings are of this type
Singular PluralEnding Mascfem Mascfem
-al original originals-able amable amables-ant interessant interessants-ent intelmiddotligent intelmiddotligents-e jove joves
Jove means lsquoyoungrsquo and as is the case with many other adjec-tives it can also be used as a noun els joves (= young people)
In writing there are quite a few exceptions to the -e endinggroup for example in the dialogue we have heard negre which hasthe feminine negra but in speech they are pronounced the same
Position of the adjective
Adjectives usually come after the noun they describe as in la cuinatradicional even if they are linked by the verb ser as is often thecase when describing things la cuina eacutes tradicional Howeverremember that we have already heard cases of adjectives that comebefore the noun Note especially that numerals demonstratives(aquest etc) possessives (meu etc) interrogatives (quins quantesetc) quantifiers (molt poc etc) tend to precede the noun elprimer pis aquesta fruita el meu germagrave etc
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
141
The preterite tense 1 what happened yesterday
At the end of this dialogue Sr Sugranyes introduces us to the wayof talking about things that happened before today This is in facta very easy tense to use and to form by placing vaig vas va etcbefore any infinitive All that changes and so all you have to learnare the parts of this special auxiliary verb
The preterite tense
vaigvasva
+ infinitivevamvauvan
Consider
Va demanar el menuacute del dia(= he asked for the set menu)
Em va agradar (= I liked it)Vaig menjar molt (= I ate a lot)
Exercise 5
Looking at Dialogue 3 first identify the adjectives Then write themin two columns one with the adjectives that belong to the groupwith four endings and one with those belonging to the group withtwo endings
Exercise 6
Form sentences with each of the items in column 1 the appropriateform of the verb from column 2 and the corresponding adjectivewith the appropriate ending from column 3
142
1 2 3
1 El restaurant Planelles 1 excelmiddotlent2 La cuina tradicional 2 saludable3 Les postres eacutes 3 dolccedil4 Les olives 4 bo5 El pa amb tomagravequet 5 bo6 Els calamars 6 gustoacutes7 Els turistes soacuten 7 anglegraves8 La Marilyn 8 americagrave9 El vi 9 negre
10 Els plats 10 original
Text 1
Now read this text describing shops in Barcelona before completingExercises 8 and 9
Les botigues de Barcelona
Les botigues soacuten una de les atraccions principals de BarcelonaCom diu el proverbi lsquoBarcelona eacutes bona quan la bossa sonarsquo Lesbotigues de moda meacutes cares i exclusives soacuten al passeig de Gragraveciaal centre de la ciutat Aquiacute hi ha els grans dissenyadors inter-nacionals com Armani o Calvin Klein i tambeacute els locals com ArmandBasi o Antonio Miroacute Les millors botigues de roba per gent jove soacutenal Portal de lrsquoAgravengel A Ciutat Vella eacutes on hi ha botigues meacutesinteressants perograve sovint no eacutes fagravecil trobar-les i cal caminar moltEn aquest barri els dissabtes hi ha mercats alternatius amb ofertesespecials de roba drsquoimportacioacute egravetnica de fabricacioacute artesanalretro-hip retro-chic cyber-punk etc Soacuten botigues ideals per gentamb criteris clars i ben definits
Per un altre tipus de gent hi ha els centres comercials El meacutesfamoacutes i clagravessic de tots eacutes El Corte Ingleacutes a la placcedila Catalunya perograveel meacutes sofisticat eacutes lrsquoIlla Diagonal al final de la Diagonal Si vol unambient selecte i exclusiu vagi a les botigues de la part central dela Diagonal aquiacute no hi ha sorpreses anar-hi a comprar eacutes unaexperiegravencia agradable i tranquilmiddotla Els mercats tambeacute venen robaeacutes barata perograve generalment eacutes poc cool i sovint la qualitat no eacutesgens bona
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143
Pels amants de la roba i els objectes de segona magrave hi ha elsEncants al costat de la placcedila de les Glograveries concretament al carrerDos de Maig Passejar-hi eacutes un plaer perquegrave srsquohi poden trobarcoses exogravetiques i fascinants objectes diversos de tota mena robai fins i tot mobles Siacute eacutes una visita forccedila interessant i recomanableperograve no hi vagi els dissabtes perquegrave hi ha molta gent
Vocabulary
la bossa bag pursesonar to soundquan la bossa sona when the purse jingles (with coins)
(lsquoa heavy purse makes a light heartrsquo)el dissenyador designercaminar to walklrsquooferta (f) offeregravetnic -a ethnicartesanal home-made (craft)vendre to selllrsquoamant (mf) loverel plaer pleasuresrsquohi poden trobar can be found (there)
144
tota mena every typeels mobles furniturerecomanable advisable
Exercise 7
To which of the areas or types of shop that appear in the text wouldyou suggest the following people go The first one has been donefor you
Somebody interested in Area
1 youth fashion Portal de lrsquoAgravengel2 low-priced clothes regardless of quality _______________3 designer labels _______________4 shopping in a relaxed environment _______________5 unusual clothes who has clear ideas _______________6 second-hand furniture _______________7 shopping in the best-known store in town _______________
Exercise 8
Using the text Les botigues de Barcelona for reference translate thefollowing text into Catalan
The shops are one of the attractions of Salou There are expen-sive and exclusive shops and there are alternative markets foryoung people In Salou shopping is always an agreeable andrelaxed experience On Sunday in Catalunya Square it ispossible to find all types of fascinating and exotic objects Andif you want an exclusive experience go to one of our sophisti-cated restaurants where you can eat the best specialities ofCatalan gastronomy We recommend Salou to you (use li) it isideal for a stroll near the sea the ideal town for people whoknow what they want Welcome to Salou
(Patronat Municipal de Turisme)
Exercise 9
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate form of thepreterite auxiliary
1 Ahir a dos quarts de tres de la tarda el cambrer va sortir delrestaurant molt furioacutes
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145
2 Jo li _____ preguntar laquoQuegrave passaraquo3 El cambrer _____ dir laquohi ha clients molt difiacutecils ahir (jo)
_____ tenir dos clients que _____ marxar sense pagar (= lsquoto leave without payingrsquo)raquo
4 Quegrave _____ fer (tu)5 Jo tranquil _____ mirar al carrer i no _____ veure res Tot
_____ passar molt ragravepid Despreacutes el propietari _____ telefonara la policia Perograve la policia (singular) no _____ fer res
Exercise 10
Take the part of Sr Sugranyes in this interview by putting ourEnglish suggestions into Catalan
ENTREVISTADOR A quina hora va dinar ahirSR SUGRANYES Say Yesterday I lunched at about two orsquoclockENTREVISTADOR Quegrave va menjar ahir al restaurant Sr SugranyesSR SUGRANYES Say I ate the green salad and the potato omeletteENTREVISTADOR I de segonSR SUGRANYES Say Grilled hakeENTREVISTADOR Li va agradarSR SUGRANYES Say Yes I liked it very muchENTREVISTADOR Quegrave li va semblar el preuSR SUGRANYES Say I thought it was fine (use lsquosemblar beacutersquo)ENTREVISTADOR Va veure alguna cosa interessantSR SUGRANYES Say No I didnrsquot see anything special
146
13 La vida diagraveriaDaily life
In this unit you will learn about
bull Arranging to meet someone with friends and at workbull Asking and responding to questions about daily routinebull Working lifebull Leisure timebull The present continuous (the lsquo-ingrsquo ending)bull The reflexive verbbull The future tensebull Expressing lsquoto have torsquo using haver de
Dialogue 1
While on holiday in Barcelona John arranges a meeting over the tele-phone with his friend Gabriel
1 Is it a good time for John to call
2 Why
3 What is Gabriel doing
4 What do they arrange to do in the late evening
5 At what time
6 Where
GABRIEL Digui Soacutec el Gabriel amb qui parloJOHN Hola Gabriel soacutec el John quegrave fasGABRIEL John quina alegria Des drsquoon truquesJOHN Soacutec a Barcelona Quegrave estagraves fentGABRIEL Doncs estic mirant la tele Perograve estic a punt de fer el
sopar per quegrave no veacutens
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
JOHN No puc estic esperant una amigaGABRIEL A onJOHN Al bar Zurich Volem anar a passejar pel passeig de
Gragravecia Vols quedar meacutes tardGABRIEL Siacute quegrave et sembla si quedem al Zurich despreacutes del
passeig Cap allagrave a les onzeJOHN Siacute quedem a les onze millor a quarts de dotze
Vocabulary
trucar to calltrobar to findles vacances (f) holidaysla tele (televisioacute) televisionestar a punt de to be about toesperar to waitquedar to arrange to meetel passeig walk stroll promenade
148
Culture note
Cafegrave Zurich is in placcedila Catalunya at the start of the Rambles ElZurich is a popular meeting place
Language points
Useful expressions
1 Soacutec el John This is an important detail in a phone conversationIn English he would say lsquoItrsquos Johnrsquo whilst Catalan says lsquoI amJohnrsquo
2 Amb qui parlo (= literally lsquoWith whom am I talkingrsquo = lsquoWhorsquoscalling pleasersquo)
3 A on (= where) On is often reinforced with the preposition aparticularly when it is on its own
4 Estic a punt de (= literally lsquoI am on the point of rsquo = lsquoI amabout to rsquo)
5 Quegrave et sembla si quedem al Zurich illustrates an important useof quedar which is a verb with several meanings In this contextit provides a very useful way of making arrangements It can beused to arrange the place of meeting and also the time ofmeeting In the dialogue Gabriel asks whether John would liketo meet later on in the day (vols quedar meacutes tard) John sayssiacute quedem a les onze millor quarts de dotze In this way heconfirms Gabrielrsquos idea as to place and time specifying that alittle later would be preferable
The gerund (-nt ending)
This dialogue introduces the equivalent to the English lsquo-ingrsquo endingor gerund As in English the equivalent form in Catalan is verystraightforward
Estar + -nt
Example Estic mirant la tele (= I am watching TV)
As has already been indicated by far the largest group of Catalanverbs end in -ar and therefore their lsquo-ingrsquo ending will be -ant
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
149
But there are also some examples in the unit of -er-re (secondconjugation) and -ir (third conjugation) verbs In those cases theending of the verb will be in -ent and -int respectively For examplequegrave estagraves fent ara (= what are you doing now) and estic sortintde casa (= I am leaving the house)
Notice that in Catalan the present continuous form is used onlyto describe actions or activities that are going on at the moment ofspeaking If someone asks quegrave estagraves fent you can reply esticmirant la tele or more frequently simply miro la tele both are usedin Catalan where in English only the continuous form is possibleIn case of doubt choose the present tense instead which in Catalancan always substitute the continuous form
Exercise 1
Listen to the questions on the audio and decide which is the appro-priate answer from the alternatives below
a No ara no srsquohi pot posar estagrave estudiantb Estan visitant lrsquoagraveviac Estem passejant per lrsquoavinguda de la catedral A on quedemd No ara no puc estic mirant un programa molt interessant a la
telee Soacutec a la Vila Oliacutempica estic a punt de sopar amb un client
Dialogue 2
Gabriel tells his friend John about his new job and John asks himsome personal questions about his daily routine
Put the following expressions in the order you hear them
em dutxo a la tarda _____
per quegrave et lleves tan aviat _____
despreacutes vaig a comprar _____
perograve he de viure no _____
em rento les mans i les dents i mrsquoafaito _____
GABRIEL Ara tinc una feina nova Em llevo molt meacutes aviat queabans a dos quarts de sis
JOHN Quegrave fas Per quegrave et lleves tan aviat
150
GABRIEL He comenccedilat a treballar a correus Comencem a lessis Mrsquoagrada la feina moltiacutessim perquegrave parlo ambmolts clients diferents
JOHN I en mitja hora tens temps drsquoesmorzar o de dutxar-teGABRIEL Normalment no esmorzo i no em dutxo al matiacute Em
dutxo a la tarda quan plego de la feina Al matiacutenomeacutes em rento la cara i les dents i mrsquoafaito
JOHN I a quina hora tornes a casaGABRIEL A les tresJOHN I no has menjat resGABRIEL Siacute a les deu vaig al bar i esmorzo Dino quan arribo
a casa i llavors faig la migdiada despreacutes vaig acomprar i al vespre surto Torno a casa a mitjanit
JOHN I no dormsGABRIEL Poc perograve he de viure no
Vocabulary
nou nova newllevar-se to get up to get out of bedtreballar to workcorreus (m pl) postal servicedutxar-se to have a showertampoc neitherplegar to finish workrentar-se to wash (oneself)la cara faceles dents teethafaitar-se to shavefer la migdiada to have a siestaarribar to arriveanar a comprar to go shoppinghe de I have to
Language points
Reflexive verbs
You have heard how Gabriel describes his everyday activities as emllevo (= I get up) em dutxo (= I have a shower) etc and how John
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
151
asks per quegrave et lleves tan aviat (= why do you get up so early)Many common or everyday activities are expressed by such acombination (verb + pronoun) in which the verb is called reflexivebecause the action is done lsquoto oneselfrsquo although this is not alwaysobvious One example of such a verb which you are familiar withalready is dir-se (= lsquoto be calledrsquo literally lsquoto call oneselfrsquo)
Reflexive verbs have a characteristic infinitive ending Forexample llevar-se dutxar-se rentar-se afaitar-se Here is the fullform of dutxar-se
Verb beginning with Verb beginning with a consonant a vowel
em dutxo mrsquoestic dutxantet dutxes trsquoestagraves dutxantes dutxa srsquoestagrave dutxantens dutxem ens estem dutxantus dutxeu us esteu dutxantes dutxen srsquoestan dutxant
Notice also em rento la cara (= I wash my (own) face) and es rentales dents = (he cleans his (own) teeth) where use of the reflexive inCatalan (in actions concerning parts of the body and personalclothing) does the same job as the possessive pronoun in English
Exercise 2
Put in the reflexive pronoun to match the verb endings
1 dutxo 6 estic dutxant2 rentes 7 dic3 lleven 8 rento les dents4 afaitem 9 dius5 afaito 10 dutxa
Exercise 3
Translate into Catalan using the previous dialogues to help you
Now I get up at five orsquoclock I work in the market I have break-fast and go to work I like the work a lot It is very interestingbecause I talk with many different clients I finish work at twoorsquoclock and go home Then I have a shower I eat watch televi-sion and have a siesta Afterwards at six orsquoclock I go shopping
152
and at about nine orsquoclock I go out with my friends We normallygo to a bar in Gragravecia and we pass the time talking I usually arrivehome and go to sleep at midnight because I have to get up earlyAnd you At what time do you get up Are you working nowDo you want to arrange to meet one evening
Dialogue 3
Sra Artiac is arranging a meeting with Sr Comas They are tryingto find an appropriate date although her diary is quite full
1 When exactly will the meeting between Sr Comas and
Sra Artiac take place
2 Mention two of the things that Sra Artiac has to do
SR COMAS El dijous vint-i-tres de marccedil al matiacute pot venir a lareunioacute
SRA ARTIAC Un moment que miro lrsquoagenda un moment sisplau No ho sento Sr Comas no puc He drsquoanar aPariacutes a una fira industrial Hi passareacute dos dies aPariacutes
SR COMAS I el dilluns vint-i-setSRA ARTIAC El vint-i-set No ho sento tampoc no em va beacute El
meu marit i jo hem drsquoanar a lrsquoescola del meu fillSR COMAS Veig que vostegrave estagrave molt ocupada A veure quegrave li
sembla si quedem el dimarts vint-i-dos drsquoabrilSRA ARTIAC Doncs siacute al matiacute estic lliure Nomeacutes he drsquoanar al
gimnagraves a les vuitSR COMAS Doncs quedem aixiacute el dimarts vint-i-dos drsquoabril a
les onze al meu despatx Treballarem dues horesdinarem i despreacutes visitarem lrsquoempresa
SRA ARTIAC Em sembla que seragrave molt interessantSR COMAS Per nosaltres tambeacute Sra Artiac per nosaltres
tambeacute Moltes gragraveciesSRA ARTIAC A vostegrave Sr Comas fins el vint-i-dosSR COMAS Passi-ho beacute Sra Artiac passi-ho beacute
Vocabulary
lrsquoagenda (f) diaryla reunioacute meeting
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
153
la fira fairindustrial industriallrsquoescola (f) schoolocupat -da occupied busylliure freeel gimnagraves gymaixiacute like thislrsquoempresa (f) company business
Language points
To have to
As well as being used to form the perfect tense haver is used toexpress obligation Haver de + infinitive is equivalent to English lsquotohave torsquo
he (or haig)hasha + de + infinitivehemheuhan
Example he drsquoanar al gimnagraves a les vuit
The future tense 1
This unit introduces the future This tense is straightforward to formin all three conjugations which take the same endings It is simplya case of adding the appropriate ending to the infinitive as the tablebelow shows
The future tense passar
passar-eacutepassar-agravespassar-agravepassar-empassar-eupassar-an
154
There are very few irregular futures but even those take thesame endings In this unit you hear an example of a verb which isslightly irregular fer rarr fareacute faragraves etc which changes the stem butthe endings and even the pronunciation remain regular
Exercise 4
Now listen to the questions on the audio and decide which is theappropriate answer from the alternatives below
a Siacute he de sortir ara He drsquoanar al supermercatb He de treballar fins tard No acabareacute fins a dos quarts de vuitc He de treballar tot el dia No puc sortird Em sembla que va dir que ha de treballare Hem drsquoanar a una fira industrial
Exercise 5
Which lsquopersonrsquo (1 I 2 you 3 heshevostegrave 4 we 5 you 6 they)of the future tense do you hear on the audio The answer tosentence 1 is 5
1 _____52 _____3 _____4 _____5 _____6 _____7 _____8 _____9 _____
10 _____11 _____12 _____13 _____
Exercise 6
Take the part of Sra Pi in this conversation with Sr Sala using thepage of her diary shown on p 156 to help you
SALA Pot venir a la reunioacute a les dotzePI First say I will look in my diary (Then respond
according to the content of the diary)
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
155
SALA I a les nou que li va beacutePI Say Irsquom sorry I canrsquot I am free at 1100 What do you
thinkSALA Molt beacute quedem aixiacute doncsPI Say Very well Letrsquos arrange to meet on (Say day
date and time arranged) Say Goodbye
Dialogue 4
Sr Pujals is interviewed by his head of personnel to discuss aproblem with his working hours
Activity 1
Order the following phrases
1 Ella treballa a lrsquoajuntament _____
2 I quegrave fa la seva dona _____
3 Per quegrave no em parla una mica de la seva situacioacute familiar
_____
4 Hem de discutir una quumlestioacute forccedila delicada _____
Activity 2
1 How long has Sr Pujals been working in the company
2 What is the main reason why Sr Pujals canrsquot do overtime
3 Who has to pick the children up from school
4 What do we know about the work Sr Pujalsrsquos wife Siacutelvia
does in the town hall
156
DILLUNS 8 DE MAIG
800 esmorzar900 gimnagraves1200 dentista1400 dinar amb la Maria2200 cinema
CAP DE PERSONAL Bon dia Sr Pujals Vostegrave fa meacutes de vint anysque treballa amb nosaltres oi que siacute
SR PUJALS Siacute vaig entrar a lrsquoempresa el mil nou-centsvuitanta-nou el dia u de gener Vaig comenccedilarfent de peoacute i ara soacutec obrer especialitzat
CAP DE PERSONAL Siacute molt beacute molt beacute Hem de discutir unaquumlestioacute forccedila delicada vostegrave no fa hores extresoi que no Com eacutes aixograve Vostegrave sap quelrsquoempresa demana la colmiddotlaboracioacute de tota laplantilla A veure en primer lloc per quegrave no emparla una mica de la seva situacioacute familiar
SR PUJALS Eacutes que la meva dona tambeacute treballaCAP DE PERSONAL I quegrave fa la seva donaSR PUJALS Ella treballa a lrsquoajuntament Treballa massa i
torna a casa molt tard Eacutes una feina forccedilacomplicada perograve ben interessant i li agrada molt
CAP DE PERSONAL I aixograve afecta el seu horariSR PUJALS Doncs meacutes aviat siacute Jo he de recollir els nens de
lrsquoescola i estar amb ells mentre ella treballa Peraixograve no puc fer hores extres
CAP DE PERSONAL I no tenen cangur Avui en dia en teacute tothom noli sembla
SR PUJALS Ho pensarem ho pensarem eacutes clar Hoparlareacute amb la Siacutelvia perograve perograve em semblaque no li faragrave cap gragravecia
Vocabulary
ella cap de personal head of personnella fagravebrica factoryel peoacute labourer unskilled workerlrsquoobrer especialitzat skilled worker (m)lrsquoobrera especialitzada skilled worker (f)fer de to work asdiscutir to discussla quumlestioacute issue questiondelicat -ada delicateles hores extres overtimela plantilla staff work forceel lloc placelrsquoajuntament (m) town hall
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
157
complicat -ada complicatedrecollir to pick upmentre whileella cangur babysitter (literally lsquokangaroorsquo)fer gragravecia to amuseper aixograve for this reason
Language points
Useful expressions
En primer lloc (= in the first place) is useful when making severalpoints en segon lloc etc
Expressing lsquohow long agorsquo
Fa anys is the standard way of expressing time ago For examplevostegrave fa meacutes de vint anys que treballa amb nosaltres oi que siacute (= you have been working for us for more than twenty yearshavenrsquot you) Consider fa dos anys que visc a Lleida (= Irsquove livedin Lleida for two years) Unlike English this expression uses thepresent tense (you may want to think about it as lsquoIrsquove lived inLleida for two years and I still live therersquo)
Expressions with cap
Cap basically means head (head of personnel = cap de personal)but it has many other uses
1 Preceded by no it means lsquononersquo lsquonot anyrsquo Here no cap formspart of the idiomatic expression no em fa cap gragravecia (= I donrsquotthink itrsquos funnya good idea) Consider no em fa cap gragravecia anaral cinema (= I donrsquot feel like going to the cinema) Fer gragraveciameans lsquoto amusersquo so no li faragrave cap gragravecia in the dialogue meanslsquoshe wonrsquot be at all amusedrsquo
2 We have also seen cap in the phrase cap allagrave a used in timephrases like cap allagrave a les deu This can be said more simply ascap a les deu (= at about ten)
158
3 Cap a is also the standard way of saying lsquotowardsrsquo as in vaig capa lrsquoajuntament (= Irsquom heading for the town hall)
Adjectives with adverbs ben and massa
When semblar was discussed forccedila and molt were introduced tointensify adjectives In this dialogue we hear how ben is used witha similar function Ben is the form taken by beacute (= well very) whenit precedes an adjective As in eacutes ben fagravecil (= it is very easy) andben fet (= well done) but ho fa molt beacute (= he does it very well)The adjective bo rarr bon (= good) before a masculine noun followsa similar transformation eacutes un bon moment per estudiar (= it is agood time to study) but eacutes un cafegrave molt bo
Massa (= too too much) works in the same way before anadjective eacutes una pelmiddotliacutecula massa llarga In this dialogue we hear itused referring to a verb in treballa massa Other adverbs are usedin the same way treballa forccedila (= he works quite a lot) and treballamolt Note therefore that adverbs normally precede adjectives butfollow verbs
Question tags
Another characteristic of this type of conversation is the use oflsquotagsrsquo The single word oi in Catalan covers the great variety of English questions commonly tagged on to the end of sentencesas a way of seeking agreement lsquo do yoursquo lsquo donrsquot yoursquolsquodoesnrsquot he rsquo lsquowill you rsquo etc For example ja no treballesal restaurant oi (= you donrsquot work in the restaurant any more doyou) In this dialogue we hear how the speaker for greateremphasis uses oi in the phrase oi que siacute which is a stronger wayof seeking agreement eacutes una feina interessant oi que siacute (= itrsquos aninteresting job donrsquot you think) In English you might say lsquoisnrsquotthat the casersquo lsquodonrsquot you thinkrsquo lsquowouldnrsquot you agreersquo etcHowever if the phrase is negative oi que no has to be usedConsider the following statement no trsquoagrada la televisioacute oi queno (= you donrsquot like television do you) Or in the dialogue vostegraveno fa hores extres oi que no Note how unlike English in Catalanif the main sentence is in the positive the tag is in the positive andif the main sentence is in the negative the tag is in the negative
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
159
Exercise 7
Match the dictionary definitions to one of the words that appear inthe vocabulary to Dialogue 4
1 Lloc on els nens i la gent jove van a estudiar i aprendre quumles-tions acadegravemiques
2 Associacioacute comercial tipus de negoci o industria lloc on la gentva a treballar
3 Persona ben qualificada professionalment que treballa en unaempresa o fagravebrica
4 Persona que fa tot tipus de treball manual que no necessitaexperiegravencia o qualificacions especials
5 Institucioacute que administra una vila una ciutat o un municipi6 La totalitat dels obrers i persones que treballen en una fagravebrica o
empresa7 El temps que un obrer o empleat treballa a meacutes a meacutes de les
hores obligatograveries que generalment soacuten quaranta8 Lloc on els obrers treballen per la produccioacute drsquoobjectes o mate-
rials manufacturats9 Persona que ajuda a organitzar la plantilla i decideix quumlestions
laborals
Exercise 8
Choose which question tag (a) oi que siacute or (b) oi que no youwould add to the following statements
1 Vostegrave ha treballat aquiacute durant cinc anys2 Vostegrave eacutes obrer especialitzat3 Vostegrave no fa hores extres4 Vostegrave no parla de la seva situacioacute5 La seva dona treballa6 La seva dona no parla anglegraves7 Tu parles beacute lrsquoanglegraves8 Ell no parla gens drsquoanglegraves
160
Exercise 9
Combining adverbs with adjectives together with the useful phrasesyou have learnt translate into Catalan
1 I work in a school It is quite an interesting job and I like it a lotBut I think I work too hard I return home at 900 pm
2 He works in the town hall He likes his job a lot It is veryinteresting but he arrives home very late
3 We have to go and collect our children from school for thisreason we canrsquot do overtime
4 We have been working in a factory in Manresa for ten years Weare skilled workers We have problems with our head ofpersonnel Our situation is quite delicate We have to do a lot ofovertime
5 I have worked all day and I am very tired Yesterday I didnrsquotsleep at all
6 I donrsquot think itrsquos funny when I canrsquot sleep
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
161
14 Quegrave has fet avuiWhat have you done today
In this unit you will learn about
bull Describing what you have done todaybull Talking about activities relevant to the presentbull International Book Daybull Social issuesbull The perfect tensebull Sequence of activitiesbull Abbreviationsbull The -ista ending
Dialogue 1
Mercegrave asks her friend Claus about his holiday and about his last dayin Valencia
bull Can you identify
1 two things that Claus says about Valencia
2 two things that Claus has done today
3 why Claus visited the Miquelet tower
MERCE Com van anar les vacances a Valegravencia ClausCLAUS Acabo drsquoarribar fa un moment Mrsquoho he passat molt
beacute Valegravencia eacutes la ciutat ideal Bon clima bonambient menjar excelmiddotlent gent maca molta marxa
MERCE I vas veure les FallesCLAUS Que em prens el pegravel Les Falles soacuten per Sant Josep
el dinou de mars
MERCE Eacutes veritat i avui quegrave has fetCLAUS Al matiacute he sortit de Valegravencia amb lrsquoEuromed Perograve
mrsquohe llevat aviat per anar a visitar el MiqueletMERCE I quegrave hi has anat a fer al MiqueletCLAUS He anat a dir adeacuteu a ValegravenciaMERCE Ah siacuteCLAUS Beacute tambeacute he anat a comprar regalsMERCE Ah siacute Que mrsquohas comprat un regal On eacutes
Vocabulary
les vacances holidaypassar-srsquoho beacute to have a good timemaco -a goodla marxa action nightlife zest for lifeprendre el pegravel to pull someonersquos legla veritat trutheacutes veritat itrsquos trueel regal gift
Culture notes
The Euromed is a sleek modern train (el tren) that links Barcelonato Valencia in just over three hours A high-speed track is plannedthat will reduce this time significantly and join the Spanish railsystem to the European high-speed network The issue of connec-tion with Barcelona and Europe is an important one Valencia isSpainrsquos third city and the relationship between Valencia Barcelonaand Madrid is reflected as much in transport as in politics Forhistorical and political reasons some Valencians tend to look moretowards Barcelona others more towards Madrid The issue cameto a head over TV3 the Catalan television channel which for a timeValencians were not allowed to see
At the heart of les Falles celebrations are the giant-size satiricaland political papier-macirccheacute sculptures (els ninots) which are builton wooden frames and painted before being burnt as huge bonfires(les fogueres) There is one bonfire in each barri where thesemonstrous sculptures are on display for a few days before they areburnt The ritual has been described as Europersquos lsquowildest Springfestivalrsquo (Miles Roddis Valencia amp the Costa Blanca Lonely Planet2002) but there is molta marxa in Valencia all the year round
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163
El Miquelet is the cathedralrsquos bell tower offering a panoramic viewof the city
Language points
Useful expressions
Acabo drsquoarribar (= I have just arrived) Acabo de + infinitive is thestandard way of saying lsquoto have just done somethingrsquo
Passar-srsquoho beacute note how the reflexive verb passar-se combineswith ho
Que em prens el pegravel (= are you pulling my leg) Becauseprendre means lsquotakersquo and pegravel means lsquohairrsquo this useful phrase liter-ally means lsquoare you taking my hairrsquo which corresponds to Englishlsquoare you pulling my legrsquo This idiomatic phrase is pronounced asfour syllables not five Remember that que em becomes quem inspoken language Consider quem pren sel pel
The perfect tense 2
As indicated earlier the perfect tense is used to refer to the recentpast Its basic function is to refer to actions that have taken placetoday or which refer to past actions still seen to be relevant to thepresent As you know this tense is formed with haver and the pastparticiple in this dialogue sortit
Exercise 1
Listen to the audio and decide which person of the perfect tenseyou hear (1 2 3 4 5 6)
1 ______2 ______3 ______4 ______5 ______6 ______7 ______8 ______
164
Dialogue 2
Sr Amoroacutes talks to a business colleague Sr Rushdie who is visitingValencia
1 Can you name two places that Sr Rushdie has visited this
morning
2 What did he do in the afternoon
AMOROS Com ha anat aquest matiacute Quegrave ha fetRUSHDIE He fet una petita gira pel centre de Valegravencia En
primer lloc he visitat el Palau de la Generalitat i totseguit el Palau de Benicarloacute despreacutes he passejat unaestona pel Barri del Carme i al cap de mitja hora hefet un cafetonet a la placcedila de la Reina abans drsquoentrara la catedral Eacutes un oasi de tranquilmiddotlitat
AMOROS Ha entrat a la capella de Sant Francesc de Borja Ami sempre mrsquoha agradat A vostegrave li ha agradat
RUSHDIE I tant He fet fotos perograve no han sortit gaire beacute les volveure Miri aquesta ha sortit massa fosca I aquestaaltra tambeacute Les exteriors en canvi com aquesta dela Torre de Santa Caterina han quedat molt milloroi que siacute
AMOROS Estic drsquoacord eacutes molt artiacutestica I a la tarda quegrave ha fetRUSHDIE Eacutes que ha plogut tota la tarda Tinc sort que pel matiacute
he sortit molt aviat de casa i he pogut aprofitar el bontemps Perograve a la tarda no he tingut alternativa Mrsquoherefugiat al cine he vist una pelmiddotliacutecula americana moltdivertida i al final he passat una estona meacutes al bar delcine fins que ha deixat de ploure Llavors he tornata lrsquohotel I a vostegrave com li ha anat el dia
Vocabulary
la gira tourtot seguit straight afterel palau palacelrsquoestona (f) while (period of time)lrsquooasi (m) oasisla tranquilmiddotlitat tranquillity
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165
la capella chapelsant -a saintfascinar to fascinatefosc -a darken canvi instead on the other handartiacutestic -a artisticploure to raintenir sort to be luckyaprofitar to make use of to make the best oflrsquoalternativa (f) alternativerefugiar-se to take refugela pelmiddotliacutecula filmfins que until
Culture note
A sense of history
El Barri del Carme is the Gothic quarter around la placcedila de laReina At its heart is the eclectic cathedral along with other signif-icant buildings including a former Borgia palace (el Palau deBenicarloacute) and the palace of the Generalitat as well as many othermedieval and Renaissance features including several towers like laTorre de Santa Caterina El Palau de la Generalitat has been theseat of the Valencian regional government since the fifteenthcentury The saint mentioned by Sr Amoroacutes is Francesc de Borja(1510ndash72) great grandson of a Borgia pope Note that lsquoBorgiarsquo isthe Italian spelling of Borja the Valencian family that rose toprominence in fifteenth-century Italy
Language points
Useful expressions
I tant is frequently used to express strong agreementDeixar de ploure (= to stop raining) Deixar de + infinitive
means by extension lsquoto stop doing somethingrsquo he deixat de fumar(= I have stopped smokinggiven up smoking) Deixar is anotherverb with a range of meanings perhaps the main one is lsquoto leavesomething somewherersquo For example ha deixat les claus sobre lataula (= he has left the keys on the table)
166
Note also the slightly different meaning of three verbs youalready know when they are used in relation to photography fersortir and quedar
1 The use of fer in the phrase fer fotos (= to take pictures orphotos) means literally lsquoto makersquo photos
2 Sortir appears with two meanings lsquoGo outrsquo (when Sr Rushdiegoes out) and lsquocome outrsquo referring to the pictures he has taken
3 We are introduced here to another use of quedar this time refer-ring to the outcome of the photographs meaning lsquothey havecome outrsquo The meaning of quedar here is similar to the meaningof sortir
The perfect tense 3 irregular past participles
Some verbs do not simply add -at -ut or -it to form the past parti-ciple Dialogue 2 introduces some such irregular past participlesThese are
Infinitive Past participle
fer (= to make) fetveure (= to see) vistploure (= to rain) plogutpoder (= to be able) poguttenir (= to have hold) tingut
Using the perfect tense of reflexive verbs
When using a reflexive verb like dutxar-se in the perfect tensenotice how the reflexive pronoun contracts before the auxiliaryhaver mrsquohe dutxat trsquohas dutxat srsquoha dutxat and srsquohan dutxat butens hem and us heu dutxat For more irregular verbs see theGrammar reference
Sequence of activities and al cap de
We have already come across en primer lloc despreacutes and llavorsThese are all useful when describing a sequence of events Senyor
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167
Rushdie uses some new expressions in this dialogue tot seguit andal cap de + length of time (al cap de mitja hora = after half an hour)Al cap de offers particular flexibility in combining with otherelements to express time nuances Consider Al cap drsquouna estona(= after a while) al cap de poc (= after a short time) al cap de benpoc (= after a very short time) The latter is a particularly goodexample of the abundance of monosyllabic words that end in aconsonant in Catalan You have recently seen an example of this inthe phrase que em prens el pegravel This feature together with thecharacteristic -oc ending of poc also gives the phrase al cap de benpoc what some consider to be a distinctively Catalan sound
Exercise 2
Write the appropriate form of the perfect tense for the verbs initalics
1 En primer lloc jo anar a el cinema2 Tot seguit el Sr Valentiacute entrar a la catedral3 Despreacutes la Neus i lrsquoAgustiacute visitar lrsquoajuntament4 Llavors nosaltres veure el palau5 Al matiacute tu fer moltes coses6 A la tarda ells poder parlar amb mi7 Al vespre jo tenir una bona experiegravencia8 A mitjanit la Clara dutxar-se abans de sortir
Dialogue 3
Maria and Esteve discuss with his mother Clara what they havedone during St Georgersquos Day
1 Where did Esteve and Maria go this morning
2 What has Esteve bought his mother
CLARA Quegrave heu fet aquest matiacuteESTEVE Hem visitat les parades de llibresCLARA Que li has comprat una rosa a la MariaESTEVE No li he comprat un llibreCLARA Quin llibre li has compratESTEVE Li he comprat lrsquouacuteltima novelmiddotla del Ferran Torrent
168
CLARA I per quegrave no li has comprat una rosaESTEVE I de quegrave serveix una rosa Que no han de llegir les
donesCLARA Ai fill que poc romagraventic que etsMARIA Doncs jo prefereixo un llibre Aquest any he llegit
molt poc
Vocabulary
la parada stallel llibre bookla rosa rosellegir to readromagraventic -a romanticservir to serve to be of use
Culture note
International Book Day
St George is the patron saint of Catalonia La diada de Sant JordiSt Georgersquos Day (23 April) is also el dia del llibre (Book Day) acustom recently adopted by other countries On this day it is tradi-tional for men to give women a single red rose (una rosa) and forwomen to give men books in return but these gender roles havenever been set in stone Big book stalls (les parades) are set out inthe streets and main squares and booksellers offer a discountFerran Torrent is a leading contemporary Valencian writer
Language points
The perfect tense 4 uses
This dialogue shows that the perfect tense has three mainapplications
1 The main use is to refer to things done today mrsquohe llevat a lessis i he anat a la feina This usage does not always coincide withEnglish usage where one would usually say lsquoI got up at six andwent to workrsquo and not lsquoI have got up at six and I have gone toworkrsquo
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
169
2 This dialogue also shows that the perfect tense can be used as inEnglish to refer to things in the past which are felt to be still rele-vant to the moment of speaking aquest any he llegit molt poc(= this year Irsquove read very little) Other examples aquest estiuno hem fet vacances (= we have not been on holiday thissummer) sempre han viscut al mateix carrer (= they have alwayslived on the same street)
3 Examples in (2) illustrate reference to a past time with thedemonstrative aquest -a When a sentence starts with an expres-sion of time introduced with aquest -a it is normal to use the perfect tense For example aquest any no hem fet vacances(= this year we havenrsquot had a holiday) This is an area where wemust be particularly careful to avoid interference with Englishusage Consider aquesta nit no he dormit beacute (= last night I didnrsquotsleep well) aquest cap de setmana no hem sortit de casa (= thisweekend we didnrsquot leave the house)
Exercise 3
Complete your part in the following conversation with Max
YOU Ask What have you done todayMAX He anat a veure les parades de llibres de Sant JordiYOU Ask Have you bought a bookMAX He comprat lrsquouacuteltima novelmiddotla del Vaacutezquez MontalbaacutenYOU Ask Has Elena bought you a roseMAX Siacute i tambeacute nrsquoha comprat una per la seva mareYOU Ask Will you go out this eveningMAX No ho seacute suposo que siacute
Dialogue 4
Two fathers Sr Sugranyes and Sr Toda are talking about theirrespective sons Joanet and Jordi
1 For how many years has Sr Todarsquos son been studying
journalism
2 At what time did he get up today
3 Did Joanet accompany his father on the hospital visit
4 Can you pick out anything that Sr Toda says about his son
Jordi
170
TODA Quegrave fa el seu fillSUGRANYES Poca cosa El Joanet estagrave estudiant periodisme perograve
encara no ha acabat Ja fa deu anys que fa la carreraEm sembla que no acabaragrave mai Avui srsquoha llevat a lesdotze i li he dit lsquoem vols acompanyar a visitar lrsquoagravevia alrsquohospitalrsquo i mrsquoha dit lsquono puc he drsquoanar al rocogravedromrsquoI el seu fill Sr Toda
TODA Tambeacute srsquoha llevat a les dotze srsquoha fet lrsquoesmorzar i senrsquoha anat a la mani
SUGRANYES La mani Quegrave eacutes aixograve de lsquola manirsquo Sr TodaTODA La mani Una manifestacioacute Sr Sugranyes una mani-
festacioacute Eacutes tot aixograve de lrsquoantiglobalitzacioacute i lrsquoecologiaEl Jordi eacutes antiglobalista I a meacutes a meacutes eacutes okupa ElJoanet no ho eacutes
SUGRANYES Tambeacute tambeacute a mi em teacute ocupada la casa Sr Toda Ja teacute trenta-dos anys Trenta-dos anys Sr Toda I encara viu a casa meva Beacute no seacute si eacutescasa meva o casa seva
Vocabulary
encara stillacabar to finishla carrera university degree course studiesacompanyar to go with (someone)el rocogravedrom climbing wallmai neverlrsquoantiglobalitzacioacute (f) antiglobalisationlrsquoecologia (f) ecologylrsquoantiglobalista (mf) antiglobalisation activistocupat -da occupied
Culture note
The generation gap
University can take a long time and young people often stay athome up to the age of 30 and sometimes beyond This is mainly dueto the difficulty of finding employment and housing
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
171
The antiglobalisation movement has been popular among youngpeople in Catalonia for some time with hundreds of thousandsattending demonstrations in Barcelona and elsewhere The okupamovement is loosely connected with the global squatter movementand the anarchist movement which has deep roots in Cataloniafrom before the time of the Spanish Civil War (1936ndash9) GeorgeOrwell wrote a personal account of this period in Homage toCatalonia
Language points
Useful expressions
Another idiom with fer fer la carrera again alerts us to the flexi-bility of fer here meaning lsquoto do a university degree coursersquo
Position of possessives
We have seen how the possessive is normally used before membersof the family la meva germana However When referring to lsquomyhomersquo the standard phrase is casa meva casa teva etc The phrasela meva casa is also grammatically correct but it means lsquomy housersquoand not lsquomy homersquo
Abbreviated words
Eacutes (tot) aixograve de (= Itrsquos (all) that stuff about) is a general way ofreferring vaguely to something In this case it introduces somecontemporary references to modern Catalan culture la mani (shortform of la manifestacioacute (= demonstration)) and lrsquookupa (mf) (=squatter a graffiti spelling from ocupar (= to occupy)) represent awider tendency of colloquial Catalan to produce short forms ofpopular words and non-conventional spellings Many are closelyassociated with school and student culture Common examplesinclude la bici (from la bicicleta (= bicycle) la tele (televisioacute) elboli (from el boliacutegraf = lsquoballpoint penrsquo) ella profe (from ellaprofessora = lsquoteacherrsquo) la poli (from la policia = lsquopolicersquo) el cole(from el colmiddotlegi = lsquoschoolrsquo) tranqui (often used to mean lsquocalmdownrsquo in the phrase tranqui tranqui from tranquil = lsquocalmrsquo)
172
Nouns ending in -ista
Antiglobalista provides an example of the -ista ending used inwords like artista optimista dentista (= dentist) etc These wordsdo not change their ending when applied to men or women so eldentista and la dentista In the plural els dentistes and les dentistesIt is more common to hear the masculine plural as this includesboth men and women whereas the feminine plural is used only torefer to women
Exercise 4
Translate into Catalan
1 At what time did you get up today2 What have you eaten for breakfast today3 What did you do yesterday4 Where did they have lunch yesterday5 Has it rained today6 What did you do this afternoon7 What did they do this evening8 When did you get up yesterday9 Did you have a shower
10 Have you visited Valencia cathedral11 Did you go to work yesterday
Exercise 5
Listen to the audio and identify five of the adjectives used in thisdescription of les Falles de Valencia
Exercise 6
Look at the following definitions of words that appear in the vocab-ulary and language points of Dialogue 4 Identify the words thatcorrespond to each of the eleven definitions
1 Una persona creativa que es dedica a lrsquoart2 Un sistema de transport que eacutes molt ecologravegic i saludable3 Verb transitiu lrsquoaccioacute drsquoanar amb una altra persona a un lloc
especiacutefic
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173
4 Una persona que no estagrave drsquoacord amb la situacioacute drsquoinjustiacutecia delrsquoeconomia global
5 Un grup de moltes persones que caminen pels carrers cridanteslogravegans i demanant canvis socials
6 Una persona del moacuten megravedic que arregla la boca i les dents delsseus pacients
7 Organitzacioacute que manteacute lrsquoordre puacuteblic i que fa un serveidrsquoassistegravencia als ciutadans en moments de dificultat
8 Una persona que sempre veu les coses de forma positiva9 Lloc on van els nens a estudiar
10 Persona que viu en les cases abandonades on no hi ha ninguacute ibusca la independegravencia de la famiacutelia
11 Ciegravencia que estudia lrsquoequilibri en el medi ambient entre lesplantes els animals els eacutessers humans i els fenogravemensatmosfegraverics
Exercise 7
Translate this postcard Claus sent his daughter
174
Dear AnnaYesterday in the morning I went to the cathedral and in the
afternoon I visited some friends Today I have done lots of thingsand have visited many places Now I am eating paella in a restaurantnear the placcedila de la Reina Valencia has had a very interesting historyToday it is famous for the Falles The Falles are bonfires ofsculptures and other combustible materials I saw the Fallesyesterday and I liked them a lot good food good music good peopleIt is a fascinating city I want to return next year Tomorrow I willgo shopping and I will buy you a very special present
Lots of love and kisses Claus
15 La sobretaulaAfter dinner talk
In this unit you will learn about
bull Describing aspects of work and home lifebull Agreeing and disagreeingbull Vocabulary of professions and workbull Second and third conjugation verbsbull Prepositionsbull Conjunctions
La sobretaula refers to the practice of sitting lsquoaround the tablersquo aftera meal and engaging in conversation The long lunch break is an established part of Mediterranean life It is convenientespecially when it is hot and some people still take a migdiada(afternoon nap or siesta) particularly in rural areas
The sobretaula tends to be particularly lengthy on dies de festa(weekends patron saintsrsquo days and official celebrations) Thedialogues in this unit are examples of the types of sobretaulaconversation which can be rather serious (as in Dialogue 3)although gossip and other socially bonding topics of discussionfigure prominently too
Dialogue 1
Blai a chef has just met Terenci a former teacher who now worksas a journalist in local radio Terenci says how important it is in hisprofession to meet people
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
bull In which order do you hear the following phrases
soacutec professor perograve em dedico al periodisme _____
i vostegrave a quegrave es dedica _____
estic drsquoacord _____
els restaurants soacuten un bon lloc per parlar _____
oi que siacute _____
BLAI Quina eacutes la seva professioacuteTERENCI Jo soacutec professorBLAI I a quegrave es dedicaTERENCI Soacutec professor perograve em dedico al periodisme faig de
presentador drsquoun programa esportiu a la ragravedioBLAI On treballaTERENCI Treballo en una ragravedio local I vostegrave a quegrave es dedicaBLAI Jo soacutec cuinerTERENCI Ah eacutes una feina interessantBLAI Estic drsquoacord perograve eacutes molt difiacutecil Vostegrave menja molt als
restaurants oi que siacuteTERENCI Siacute per mi eacutes molt important parlar i els restaurants soacuten
un bon lloc per parlar sobretot durant la sobretaulaEacutes la meva excusa Potser perdo molt de temps perograve eacutes molt uacutetil no sols per saber quegrave pensa lagent sinoacute que tambeacute per no haver de cuinar Perograve perograve temo que anar tant als restaurants no eacutes bo perlrsquouacutelcera
Vocabulary
la professioacute professionel professor teacherdedicar-se a to work asel periodisme journalismel presentador presenteresportiu -iva sportsel cuiner cook chefdurant duringmolt de temps a lot of timeperdre to loseuacutetil usefulcuinar to cookteacutemer to fear
176
tant so much so oftenno sols sinoacute que not only but (also) lrsquouacutelcera (f) ulcer
Language points
Talking about work
Fer de is one of the many idiomatic uses of this verb the expres-sion means lsquoto work asrsquo lsquoto have a job asrsquo There can often be ahint of it being a temporary new or different job
Note the difference between English and Catalan when sayingwhat your job is with no indefinite article la meva cunyada eacutes infer-mera (= my sister-in-law is a nurse)
In work-related conversation the reflexive verb dedicar-se (a)is often heard meaning lsquoto be occupiedemployed (as)rsquo literally lsquotodedicate (oneself) torsquo Note how dedicar-se a is followed by anabstract noun em dedico al periodisme as in the dialogue or emdedico a lrsquoensenyament (= I am in teaching) whereas other expres-sions like fer de are used with the name of the professional in thefield faig de botiguer (= Irsquom working as a shopkeeper) soacutec empre-sari (= Irsquom a businessman)
Sitting down to talk prepositions and conjunctions
As we move into situations in which people are sitting together andhaving longer conversations sentences naturally become morecomplex This is noticeable in the use of prepositions and above all in the increased use of conjunctions which allow the speaker to connect thoughts and phrases together with greater fluency Asindicated in Unit 8 prepositions usually establish a relationshipbetween words (lsquoinrsquo lsquoatrsquo lsquoonrsquo lsquobyrsquo lsquowithrsquo lsquofromrsquo lsquoofrsquo lsquoforrsquo etc) Ifprepositions establish connections within a sentence conjunctionsdo a similar job between sentences (lsquoandrsquo lsquoorrsquo lsquobutrsquo lsquothenrsquo lsquothatrsquolsquobecausersquo etc) You will find that including prepositions andconjunctions in your speech will help you use more of the vocabu-lary and the verbs you have learnt For lists of frequently usedprepositions and conjunctions see the Grammar reference
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
177
Preposition a
So far we have discussed prepositions as they occurred in thedialogues and the most frequently used ones appeared in theLanguage builder at the end of Unit 8 This dialogue shows us moreabout the preposition a which as you know can be used both inexpressions of direction (totowards) for example vaig a la platja(= Irsquom going to the beach) and of position (atin) Consider thephrase treballo a la ragravedio (= I work in radio) What we also observein treballo en una ragravedio local is that a is normally replaced by en inexpressions of position when followed by un(a) algun(a) andaquest(a) which begin with vowels So soacutec a la fagravebrica (= I am atthe factory) but treballo en una fagravebrica Two further points in rela-tion to prepositions
1 Remember that a few verbs like dedicar-se (a) are almostalways followed by a preposition em dedico a la gestioacutedrsquoempreses (= I work in management) You already know anara used again in this dialogue anar als restaurants Other verbscan be used with or without a preposition and in this case theverbrsquos meaning can change slightly as is the case with fer (de)Examples faig molta feina (= I do a lot of work) faig de pagegraves(= Irsquom working as a farm worker)
2 Sometimes you will see per a for per especially in written textsThe a is usually lost in the spoken language
Conjunctions
Note how the following conjunctions establish a relationshipbetween sentences (lsquoandrsquo [i] lsquoorrsquo [o] lsquobutrsquo [perograve] lsquothenrsquo [doncs]lsquothatrsquo [que] lsquobecausersquo [perquegrave]) These conjunctions have all figuredprominently in previous dialogues and texts In this dialogueTerencirsquos pauses and hesitations are punctuated in his speech withthe colloquial insistence upon the conjunction perograve
No sols sinoacute que (tambeacute) = lsquonot only but (also)rsquo Thisis an example of a more complex conjunction of the type moreusually found in written texts or in formal speech
178
The present tense the second conjugation
The dialogue uses three verbs perdre (= to lose) saber (= to know)and teacutemer (= to fear) that belong to the small group of mainly irreg-ular verbs that form the second conjugation (see Unit 8) As youknow this conjugation is formed by verbs with an infinitive endingin in -re or -er In Unit 12 we also mentioned a small sub-groupending in -endre which has the first person ending in -enc (prendreaprendre vendre entendre etc) The main thing to observe withother members of this group is that they often do not have an -oending in the first person and instead end in a consonant soundfor example conegraveixer (= to be acquainted with to know people)whose first person is conec Remember that the most frequentlyused irregular verbs like saber appear in a table in the Grammarreference Observe that the most obvious irregularity is often in thefirst person as in veure rarr veig and in the next dialogue creure(= to believe) rarr crec
Exercise 1
Using the Language builder to help you listen to the audio anddecide which jobs fit the descriptions you hear
1 _________________________2 _________________________3 _________________________4 _________________________5 _________________________6 _________________________7 _________________________8 _________________________9 _________________________
Exercise 2
Place al a or en in the blank spaces as appropriate
1 Treballo _____ una oficina de Telefogravenica vaig _____ la feinacada dia
2 Treballo _____ la televisioacute soacutec enginyer tegravecnic3 Faig de professor treballo _____ una escola
111123456789101112111314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041224211
179
4 Visc _____ un bloc de pisos5 _____ la ragravedio sempre passen moltes coses interessants6 Avui _____ despatx he de treballar fins molt tard7 Si vols per quegrave no quedem meacutes tard _____ centre
Exercise 3
Match the verbs in group A with the most likely words and phrasesfrom group B
Group A Group B
1 venc a en la religioacute islagravemica2 temen b el xinegraves3 perdem c pomes4 entenc d un paisatge maravelloacutes5 veig e la resposta6 conec f la paciegravencia7 saben g te8 prenc h les pelmiddotliacutecules drsquohorror9 crec i lrsquoAgustiacute des de fa molts anys
Dialogue 2
Isabel a social worker and Patriacutecia a younger colleague discuss thelsquogeneration gaprsquo
1 What does Patriacutecia think of sharing the house with her parents
2 Why does Isabel sometimes find it difficult to sleep
3 How does Patriacutecia justify having a new car
4 Who has paid for the car
5 According to Patriacutecia why is family so important in this society
ISABEL Avui dia la meva generacioacute tenim una vida relativa-ment fagravecil La teva generacioacute eacutes molt diferentVosaltres teniu la necessitat constant drsquoactivitatSempre sortiu no sou mai a casa
PATRICIA Eacutes que jo ja tinc vint-i-set anys jo comparteixo la casaamb els pares per obligacioacute No eacutes fagravecil
ISABEL Ja ho seacute Eacutes el cas de la meva filla nosaltres no coin-cidim gaire a casa Jo pateixo molt sobretot quan surtamb el cotxe A vegades no dormo perquegrave pateixo sieacutes molt tard
180
PATRICIA Eacutes que les mares sou aixiacute Sempre patiuISABEL Eacutes lrsquoinstintPATRICIA Jo crec que els joves drsquoara no tenim oportunitats No
hi ha ni feina ni pisos pels joves o compartim la casaamb els pares o vivim al carrer
ISABEL No estic drsquoacord Per exemple tu no estagraves tan mala-ment Oi que trsquoacabes de comprar un cotxe nou
PATRICIA Siacute el necessito per la feina Sovint surto pels poblesa visitar clients
ISABEL I com eacutes que tens diners per comprar un cotxePATRICIA Soacuten diners de lrsquoagraveviaISABEL Veus com els joves drsquoara no esteu malamentPATRICIA Eacutes que en aquest paiacutes la famiacutelia eacutes el sistema de
seguretat social
Vocabulary
avui dia nowadaysla generacioacute generationrelativament relativelyla necessitat need necessityconstant constantcompartir to sharenecessitar to need
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181
lrsquoobligacioacute (f) obligationcoincidir to coincide to be togetherpatir to sufferel cotxe carlrsquoinstint (m) instinctcreure to believelrsquooportunitat (f) opportunityni ni neither nor el pis apartment flatels diners moneyla seguretat social social security
Culture note
Social issues
Patriciarsquos final point relates to family arrangements and the socialsecurity system What she says is valid for many Mediterraneansocieties which are often seen to fail their young people It is saidthat Catalans tend to depend more on their immediate andextended family for welfare support and career opportunities thantheir counterparts in northern Europe
Language points
Useful expressions
The underlined expressions in the dialogue are particularly usefulin discussions
1 You have already heard the expression eacutes que This is very usefulto introduce an explanation and it means something like lsquothefact is that rsquo An extension of this is i com eacutes que meaninglsquoand how is it that rsquo
2 Observe two further examples of how oi que is used
a To introduce questions for which a positive answer isexpected often seeking confirmation of something alreadyknown oi que tens un cotxe nou (= havenrsquot you got a newcar)
182
b As a gentle way of making a request (often with the futuretense) oi que mrsquoacompanyaragraves al cine (= you will come tothe cinema with me wonrsquot you)
3 Estic drsquoacord and no estic drsquoacord are ways of expressing agree-ment and disagreement The expressions hi estic drsquoacord and nohi estic drsquoacord are also frequently heard We also hear jo crecque which is a strong way of introducing an opinion meaninglsquoI believe thatrsquo Compare creure (= to believe) with pensar (= tothink) and semblar (= to seem)
4 A vegades (= sometimes) Una vegada dues vegades tresvegades etc is the standard way of saying lsquooncersquo lsquotwicersquo lsquothreetimesrsquo Moltes vegades (= many times)
The third conjugation -eix- verbs preferirlsquoto preferrsquo
This dialogue introduces more third conjugation verbs (-ir ending)In Unit 8 we considered the conjugation of the regular verbs Herewe find another type of third conjugation verb to which compartir(lsquoto sharersquo) coincidir (lsquoto coincidersquo) decidir (lsquoto decidersquo) and patir(lsquoto sufferto worryrsquo) belong This type of third conjugation verbdiffers from the rest because it introduces an -eix- sound sometimescalled an increment before the usual endings in all persons exceptthe first and second person plural You are already familiar with themost commonly used member of this verb group in the first personprefereixo from preferir
prefereixoprefereixesprefereixpreferimpreferiuprefereixen
The -eix- verbs are wholly regular unlike many non-incrementing-ir verbs which tend to have some irregularities
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183
Exercise 4
Read the text of Dialogue 2 again First underline all the third con-jugation verbs Second make two lists one with non-incrementing-ir verbs and one with incrementing ones
Exercise 5
Conjugate the present tense of patir and compartir
Exercise 6
Now complete the missing verb forms
1 Nosaltres _____ la necessitat constant drsquoactivitat (tenir)2 Jo sempre _____ no _____ mai a casa (sortir ser)3 Jo i la meva germana _____ la casa amb els nostres pares per
obligacioacute (compartir)4 Jo _____ sortir de nit que anar a dormir (preferir)5 Nosaltres _____ un cotxe per anar a la feina (compartir)6 La Patriacutecia i els seus amics sempre _____ de nit (sortir)7 No _____ pa A quina hora _____ el forn (haver-hi obrir)8 El Pere no _____ mai No li _____ (sortir agradar)9 Per quegrave tu _____ tant _____ a quina hora em llevo jo
A les sis del matiacute (dormir saber)10 A casa no _____ gaire sovint amb els meus pares _____
horaris diferents (coincidir treballar)11 La meva mare _____ molt per mi _____ que no vull treballar
perograve eacutes que eacutes molt difiacutecil _____ feina (patir pensar trobar)
Dialogue 3
During la sobretaula Sr Toda and Sr Sugranyes discuss thesituation of the Catalan language
What language
1 does Sr Sugranyes speak with his Mallorcan work colleague
2 is spoken by the employees of certain companies
3 according to La Vanguardia newspaper is spoken mostly in the
peripheral belt around Barcelona
4 is spoken by young people (according to Sr Sugranyes)
184
SUGRANYES Miri Sr Toda la llengua catalana estagrave en unasituacioacute difiacutecil
TODA Home no seacute quegrave dir-li Jo no hi estic drsquoacord Sitenim en compte les circumstagravencies no estagrave tanmalament
SUGRANYES Vostegrave eacutes un optimistaTODA Siacute jo sempre penso que el vas estagrave mig pleSUGRANYES Doncs jo penso que estagrave mig buit Miri un exemple
dels problemes que tenim el meu veiacute treballa ambun mallorquiacute i diu que no lrsquoenteacuten i que ha de parlaren castellagrave amb ell
TODA Tambeacute hi ha empreses en aquest paiacutes on elsempleats parlen anglegraves i no passa res
SUGRANYES I quegrave em diu de la notiacutecia de La Vanguardia que ala perifegraveria de Barcelona hi ha meacutes gent que parlacastellagrave que catalagrave
TODA Siacute perograve tambeacute ara hi ha meacutes gent que eacutes bilinguumleLa majoria parla tambeacute catalagrave
SUGRANYES I els jovesTODA Quegrave passa ara amb els joves Sr Sugranyes Vostegrave
sempre parla malament drsquoells Ja nrsquohi ha prou queno eacutes pas tan fagravecil ser jove avui dia
SUGRANYES Que tots parlen castellagrave eacutes el que passa Sr Todaque els joves drsquoara prefereixen el castellagrave Jo pateixomolt per aquestes quumlestions Sr Toda
TODA Vinga home vinga No exageri Sr Sugranyes vostegravepren massa cafegrave per quegrave no passa a la tisana
Vocabulary
la situacioacute situationla circumstagravencia circumstanceoptimista optimisticel vas glass cupple -na fullbuit -da emptyel veiacute la veiumlna neighbourel paiacutes countrylrsquoempleat employeela notiacutecia news item
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185
la perifegraveria periphery outskirtsbilinguumle bilingualla majoria majorityprou enoughno exageri donrsquot exaggeratela tisana herbal tea
Culture notes
The dialogue reflects some of the linguistic and political tensionssurrounding the use of Catalan Sr Sugranyes says that his neigh-bour has difficulty in understanding the Majorcan variety ofCatalan He might be referring mainly to the pronunciation of someof the vowel sounds some of which are different in MajorcanThere are also some differences in verb endings and vocabulary Healso refers to his own perception of the threat represented by theuse of Castilian (Spanish) by young people
It is not rare to hear aspects of language being discussed at sobre-taula This is an area on which a wide range of opinions are heldand conversations can be lengthy Sr Toda mentions les circum-stagravencies which refer to the social and political situation that existsin the different areas where Catalan is spoken
La Vanguardia is the main Castilian-language broadsheet pub-lished in Barcelona The most prominent Catalan-language news-paper is Avui (wwwavuies) There is also a very successful paperpublished in both languages called El Perioacutedico de Catalunya (wwwelperiodicoes) El Diari de Barcelona is only published online(wwwdiaridebarcelonacom) Also of interest are the independentEl Punt (wwwvilawebcom) and TV3 online (wwwtvcatalunyacom) A number of Catalan radio stations can also be found on the net
Language points
Tan and tant
In this dialogue we have heard again the use of tan meaning lsquosorsquolsquoasrsquo as in no estagrave tan malament (= it isnrsquot so bad) it is an adverband therefore its ending will never change In Dialogue 1 we heard
186
the use of tant in anar tant als restaurants no eacutes bo per lrsquouacutelcerawhich has the same pronunciation and means lsquoso muchrsquo Tant canbe used as an adjective and therefore has feminine and pluralendings tant tanta tants tantes and can mean lsquoso muchrsquo and lsquosomanyrsquo For example tantes sorpreses no soacuten bones per la salut (=so many surprises are not good for your health)
The use of pas
In no eacutes pas tan fagravecil ser jove avui dia (= it is not at all easy to beyoung these days) we hear another example of tan but there is alsoan example of a construction that is not uncommon in Catalan no pas This is an idiomatic way of adding emphasis to a negativestatement Another example is no mrsquoagrada pas treballar
The use of prou
The phrase ja nrsquohi ha prou combines four elements all of which wehave met before apart from prou which is introduced here for thefirst time The basic meaning of the statement is lsquothatrsquos enoughrsquoThe individual elements that make up this expression are jameaning lsquoalreadyrsquo nrsquo(en) meaning lsquoof itrsquo and hi ha meaning lsquothereisrsquo Prou on its own is a simple and effective way of expressinglsquoenoughrsquo
The use of estar
Note that the first exchanges in this dialogue contain several exam-ples of how estar is used to express the idea of lsquoto bersquo to refer tostates likely to change or the result of change
TODA Home no seacute quegrave dir-li Jo no hi estic drsquoacord Si tenimen compte les circumstagravencies no estagrave tan malament
SUGRANYES Vostegrave eacutes un optimistaTODA Siacute jo sempre penso que el vas estagrave mig ple
Eacutes is used however in vostegrave eacutes un optimista because it expressesan inherent characteristic
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187
Exercise 7
Identify which phrases used in Dialogue 3 mean the following
1 There are more people who are bilingual2 Donrsquot exaggerate3 I always think that the glass is half full4 I disagree5 Well then I donrsquot know what to say6 I worry a lot about these matters7 Why donrsquot you change to herbal tea
Exercise 8
Now take part in this conversation with your friend Jordi about hisexperience as an agricultural worker Use the words and phrases inthe Language builder to help you
YOU Ask You do like the job donrsquot youJORDI Siacute mrsquoagrada molt perograve nomeacutes fa dos mesos que faig
de pagegravesYOU Ask Why do you like itJORDI Eacutes que eacutes una feina tranquilmiddotla Jo crec que eacutes bo
treballar a lrsquoaire lliure eacutes meacutes saludable A tu quegrave etsembla
YOU Say I donrsquot agree I prefer to work in an officeJORDI Ah doncs prefereixes lrsquoestregraves de la ciutat estar tot el
dia tancat a lrsquooficinaYOU Say The thing is that I like to work with a lot of people
and to go to the restaurant to have lunch Eating inrestaurants is healthy isnrsquot it
JORDI Va home va No exageris Saludable per lrsquouacutelceraYOU Ask And how is it that you have come to BarcelonaJORDI He vingut a veure el mecagravenic perquegrave tinc problemes
amb el cotxeYOU Ask Is it that there are no mechanics in the villageJORDI Eacutes clar que nrsquohi ha Perograve necessito un especialista
188
Language builder work and professions
Asking what someonersquos job is Answering
Quina eacutes la seva professioacute Soacutec enginyer = I am an engineerA quegrave es dedica Treballo drsquoarquitecte
= I work as an architectQuina feina fas Jo no treballo = I donrsquot workOn treballes Soacutec jubilat = I am retiredQuant fa que treballes de Estic a lrsquoatur = I am unemployed
Professions
Masculine Feminine English
lrsquoactor lrsquoactriu actorlrsquoarquitecte lrsquoarquitecta architectel botiguer la botiguera shopkeeperel cuiner la cuinera cheflrsquoempresari lrsquoempresagraveria businessmanwomanlrsquoinfermer la infermera nurseel metge la metgessa doctorel mecagravenic la mecagravenic mechanicel pagegraves la pagesa agricultural workerel periodista la periodista journalistel professor la professora teacherel traductor la traductora translator
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189
16 Quegrave vas ferWhat did you do
In this unit you will learn about
bull Referring to past actions and previous experiencebull Communicating ideas in writingbull The preterite tensebull The imperfect tensebull Combining the preterite and the imperfect
Text 1
Sra Victograveria Rilska is writing to Sra Isabel Muntaner responding to a request for further information about her previous workexperience
bull Before looking at the vocabulary answer the following
questions
1 What is the purpose of Victograveriarsquos letter
2 What is her profession
3 What important event in her personal life took place in
London
4 Why does she want to live in Catalonia
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191
Sra Victograveria Rilska1 Buckingham GardensSouth KensingtonLondon SW1 1XX
Sra Isabel MuntanerFograverum Periodiacutestic CatalagraveCSiciacutelia 239 2n 1a
Londres 6 de setembre de 2005
Distingida senyora
Li escric aquesta carta perquegrave vostegrave em va demanarinformacioacute sobre la meva experiegravencia laboral Vaig neacuteixera Bulgagraveria i vaig estudiar periodisme a la universitat deSogravefia Vaig comenccedilar a treballar de periodista en unimportant diari buacutelgar (Trud) lrsquoany 1975 Cinc anysdespreacutes vaig passar a ser la corresponsal a Londres A Anglaterra vaig conegraveixer el meu marit tambeacuteperiodista Eacutes fill de catalans els seus pares van anar aviure a Anglaterra al final de la Guerra Civil espanyolalrsquoany 1939 i lrsquoany passat ell va comenccedilar a treballar ambuna empresa financera a Barcelona Vam comenccedilar apassar temporades llargues a Barcelona i finalment vamdecidir quedar-nos a viure aquiacute Eacutes per aixograve que li vaigescriure el mes passat per demanar feina i li agraeixo moltla seva amable resposta
Atentament
Victograveria RilskaPD Adjunt li envio el meu curriacuteculum
Vocabulary
distingit -ida dear (formal)la carta letterlaboral work (related)neacuteixer to be bornel diari newspaperella corresponsal correspondentLondres LondonAnglaterra Englandfinancer -a financialla temporada period (of time) seasonquedar-se to stayescriure to writeagrair to thank for to be grateful foratentament yours sincerely (formal)adjunt attached enclosedel curriacuteculum CV reacutesumeacute
Culture note
There are no major differences between letter writing in Englishand Catalan One minor difference is the way the date is writtenwith the name of the place followed by a comma and the day month(with no capital letter) and the year It can be placed above orbelow the main body of the letter PD is used as an equivalent tolsquoPSrsquo which is also an alternative Distingit -ida and Atentamentare formal ways of saying lsquoDearrsquo and lsquoYours sincerelyrsquo in a letterWe have already seen estimat -da and una abraccedilada for beginningand ending more informal letters to friends Another common wayof ending a letter is Ben cordialment (= Yours sincerely)
Language points
The preterite tense 2 the auxiliary form of anar
When the preterite was introduced in Unit 12 we learnt that it isformed by placing an auxiliary before the infinitive The forms of
192
the auxiliary vaig vas va vam vau van coincide in part with thepresent tense of anar (vaig vas va anem aneu van) Consider thedifference then between vaig menjar (= I ate) and vaig a menjar(= I am going to eat) where we see an instance of the preterite inthe first example and the verb anar followed by a + infinitive in thesecond example Consider two further examples
1 Va treballar en una empresa americana (= he worked in anAmerican company) and va a treballar a les sis (= he goes towork at six orsquoclock)
2 Vam treballar per un diari japonegraves (= we worked for a Japanesenewspaper) and anem a treballar a les sis (= we go to work atsix orsquoclock)
Note that the first phrase of each pair contains the auxiliary usedto form the preterite and that the second phrase of each paircontains the present tense of the verb anar proper
Uses of the preterite
1 As you know the preterite refers to single actions completed inthe past before today For example van comprar entrepans (= theybought sandwiches) va solmiddotlicitar una feina de cambrer en unrestaurant molt bo (= he applied for a job as a waiter in a very goodrestaurant)
2 Events viewed as over and done with and completed (or periodsof onersquos life looked back upon as single events as we see in theletter) are also referred to in the preterite vaig estudiar periodismea la universitat de Sogravefia (= I studied journalism at Sofia university)a Anglaterra vaig conegraveixer la meva dona (= I met my wife inEngland)
3 The preterite is also used when describing sequences of eventsFor example va telefonar a la secretagraveria i li va preguntar el nomdel director de recursos humans despreacutes va escriure una carta persolmiddotlicitar la feina drsquoadministratiu (= he phoned the secretary andasked for the name of the human resources manager then he wrotea letter to apply for a job in administration)
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193
Exercise 1
Write the appropriate form of the preterite auxiliary verb in thefollowing letter written by an employee who has been asked to givean explanation for his absence when he had to take his wife tohospital
Vostegrave em _____ demanar una explicacioacute jo no _____ fer res per ameregraveixer aquest tractament per part de lrsquoempresa Eacutes veritat que jono _____ venir a la feina aquell dia La meva dona _____ tenir unaccident molt important A les nou del matiacute jo _____ haver deportar-la a lrsquohospital de Sant Pau Els metges _____ ser fantagravestics i_____ solucionar el problema ragravepidament perograve jo _____ haverdrsquoestar amb ella moltes hores i no _____ poder anar a treballar Hosento molt
Exercise 2
Fill in the gaps with the appropriate preterite form of the verb inbrackets
1 Jo _____ (viure) tres anys a Vila-real2 Ahir el Marc i jo _____ (escriure) una carta als nostres pares3 La Maria _____ (dir) que no a la segona cervesa4 Els parlamentaris _____ (expressar) la seva opinioacute
enegravergicament5 Vosaltres _____ (sortir) ahir a la nit6 La Teresa i lrsquoErnest _____ (anar) a una festa Diuen que _____
(ser) molt divertida
Exercise 3
Complete the following sentences observing the differencebetween vaig and vaig a
1 Lrsquoany passat _____ (escriure) moltes cartes als meus amics2 Ara _____ (escriure) una carta a la meva mare3 Ara _____ (visitar) la Marta a lrsquohospital ja fa dies que hi eacutes4 Ahir _____ (visitar) la catedral de Tarragona5 Dimarts passat _____ (sopar) a Can Pepis6 Aquest vespre _____ (sopar) a Can Pepis
194
Dialogue 1
Now listen to this short extract of an interview between Sra Muntanerand Victograveria Rilska about what she used to do when she was in hernative Bulgaria
SRA MUNTANER Quegrave feia vostegrave quan era a BulgagraveriaVICTORIA De jove jo era atleta corria els vuit-cents
metres Prometia molt Fins i tot els meus parespensaven que seria una atleta professional Peraixograve jo treballava a la seccioacute drsquoesports del diariEra responsable del tennis i lrsquoatletisme Mrsquoenvi-aven a tots els campionats internacionals i mrsquohopassava molt beacute perograve estava sempre moltestressada i guanyava molt poc Per aixograve vamanar a Londres Allagrave guanyagravevem molts dinersperograve era una vida molt frenegravetica Ara volem unavida meacutes sedentagraveria
Vocabulary
lrsquoatleta (mf) athletecoacuterrer to runprometre to promiseseria I would beenviar to sendel campionat championshipestressat -da stressedfrenegravetic -a franticsedentari -agraveria sedentary
Language point
Formation of the imperfect
The imperfect tense has two sets of endingsFirst conjugation -ar verbs add the following endings to the stem
-ava -aves -ava -agravevem -agraveveu -aven For example the imperfectof parlar is parlava parlaves parlava parlagravevem parlagraveveuparlaven
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
195
Second and third conjugation verbs form the imperfect with -ia-ies -ia -iacuteem -iacuteeu -ien There are few irregularities if one considersthat the stem used to form the imperfect is the same as the firstperson plural of the present So prendre rarr pren-em rarr preniabeure rarr bev-em rarr bevia etc For example the imperfect tense ofperdre is perdia perdies perdia perdiacuteem perdiacuteeu perdien
The main exception is ser which has a completely different formera eres era eacuterem eacutereu eren Another exception is fer whichretains fe- as the stem and adds regular endings but with the stresson the stem fe- and not on the ending -ia as in prenia feia feiesfeia fegraveiem fegraveieu feien There is a small group of verbs that followsthis model like dir (deia etc) and creure (creia etc)
Uses of the imperfect
The imperfect refers to past events extended in time It has twomain uses
196
1 To express something that was going on for a period of time asin the dialogue quegrave feia vostegrave quan era a Bulgagraveria (= what wereyou doing when you were in Bulgaria) It often combines withthe preterite to express what was going on when something elsehappened Consider mirava la tele quan la Maria va arribar(= I was watching television when Maria arrived) As in thiscase the imperfect often corresponds to lsquowasrsquo + -ing endingin English
2 The imperfect is also used to refer to habitual actions in the pastin which it corresponds to English constructions with lsquoused torsquoConsider quan era jove jugava a tennis amb el meu germagrave cadadia (= when I was young I used to play tennis with my brotherevery day)
An interesting feature of this dialogue is seria (= I would be)Although this looks like an imperfect it is actually the conditionaltense of ser The conditional will be introduced in Unit 18 but youmay want to keep this similarity in mind for later
Exercise 4
Fill in the appropriate imperfect forms of the verbs in brackets inthe following sentences
1 Fa sis anys el Liam i jo _____ (viure) a Liverpool2 Quan lrsquoOriol i el Manuel _____ (ser) joves _____ (anar) sovint
a la discoteca3 Tres o quatre vegades a la setmana el Pere _____ (passejar)
per la platja4 Quan vaig arribar a casa seva lrsquoAlbert _____ (llegir) el diari5 Aquell dia quegrave _____ (fer) vostegrave6 Quan et vaig telefonar _____ (estar) dormint
Exercise 5
Fill in the appropriate imperfect forms
Quan tenia set anys jo _____ (viure) al barri de Gragravecia Cada dia_____ (anar) al colmiddotlegi local _____ (agradar-se) molt jugar amb elsamics Els meus amics i jo _____ (fer) moltes coses La mevaactivitat preferida _____ (ser) pintar Les activitats creatives i elsesports _____ (ser) fagravecils Perograve jo _____ (tenir) moltes dificultats per
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
197
aprendre les matemagravetiques En canvi el meu millor amic el Carles_____ (aprendre) matemagravetiques sense cap dificultat
Text 2
James writes to his friend Magraverius telling him about the year he spentstudying in Barcelona
1 How did James make a living during his year in Barcelona
2 Why was he offered work as a model
3 What did he do with the money he was earning
4 What was the final outcome of his experience
198
Ei Magraverius
Em preguntes com va anar per Barcelona lrsquoany passat i quegrave vaigfer Cada dia anava a classes de catalagrave a la universitat Feiamograveduls de filologia catalana Era difiacutecil perograve interessant i uacutetilper mi Per guanyar-me la vida donava classes drsquoanglegraves en unaacadegravemia Compartia el pis amb quatre mallorquins Ens hopassagravevem molt beacute i regraveiem molt eren uns tios collonuts
Un dia jo anava pel carrer tranquilmiddotlament quan de sobte unhome em va preguntar si volia fer de model Jo em pensava queho deia de conya perograve ell va insistir em va dir que emsemblava al David Beckham (quin fagravestic) i vaig acceptar perquegravepagaven molt beacute Pagaven mil euros per sessioacute no estagrave mal oique no No vaig dubtar gaire
Amb els diners vaig comprar un cotxe de segona magrave i vaigviatjar per tota Espanya Quin viatge tio Vaig visitar unsamics al Paiacutes Basc i vam anar drsquoescalada als Picos de EuropaEra la bona vida fins que es van acabar els diners i quan vaiganar a veure el tio de las fotos havia desaparegut Totalque tinc un deute com una catedral Vaig tornar a Escogravecia i
Vocabulary
cada each everyel mogravedul modulela filologia study of languageguanyar-se la vida to earn a livingdonar classes to teachlrsquoacadegravemia (f) private (language) schoolriure to laughcollonut -da greatde sobte all of a suddende conya kiddingsemblar-se a to look likequin fagravestic how revoltingpagar to paydubtar to doubtde segona magrave second-handviatjar to travelel viatge journeyescalada rock climbingdesaparegraveixer to disappearel deute debtla targeta de cregravedit credit carddesesperat -ada desperatearreglar to sort things out to mend
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
199
estic treballant dia i nit per pagar els deutes que tinc amb elbanc i les targetes de cregravedit Estic desesperat Ara he detreballar perograve aviat ho arreglareacute tot Prou que he drsquoanar adormir
Una abraccedilada
James
Culture note
This is an example of an informal style with words of widespreaduse but of informal register some of which have appeared beforelike tio and some of which are slightly vulgar like collonut andde conya
Language points
Riure is irregular in its stem reia reies reia regraveiem regraveieu reienIn the first few lines James uses mainly the imperfect referring
to things he was habitually doing (the things that he lsquoused to dorsquo orlsquowas doingrsquo while he was in Barcelona) But when he starts tellingthe story about being given work as a model James switches to thepreterite because the emphasis is now on a sequence of events Inhavia desaparegut (= he had disappeared) we hear an example ofthe pluperfect tense used for things that had happened before anaction in the past tense It is formed with the imperfect of haverand the past participle used to form the perfect tense
In guanyar-se la vida we see the verb guanyar lsquoto gainrsquo lsquoto winrsquoused as a reflexive lsquoto earn onersquos (own) livingrsquo
As we have already seen the phrase passar-srsquoho beacute combines areflexive verb passar-se lsquoto pass onersquos timersquo with ho lsquoitrsquo There isnrsquotreally an English equivalent for the use of ho in this case As youwill gather from the frequency with which this pronoun is used inCatalan ho plays a very important role It usually stands for an ideaalready mentioned rather than for a specific noun Its meaningcorresponds to lsquoitrsquo (= this that) although this does not always figurein translation no ho seacute = lsquoI donrsquot know (it)rsquo ho sento = lsquoIrsquom sorry(about it)rsquo or in passar-srsquoho beacute = lsquoto have a good time (of it)rsquoRemember that the pronoun goes before the verb except after aninfinitive or command form
Exercise 6
Text 2 uses a range of tenses Answer the following two questionsabout Text 2
1 What are the two main tenses used2 Identify three other tenses used in the text
200
Exercise 7
Listen to the two alternative summaries of Victograveriarsquos life Whichone is closest to her experience as described in Text 1
Exercise 8
Which words or expressions that appear in Text 2 correspond to thefive definitions you hear on the audio
Exercise 9
Take Ramonrsquos part in this conversation with his friend Mateu whois asking him about what he did in New York
MATEU Quegrave feies a Nova YorkRAMON Say I was studying English and I was working in a
restaurant to make a livingMATEU I com va anar Trsquoho vas passar beacuteRAMON Say Every day I used to get up at six orsquoclock because
I lived far away from the university At one orsquoclock Iused to go to work in the restaurant It was a difficultlife
MATEU I no et va passar res interessantRAMON Say Well yes Yes one day while I was studying at
home a friend of a Catalan friend phoned me and saidlsquoI have to go to Japan for six months I need a personto live in my apartment near the universityrsquo
MATEU Ogravendia tio Quina sortRAMON Say Yes and every month he paid me 1000 dollarsMATEU Que ho dius de conyaRAMON Say No and with the money I bought a second-hand
car and I travelled to many interesting places of theUnited States
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201
17 Quin temps faragraveWhat will the weather be like
In this unit you will learn about
bull Discussing leisure activitiesbull Reaching agreementbull Understanding weather forecastsbull Catalan radiobull The future tensebull Exclamationsbull Weather and traffic expressions
Dialogue 1
Felip and Teresa discuss their holiday plans
1 How many days will they spend on the Costa Brava
2 Can you identify two activities Teresa will be doing
FELIP Quants dies passarem junts a la Costa BravaTERESA De dimarts a diumenge A veure dimarts dimecres
dijous divendres dissabte diumenge cinc diesFELIP Cinc dies Em sembla que trsquoequivoques No soacuten sisTERESA Ai tens raoacuteFELIP I quegrave faremTERESA Jo fareacute moltes coses Anireacute a la platja prendreacute el sol
passejareacute nadareacute al mar caminareacute per la costa visitareacuteel Museu Daliacute potser sortireacute Tu no ho seacute Quegrave faragraves
FELIP Jo vull estar sempre amb tu
TERESA Que romagraventic encara mrsquoestimes Perograve que no emdeixaragraves mai tranquilmiddotla Ai ai ai ja veig que seragraves unpesat durant totes les vacances
Vocabulary
junt -a togetherequivocar-se to be mistakenla platja beachprendre el sol to sunbathenadar to swimcaminar to walkel museu museumestimar to loveser un pesat to be a nuisance
Culture note
Away from Barcelona
The Costa Brava (literally lsquowild coastrsquo) refers to the stretch ofCatalan coastline running roughly from the French border to theseaside town of Blanes approximately 100km north of Barcelona(see wwwcostabravaorg)
Language point
Useful expressions
This dialogue introduces two verbs useful for discussion andreaching agreement
1 Equivocar-se (= to make a mistake) which works as a reflexive2 Tenir raoacute (= to be right) a way of conceding an argument (as in
the dialogue) It can also be used to indicate agreement as intens raoacute or simply to state that one is right em sembla que tincraoacute (= I believe I am right)
Deixar is like tenir and quedar a verb of many uses In this casein deixar tranquilmiddotla (= to leave alone to leave in peace) it appearswith one of its main meanings lsquoto leaversquo
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203
The future tense 2
As we have seen in Unit 13 the future tense is straightforward toform in all three conjugations which take the same endings In the dialogue we hear the third conjugation sortir which takes thesame endings as the model passar (sortir-eacute sortir-agraves sortir-agrave sortir-em sortir-eu sortir-an) Note how second conjugation verbs likeprendre replace the final e with the standard set of endings(prendreacute prendragraves prendragrave prendrem prendreu prendran)
Several verbs change their stem slightly to form the future tense
fer rarr fareacute etcanar rarr anireacute etctenir rarr tindreacute etcvenir rarr vindreacute etcvoler rarr voldreacute etcpoder rarr podreacute etcvaler rarr valdreacute etcsaber rarr sabreacute etchaver rarr haureacute etc
Exclamations
Exclamations are a very common feature of Catalan Note here thedifference between the two uses of ai in this dialogue The first aiexpresses awareness of having made a mistake and implies apologyThe repetition ai ai ai towards the end of the dialogue is used togently admonish and express mild concern Listen carefully to thedifference in intonation
Other common exclamations are ei ep ui apa au vingaque difiacutecil quina sorpresa (see Grammar reference) Theirmeaning depends very much on context and intonation It takestime to know how to use them At this stage it is useful to recog-nise them and to be aware of their function when you hear themin time you will incorporate them into your own sentences
Exercise 1
Complete the appropriate future forms of the verbs in brackets inthis postcard that Marta sent Rachel
204
Exercise 2
First listen to the questions on the audio and then put the verbs initalics into the future form according to the questions you hear
1 Dormir Sortir a passejar per la platja i prendre el sol2 Caminar per la muntanya3 Anar a Montjuiumlc4 Sortir i tornar molt tard5 Estudiar informagravetica a la universitat6 Viatjar a Dublin i passar lrsquoany a Irlanda7 Poder venir demagrave8 No seacute quan ho saber
Dialogue 2
Rachel and Joan are planning a weekend in Barcelona
1 Name two of the activities Rachel and Joan plan to do during
the weekend if the weather is good
2 Recognise four of the places mentioned
JOAN Quegrave farem el cap de setmanaRACHEL Depegraven del temps Que saps quin temps faragrave Si fa bo
el dissabte al matiacute visitarem la Barceloneta i el port
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205
Estimada Rachel
Gragravecies pel teu missatge _____ (I will arrive) a lrsquoestacioacute a les onze
Primer _____ (we will go) al nostre poble
Despreacutes _____ (we will have lunch) al restaurant del meu oncle
A la tarda _____ (I will work) per dues o tres hores i mentre jo estic
treballant tu _____ (you will visit) el poble Fins molt aviat
Ben cordialment
Marta
JOAN Em sembla que a la ragravedio han dit que faragrave bon tempsPer tant que siacute que podrem anar a la Barceloneta almatiacute I a la tarda quegrave vols fer
RACHEL A la tarda llogarem una bicicleta i pujarem a Montjuiumlcvisitarem el jardiacute botagravenic i baixarem al vesprePortarem entrepans
JOAN Portaragraves motxillaRACHEL Siacute homeJOAN I el diumengeRACHEL Agafarem el tren i anirem drsquoexcursioacute a la muntanyaJOAN A on Al PirineuRACHEL No eacutes una mica lluny Montserrat eacutes meacutes a prop Hi
ha excursions molt maques
Vocabulary
el port harbour portllogar to hire to rentper tant thereforepujar to go up to get onla motxilla rucksack
206
el jardiacute botagravenic botanical gardensbaixar to go down to get offlrsquoexcursioacute (f) excursion
Culture note
La Barceloneta and Montjuiumlc
La Barceloneta is Barcelonarsquos fishing village not far from the citycentre next to the harbour on the north side On the south is thehill of Montjuiumlc Barcelonarsquos biggest recreation area with museumsgalleries and many sports facilities built for the Olympic Games(1992)
Montserrat
The lsquoserrated mountainrsquo (1236m) is the setting of Cataloniarsquosholiest place the Monastery of Montserrat El Pirineu is thePyrenees Anar drsquoexcursioacute (= mountain walking) is an importantpart of Catalan life as can be judged by the number of centresexcursionistes (= mountain walking clubs) The excursionista move-ment played an important role during the years of Francorsquos dicta-torship (1939ndash75) in preserving national identity
Language point
Weather expressions
The standard way of asking about the weather is quin temps fava ferfaragrave You can check the standard replies in the Languagebuilder Most are expressions with fer as in fa bo (= it is nice) andfa calor (= it is hot) Some use hi ha hi ha nuacutevols (= there areclouds) The verbs ploure (= to rain) and nevar (= to snow) standon their own plou or estagrave plovent (= it is raining) neva or estagravenevant The word for rain is la pluja and the word for snow is la neu
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207
Exercise 3
Use the verb forms in the box to complete this weather forecast
Ahir _____ un dia espectacular amb un cel molt clar i unatemperatura molt agradable Avui tambeacute _____ molt bon temps no_____ nuacutevols en cap lloc de Catalunya Demagrave una altra vegada_____ sol i calor Perograve aquest temps ja srsquoacaba i la setmana que ve_____ del nord canvis climatologravegics importants Repetim hi hauragravecanvis importantiacutessims En primer lloc _____ un vent fred del nord-est amb velocitats drsquoentre 75 i 100 kilogravemetres per hora i despreacutes_____ intensament a tot el paiacutes i _____ a les muntanyes de meacutes demil metres
faragrave plouragrave arribaran arribaragrave
va ser nevaragrave hi hauragrave faragrave
Exercise 4
Take the part of Gregori in this conversation with a fellow studentAlba
ALBA Quegrave faragraves avuiGREGORI Say I will go on a walk in the mountainsALBA Amb qui aniragravesGREGORI Say I will go (there) with two friends (Use hi)ALBA I a la tarda tornareu a BarcelonaGREGORI Say Yes we will return to Barcelona at 530pmALBA I quegrave faragraves demagraveGREGORI Say I donrsquot know Say I donrsquot think I will do anythingALBA Per quegrave no quedem a la Vila OliacutempicaGREGORI Say It seems like a good ideaALBA Aprofitem que faragrave bon temps A meacutes a meacutes ja
srsquoacaben les vacancesGREGORI Say I think you are wrong We still have two weeks
havenrsquot weALBA No les classes comenccedilaran dillunsGREGORI Say You are right Well then we will have to do many
things in one week How difficult
208
Text 1
Read the newspaperrsquos weather forecast (el pronogravestic del temps)
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209
FENOLLEDA
ROSSELLOacute
CONFLENTCAPCIR
ALTA CERDANYAANDORRA
BAIXACERDANYA
BERGUEDAgrave
BAGES
OSONA
RIPOLLEgraveS
GARROTXA
VALLESPIR
ALTEMPORDAgrave
VALLEgraveSORIENTAL
VALLEgraveSOCCIDENTAL
ALTPENEgraveDES
PLA DELrsquoESTANY
GIRONEgraveS
SELVA
BAIXEMPORDAgrave
MARESME
BARCELONEgraveS
GARRAF
BAIXLLOBREGAT
BAIXLLOBREGAT
SOLSONEgraveS
ANOIAgrave
Sol
Clarianes
Ruixats
Tempesta
Pedra
Neu
Fort
Moderat
Vent fluix
Pluja
Ennuvolat
S E R Agrave U N D I A marcat perles pluges Afectaran qualsevolpunt de Catalunya al llarg del dia perograve sobretot el litoral i prelitoral Seran localmentdrsquointensitat forta amb tempestai es podran acumular quantitatsmolt abundants preferentment ala meitat est del Principat A lesIlles Balears tres quarts delmateix hi hauragrave pluges intensesperograve meacutes intermitents Al Paiacutes
Valenciagrave la nuvolositat seragrave moltabundant principalment en lameitat nord on les plugespuntualment fortes tambeacute faranacte de presegravencia Les tempera-tures es mantindran sense granscanvis Els vents del nord-est i delrsquoest bufaran moderats ambratxes fortes
Per a meacutes informacioacutewwwmeteocatcom
PRONOSTIC DEL TEMPS
Vocabulary
qualsevol anyel litoral coastla tempesta stormla meitat halfel Principat Principality (= Catalonia)mateix -a samela nuvolositat cloudpuntualment locallymantenir to maintainbufar to blowla ratxa gust
Language point
Note that verbs that are compounds like mantenir conjugate liketheir main verb in this case tenir Similarly prendre aprendrecomprendre etc
Exercise 5
Now listen to an alternative version of this broadcast and identifythe main discrepancies
Exercise 6
Translate the following note
Eduard says that the weather will be good this weekend FinallyI will be able to go to the beach I will sunbathe and visit myfriends who live nearby If you want next week we can go onan excursion to Montserrat I like Montserrat because the moun-tains are spectacular and the climbing is excellent but last timethat I went there (use hi) it snowed and it was very cold Whydonrsquot we arrange to meet on Sunday evening and we will discussit (use ho)
210
Exercise 7
Listen to this radio programme which includes the weather and thestate of the roads The places mentioned at the beginning of thisbroadcast are three comarques the geographical divisions of Cata-lonia El Gironegraves is around Girona el Barcelonegraves around Barcelonaand el Maresme is the coastal area between them (see page 209)C33 is the code for one of the roads near Montcada not far fromBarcelona A2 is the name of a motorway
Answer the following comprehension questions
1 What has been the main problem in the comarca el MaresmeAnd in el Barcelonegraves
2 What will the weather be like on Sunday3 Where has an accident just taken place4 Where is circulation slow5 What is the traffic like on Barcelonarsquos two ring roads
Vocabulary
els baixos comercials ground floor shopsapartar to put to one sidetenir lloc to take placelent -a slowfluid -a free-flowinga lrsquoaltura de near
Exercise 8
If you have access to the internet you may want to find out what the weather will be like tomorrow Do this using wwwmeteocatcomor another Catalan weather service
Language builder
Weather expressions
quin temps fa what is the weather likeel pronogravestic del temps weather forecastfa bo it is nicefa bon temps it is nice weather
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211
fa fred it is coldfa calor it is hotfa vent it is windyfa sol it is sunnyhi ha boira it is foggyhi ha nuacutevols there are cloudshi ha humitat it is humidplou it rainsestagrave plovent it is rainingneva it snowsestagrave nevant it is snowingel temporal stormla inundacioacute floodel nord northel sud southlrsquoest (m) eastlrsquooest (m) west
Traffic and roads
lrsquoestat de les carreteres road watchla situacioacute del tragravensit traffic watchlrsquoaparcament (m) car parkla carretera roadel tragravensit trafficel carril traffic lanela retencioacute hold upla circulacioacute trafficlrsquoautopista motorwaylrsquoenllaccedil (m) linkel cinturoacute beltel cinturoacute del litoral coastal ring-roadel cinturoacute de ronda orbital ring-roadels bombers firemenla policia policeels mossos drsquoesquadra Catalan police
212
18 Em podria donarinformacioacuteCould you give me someinformation please
In this unit you will learn about
bull Asking for advicebull Using the telephonebull Information servicesbull The conditionalbull Voler and poder + infinitive
Dialogue 1
John has just arrived in Girona and is looking for a well-priced hotelin the centre of town He goes to the Tourist Office to find out aboutchoices of accommodation
JOHN Busco allotjament aquiacute a Girona em podria donarinformacioacute sisplau
EMPLEAT Quin tipus drsquohotel busca hotel de dues estrelleshostals pensions albergs
JOHN Pot recomanar-me un hostal cegraventricEMPLEAT Quantes nits vol quedar-seJOHN Voldria passar dues nits Aquesta nit i demagraveEMPLEAT Miri li donareacute una llista drsquohotels econogravemics que li pot
servir Tambeacute li puc donar un mapa per localitzar-losi un fullet informatiu drsquoactivitats culturals i especta-cles Va amb cotxe o a peu
JOHN Vaig a peu
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EMPLEAT Molt beacute tots els hotels soacuten molt a prop perograve jo lirecomano que vagi de pressa perquegrave demagrave comenccedilala Festa Major i soacuten hotels petits podrien estar totsplens
JOHN Podria trucar des drsquoaquiacuteEMPLEAT Siacute siacute eacutes millor srsquoestalviaria temps Faci servir el meu
telegravefon
Vocabulary
buscar to look forlrsquoallotjament (m) accommodationdonar to giveel mapa mapel fullet leafletlrsquoestrella (f) starde pressa quicklyla festa major local patron saintrsquos festivalestalviar to saveestalviar-se temps to save oneself timefer servir to make use of
214
Culture note
Types of accommodation
There are different types of allotjament (m) (= accommodation)Un hotel tends to be at the top end of the quality and price range un hostal should be mid-range and una pensioacute tends to be the cheapest option More specialised are lrsquoalberg (de joventut)(= youth hostel) cases fonda (simple country hotels offeringregional cuisine) and cases de pagegraves or cases rurals (rural BampBs)There is a star-rating system on a blue plaque near the entrance
Language points
The conditional
The conditional uses the same stems as the future The two tensesare very similar and verbs that are irregular in one tense are irreg-ular in the other All verbs have the same endings -ia -ies -ia-iacuteem -iacuteeu -ien (as you will remember these are the same as theimperfect endings of second and third conjugation verbs)
The conditional is used very much as the English lsquocouldrsquo orlsquowouldrsquo Consider
Podria recomanar-me un hostal cegraventric (= Could you recommend an hostal in the centre of town)
Podria recomanar-me un itinerari(= could you recommend an itinerary)
Voldria llogar una habitacioacute en una casa particular(= I would like to rent a room in a private house)
Weak pronouns 6 position of object pronouns
In this dialogue we hear how em can be used before or after thecombination verb + infinitive em podria donar and pot recomanar-me In both these cases em is an indirect object pronoun Both posi-tions are normal and the speaker could just as well have saidinstead podria donar-me or em pot recomanar Another new form
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
215
of the object pronoun appears in localitzar-los (= to findlocatethem) Los refers to hotels and is a direct object
Notice also the abundant use of li as a third person indirectobject pronoun (li donareacute li puc donar etc) in this dialogueemphasising the deferential treatment of the enquirer Refer to theGrammar reference for a full table of weak object pronouns in thesingular and plural
Exercise 1
Match these answers to the questions on the audio
a Siacute aquiacute en tenim un de molt clarb Jo li recomanaria lrsquoHotel Miramar eacutes clarc Siacute al final del carrer hi una oficina on en lloguend No ho sento no eacutes public Vagi a la cabinae Jo jo no ho seacute Perograve si vol telefoni al 010 ells ho sabenf Doncs agafin un fullet informatiu
Dialogue 2
Liam is asking about Catalan courses in Barcelona
Spot the Catalan version of the following phrases and write them
down
1 Could you tell me where there are Catalan courses
2 Can I ask you something else
010 010 servei drsquoinformacioacute ciutadana diguiLIAM Hola bon dia Em podria dir on hi ha cursos de catalagrave a
Barcelona010 Podria esperar un moment que consultareacute la base de
dades Teacute acceacutes a lrsquointernetLIAM A casa no perograve anireacute a un cibercafegrave010 Molt beacute apunti wwwbcnesdiversaapendrecatLIAM Voldria saber si hi ha altres possibilitats010 Doncs podria anar directament a lrsquoEscola Oficial
drsquoIdiomes a la Rambla santa Mogravenica metro DrassanesLIAM Escolti i li puc preguntar una altra cosa Emm Eacutes
una pregunta una mica estuacutepida
216
010 I ara Digui diguiLIAM Escolti on podria comprar una samarreta del Barccedila010 Per quegrave no va a les botigues del Barccedila Nrsquohi ha moltesLIAM Siacute perograve eacutes que soacuten una mica cares Hi ha algun lloc on
soacuten meacutes barates010 Potser hauria de mirar a la Barceloneta Potser allagrave les
trobaragrave meacutes beacute de preu
Vocabulary
el curs courseconsultar to consultla base de dades databaseapuntar to note downdirectament directlyI ara of course notla samarreta T-shirt football shirt
Culture note
Information services
010 Informacioacute ciutadana de lrsquoAjuntament de Barcelona is a usefultelephone information service run by the Ajuntament de Barcel-ona which also runs an online information service (wwwbcnes)LrsquoEscola Oficial drsquoIdiomes is an official language school of theGeneralitat with schools throughout Catalonia (wwweoibdes)There are many other language schools offering a great variety ofcourses mostly English for Catalans (les acadegravemies) El Barccedila isthe affectionate name by which Barcelonarsquos football team is knownLa Barceloneta in addition to being the former fishing village ofBarcelona is also a cut-price shopping zone
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
217
010 Informacioacute ciutadana de lrsquoAjuntament de Barcelona(preu de la trucada 055euro3 minuts)
Des de fora de lrsquoagraverea metropolitana 906 42 70 17(preu de la trucada 070eurominut 105 mogravebil)
Language point
Using the telephone
Digui is the standard form used to answer the telephone It is theequivalent of the English lsquohellorsquo although literally it is the vostegravecommand form of the verb dir and means lsquo(please) speakrsquo Anothercommand form in this dialogue escolti (from escoltar = to listen)is also often used in telephone conversations to introduce a newtopic or to draw the attention of the person at the other end of theline Apunti (from apuntar = to note down) is a straightforwardexample of the polite command form
Exercise 2
Identify which people or things the weak object pronouns under-lined in Dialogues 1 and 2 refer to For example in Dialogue 1 emrefers to John
Exercise 3
Take the part of Sr Pasqual in this conversation with Sr Ferrerrsquossecretary
SECRETARI Mobicon DiguiSR PASQUAL Ask Could I speak with Sr FerrerSECRETARI Un moment De part de quiSR PASQUAL Say I am Sr Pasqual When can I phoneSECRETARI La millor hora eacutes entre les quatre i les sis de la
tarda Vol deixar un encagraverrecSR PASQUAL Say Yes can you tell him that I would like to speak
with him I will phone this afternoon at five orsquoclockIt is important
SECRETARI Molt beacute No pateixi Li donareacute el missatgeSR PASQUAL Say Thank you Until the afternoon
Exercise 4
Listen to these four telephone conversations and match them withthe descriptions
a Parla amb el secretari drsquouna empresab Parla amb un amic
218
c Truca a un amic que eacutes a casa molt pocd Vol parlar amb la mare drsquoun estudiant
Exercise 5
You have received three text messages Can you understand themWrite them out in full
Missatge de text 1 Q u passis b a la C Brva
Missatge de text 2 Q fas la monik diu q no t cotxe
Tns ctxe t Pots agaf l dl teu pare
D prssa
Missatge de text 3 Q i a la Maria am tu Lrsquostem buscan
Si saps on s truk
Exercise 6
Take Narciacutesrsquos part in this telephone conversation with Berta
NARCIS Say HelloBERTA Narciacutes soacutec la BertaNARCIS Ask Where are youBERTA Encara soacutec al tren Ara mateix arribem a SitgesNARCIS Say Sorry I canrsquot hear youBERTA Soacutec al trenNARCIS Say Now I can hear you do you hear meBERTA Siacute molt beacute DiguesNARCIS Say Listen have you reserved the roomBERTA He trucat aquest matiacute perograve comunicaven Ara eacutes una
mica tard Podries trucar tuNARCIS Say But you said that you would do itBERTA Tambeacute he enviat un missatge de text perograve no mrsquohan
contestat Truca tu macoNARCIS Say OK Irsquoll do it can you give me the phone numberBERTA Siacute apunta Un moment que no el troboNARCIS Say Leave me a message with the number Irsquoll phone
BERTA Ei ei Escolta que em sents Et sento molt
malament ara Escolta escolta Ostres
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
219
Language builder parlar per telegravefon(speaking on the phone)
Receiver
Digui Hello (formal)Siacutedigues Hello (informal)Soacutec jo Itrsquos meSpeakingJo mateix -a Itrsquos meSpeakingSoacutec el Martiacute Itrsquos Martiacute speakingDe part de qui Whorsquos calling pleaseHo sento no hi eacutes Irsquom sorry heshe is not inHi seragrave a les Heshe will be in at Vol deixar un encagraverrec Would you like to leave a
missatge messageSoacutec al tren I am on the train
Caller
Que hi ha la Vicky Is Vicky thereQue hi eacutes la Montse Is Montse thereVoldria parlar amb Irsquod like to speak with Li podria dir que em truqui Could you ask himher to
phone meTornareacute a trucar Irsquoll phone againQue em sents Can you hear meSiacute et sento beacute Yes I can hear youNo no et sento No I cannot hear youEt fareacute una trucada perduda Irsquoll give you a missed call
220
19 El transportpuacuteblicPublic transport
In this unit you will learn about
bull Making travel arrangementsbull Obtaining travel informationbull Means of transportbull Combining verb tensesbull The subjunctivebull The command form
Dialogue 1
Rachel is in a taxi on her way to Sants station to take a train to theairport She is talking to the taxi driver expressing her concern aboutarriving in time to catch the plane
1 What time is Rachelrsquos train to the airport
2 What alternative means of transport does Rachel suggest to
avoid the traffic jams
3 What is the taxi driverrsquos suggestion to ensure Rachel catches
her plane
4 What happens in the end
RACHEL Tindrem tempsTAXISTA A quina hora ha dit que surt el trenRACHEL A les 346TAXISTA No seacute quegrave dir-li Aquest cap de setmana el tragravensit ha
estat impossible Sobretot a la Diagonal i als cinturonsde ronda
1111234567891011121113141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414211
RACHEL Com eacutes possible que hi hagi tants cotxes Potseraniria meacutes ragravepid a peu no
TAXISTA Siacute siacute i tant Perograve i la maletaRACHEL Miri aquiacute veig una parada de metro Em sembla que
la millor opcioacute seragrave agafar el metro Siacute eacutes millor queagafi el metro
TAXISTA Tot i aixiacute teacute el temps molt just Miri quegrave li sembla sianem directament a lrsquoaeroport A prop drsquoaquiacute hi hauna connexioacute amb lrsquoautopista
RACHEL Molt beacute bona idea Quant li sembla que tardaremArribarem a temps
TAXISTA Depegraven a quina hora eacutes el volRACHEL El vol surt a les 550TAXISTA Doncs vostegrave pot estar tranquilmiddotla Quan arribem a
lrsquoautopista tardarem nomeacutes vint minuts No espreocupi que arribarem a temps i quan arribia lrsquoaeroport li recomano que vagi directament afacturar lrsquoequipatge
RACHEL Siacute siacute ho fareacute ho fareacute Escolti quant valdragrave el taxiTAXISTA Al voltant drsquouns trenta euros I com han anat les
vacancesRACHEL Molt beacute Vaig llogar un cotxe amb uns amics i vam
anar drsquoexcursioacute una setmana al Pirineu i a laCatalunya Nord Ha estat molt relaxant i mrsquoho hepassat molt beacute Perograve escolti ha dit trenta eurosEacutes que no els tinc Pari pari aquiacute vull que pari alrsquoestacioacute de metro
Vocabulary
la maleta suitcasela parada stopel metro undergroundtot i aixiacute even sotenir el temps just to be pushed for timetardar to take (time)facturar to check in luggagelrsquoequipatge (m) luggageparar to stop
222
Language point
The subjunctive
In previous dialogues we have heard and seen many instances ofverbs ending in the characteristic -i form digui perdoni escoltimiri pari etc We indicated that this is a feature of many conver-sations using vostegrave Strictly speaking this form belongs to a part ofthe verb known as the subjunctive
The endings of the subjunctive
The set of endings are very easy to form as all verbs take almostthe same endings -i -is -i -em -eu -in Simply take off the endings-ar -ir -er from the infinitive to form the stem and add the endingsFor example
parli parlis parli parlem parleu parlinperdi perdis perdi perdem perdeu perdindormi dormis dormi dormim dormiu dormin
Note that the lsquowersquo and lsquoyoursquo plural endings are the same as thepresent indicative tense (parlo parles etc) in all conjugations
The stem of the subjunctive
1 Most verbs retain the same stem in the lsquowersquolsquoyoursquo (plural) as thepresent indicative
anar rarr vagi (but anem aneu)fer rarr faci (but fem feu)
2 Others retain the subjunctive form throughout
ser rarr sigui siguis sigui siguem sigueu siguinvoler rarr vulgui etc
This pattern is followed by a group of verbs whose first personpresent tense ends in -c like
dir rarr dic rarr digui etcestar rarr estic rarr estigui etcprendre rarr prenc rarr prengui etc
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3 Haver and saber have their own forms
haver rarr hagi hagis hagi hagravegim hagravegiu haginsaber rarr sagravepiga sagravepigues sagravepiga sapiguem sapigueu
sagravepiguen
The use of the subjunctive
In past units we have heard the subjunctive used to give commandsin the vostegrave form In this dialogue we come across some of its othermain everyday uses
1 Quan + subjunctive to refer to an action in the future quanarribem a lrsquoautopista (= when we reach the motorway) quanarribi a lrsquoaeroport (= when you arrive at the airport) Similarlyquan vagi a estudiar a Hong Kong lrsquoany que ve (= when I go tostudy in Hong Kong next year) Other time expressions in thefuture behave in the same way Consider tornareacute abans quetanquin les botigues (= Irsquoll be back before the shops close) viureacutea casa dels pares fins que (no) trobi un pis al centre (= Irsquoll liveat my parentsrsquo until I find a flat in town)
2 When you wantrequest someone else to do something vull quepari a lrsquoestacioacute de Metro (= I want you to stop at the under-ground station) and li recomano que vagi directament a facturarlrsquoequipatge (= I recommend you to go straight to check in yourluggage) Note that the main verb is followed by que and that achange of subject is involved Consider (jo) vull que (tu) emcompris un regal quan vagis a Delhi (= I want you to buy me apresent when you go to Delhi) Notice how in all these examplesque + subjunctive is translated with an infinitive in English
Other verbs such as those expressing emotions (likes dislikeswishes and hopes) behave in the same way Consider nomrsquoagrada que escoltis muacutesica tot el dia espero que nevi aquestcap de setmana
3 Sentences starting with eacutes followed by que also take the subjunc-tive There are two such sentences in Dialogue 1 com eacutes possibleque hi hagi tants cotxes and siacute eacutes millor que agafi el metroAnother such sentence is eacutes necessari que and by extensionsentences that mean eacutes necessari such as cal which as we have
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