Basic Prepositions in Catalan

In Brief

Catalan prepositions link words by expressing ideas such as destination, origin, location, company, means, purpose, and absence. Start with a “to/at,” de “of/from,” en “in/on,” amb “with,” per “by/through/because of,” per a “for/intended for,” sense “without,” and entre “between/among.” Before el and els, remember common forms such as al, als, del, dels, pel, and pels.

Overview

A preposition is a short word that shows the relationship between another word and the rest of the sentence. In Vaig a Barcelona, for example, a links the movement expressed by vaig to its destination. In un cafè amb llet, amb links the coffee to what accompanies it. These small words carry a great deal of meaning, so they appear in Catalan from the first A1 conversations onward.

English and Catalan often divide these meanings differently. English “in,” “on,” and “at” do not each have one permanent Catalan equivalent: all three can correspond to a or en, depending on whether you mean a destination, a familiar point, an interior, a period of time, or a means of transport. Likewise, English “for” may be per or per a. Learning a preposition together with a complete phrase—anar a casa, venir de Girona, parlar amb algú—is therefore more reliable than memorizing a one-word translation.

The beginner system is manageable: learn the main job of each preposition, then notice the article that follows it. Later, you can add regional preferences, verb-specific combinations, and the finer distinction between per and per a.

How It Works

The core set

Preposition	Main beginner meanings	Typical pattern
a	to, at	anar a Girona, ser a casa
de	of, from; about; made of	venir de Reus, un got de vidre
en	in, on; by means of	en una capsa, en tren
amb	with; using	amb els amics, amb una clau
per	through, along; by; because of	pel centre, fet per ella, per la pluja
per a	for; intended for; destined for	per a tu, una sala per a reunions
sense	without	sense sucre, sense problemes
entre	between, among	entre la porta i la finestra, entre amics

The word after a preposition may be a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea), a pronoun such as tu, or sometimes an infinitive (the basic verb form, such as menjar, “to eat”).

A: destination and point

Use a for movement toward a destination:

• Vaig a Barcelona. — “I am going to Barcelona.”
• Tornem a casa. — “We are returning home.”
• Entra a l'habitació. — “Go into the room.”

It also marks a location understood as a point, especially with town and city names, familiar places, and many fixed phrases:

• Visc a Lleida. — “I live in Lleida.”
• Som a casa. — “We are at home.”
• Ens trobem a la porta. — “We are meeting at the door.”

Catalan also uses a in many time expressions: a les vuit (“at eight”), al matí (“in the morning”), and a l'estiu (“in summer”). Do not automatically copy English at, in, or on; retain the complete Catalan expression.

De: origin, belonging, content, and description

Use de for origin or movement away from somewhere:

• Vinc de Girona. — “I come from Girona.”
• Surt de l'oficina. — “He/She leaves the office.”

It also links two nouns. The second noun can identify an owner or association, content, material, or type:

• el llibre del professor — “the teacher's book”
• una tassa de te — “a cup of tea”
• una taula de fusta — “a wooden table”
• un curs de català — “a Catalan course”

English often uses an apostrophe or a compound noun where Catalan uses de. Think of el cotxe de la Marta literally as “the car of Marta,” even though natural English says “Marta's car.”

En: inside a setting and means of transport

Use en when you present something as being inside a place or setting, particularly before an indefinite article or a demonstrative (a word such as “this” or “that”):

• Viu en un poble petit. — “He/She lives in a small village.”
• Les claus són en aquesta capsa. — “The keys are in this box.”

A very useful A1 pattern is en + means of transport:

• en tren — “by train”
• en autobús — “by bus”
• en bicicleta — “by bicycle”

Location is an area where a and en overlap and where usage varies. A dependable starting point is a with cities, destinations, and fixed point-like locations, but en for an interior introduced by un/una or aquest/aquella. Real Catalan is more flexible than that shortcut, so learn frequent phrases as units.

Amb: company and instrument

Amb joins someone or something that accompanies an action:

• Vinc amb els meus amics. — “I am coming with my friends.”
• cafè amb llet — “coffee with milk”

It can also introduce the instrument or manner used to do something:

• Obre la porta amb aquesta clau. — “Open the door with this key.”
• Parla amb calma. — “Speak calmly.”

Per and per a: two kinds of “for”

At beginner level, use per for a route, means, cause, exchange, or the person who performs an action:

• route: Passegem pel parc. — “We are walking through the park.”
• means: T'ho envio per correu. — “I am sending it to you by mail.”
• cause: No sortim per la pluja. — “We are not going out because of the rain.”
• exchange: Ho he comprat per deu euros. — “I bought it for ten euros.”
• agent: un poema escrit per Maria-Mercè Marçal — “a poem written by Maria-Mercè Marçal”

Use per a to identify the recipient, intended user, destination, or purpose of a thing:

• Aquest paquet és per a tu. — “This package is for you.”
• Treballa per a una editorial. — “He/She works for a publishing house.”
• Necessitem una taula per a sis persones. — “We need a table for six people.”
• És una màquina per a tallar pa. — “It is a machine for slicing bread.”

A useful test is to ask whether “intended for” makes sense. If it does, per a is often the right choice. Spoken usage varies considerably, however, and many speakers use per in contexts where formal writing maintains per a. The advanced section explains this without changing the beginner rule.

Sense and entre

Sense expresses absence. It is followed directly by a noun, pronoun, or infinitive:

• un te sense sucre — “tea without sugar”
• No puc fer-ho sense tu. — “I cannot do it without you.”
• Ha marxat sense dir res. — “He/She left without saying anything.”

Entre locates something in relation to two or more people, things, places, or alternatives. English uses “between” most often for distinct items and “among” for a group; Catalan normally uses entre for both:

• entre el banc i la farmàcia — “between the bank and the pharmacy”
• entre amics — “among friends”
• Tria entre aquestes dues opcions. — “Choose between these two options.”

Contractions with the definite article

A contraction combines a preposition and an article into one written form. Catalan contracts a, de, and per before masculine el and els:

Combination	Result	Example
a + el	al	al mercat
a + els	als	als afores
de + el	del	del professor
de + els	dels	dels veïns
per + el	pel	pel carrer
per + els	pels	pels camins

There is no contraction before la or les: a la plaça, de la ciutat, per les muntanyes. Before a vowel or silent h, el/la becomes l', so write a l'aeroport, de l'escola, and per l'hospital—not al aeroport or del escola.

With per a, the following a + el/els also gives per al and per als: un regal per al nen, activitats per als estudiants. Before other article forms, write per a la, per a les, and per a l'.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Vaig a Barcelona.	I am going to Barcelona.	Destination with a city
Ens trobem a les nou.	We are meeting at nine.	Time expression
El llibre és del professor.	The book is the teacher's.	de + el = del
Vinc de Mallorca.	I come from Mallorca.	Origin
Les claus són en aquesta capsa.	The keys are in this box.	Interior or setting
Cada dia vaig a la feina en metro.	Every day I go to work by metro.	Means of transport
Vinc amb els meus amics.	I am coming with my friends.	Company
Voldria un cafè amb llet.	I would like a coffee with milk.	Accompaniment or ingredient
Hem passat pel centre.	We went through the city center.	Route; per + el = pel
La reunió s'ha cancel·lat per la neu.	The meeting has been canceled because of the snow.	Cause
És per a tu.	It is for you.	Recipient
Aquesta cadira és per a la Júlia.	This chair is for Júlia.	Intended user
Beu el cafè sense sucre.	He/She drinks coffee without sugar.	Absence
Ha sortit sense l'abric.	He/She went out without the coat.	Absence before an article
La fleca és entre el banc i la farmàcia.	The bakery is between the bank and the pharmacy.	Position relative to two places

Common Mistakes

Translating English “in,” “on,” or “at” word for word

• Wrong: Visc en Barcelona.
• Right: Visc a Barcelona.
• Why: City names normally take a for both destination and location. Learn a Barcelona, a Girona, and a València as complete phrases.

Forgetting a required contraction

• Wrong: Vaig a el mercat.
• Right: Vaig al mercat.
• Why: A + el must be written al. The same principle gives als, del/dels, and pel/pels.

Contracting before an elided article

• Wrong: Tornem al aeroport.
• Right: Tornem a l'aeroport.
• Why: Before a vowel, the article is l'. The preposition stays separate: a l', de l', per l'.

Using per and per a as if they were always interchangeable

• Less clear in careful standard writing: Aquest regal és per tu.
• Recommended beginner form: Aquest regal és per a tu.
• Why: For a recipient or intended user, per a makes the relationship explicit. You will hear per in this role in several varieties, but per a is a safe form to recognize and use in careful writing.

Copying an English verb-preposition pair

• Wrong: Depèn en el temps.
• Right: Depèn del temps.
• Why: English says “depend on,” but the Catalan verb is dependre de. Catalan verbs develop their own preferred combinations, so learn the verb and its preposition together.

Usage Notes

Catalan prepositions are short, but their pronunciation and neighboring words can make them difficult to hear. Pay attention to the whole phrase: al carrer, de l'estació, amb tu, and pel matí or al matí are easier to recognize when stored as chunks rather than assembled one word at a time.

There is genuine regional variation. Per a is especially visible in careful written Catalan and is robust in Valencian usage, while many speakers in other areas often pronounce or choose per in some purpose and recipient contexts. Location with a and en also varies by construction and region. These differences do not make either preposition meaningless; they mean that a simple A1 rule is a starting point, not a complete map of every variety.

Some common expressions simply have to be learned: a casa (“at home”), de vacances (“on vacation”), en tren (“by train”), amb compte (“carefully”), al matí (“in the morning”), per exemple (“for example”), per favor (“please”), and sense cap dubte (“without any doubt”). In these expressions, replacing the preposition with a plausible English equivalent usually produces unnatural Catalan.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but you will meet them often as your Catalan develops.

First, verbs and adjectives can select a particular preposition. This is sometimes called prepositional government, meaning that the main word determines which preposition follows it. Useful combinations include parlar de (“talk about”), pensar en (“think about”), somiar amb (“dream about”), dependre de (“depend on”), acostumar-se a (“get used to”), and estar d'acord amb (“agree with”). Their English translations are not a dependable guide. Record each combination with an example sentence.

Second, Catalan often replaces a phrase introduced by de with the weak pronoun en, and many place phrases or complements introduced by a or en with hi. A weak pronoun is a short unstressed word attached closely to a verb:

• Parles del vi? — Sí, en parlo. — “Are you talking about the wine? — Yes, I am talking about it.”
• Vas a Tarragona? — Sí, hi vaig. — “Are you going to Tarragona? — Yes, I am going there.”

Third, per and per a before an infinitive require more nuance than the recipient rule. Per can introduce a cause or motive: Ho fa per ajudar-te (“He/She does it out of a desire to help you”). Per a can highlight an intended function or goal: Serveix per a obrir ampolles (“It is used to open bottles”). In actual usage, especially with infinitives, regional and stylistic conventions overlap. At an advanced level, follow the convention of the variety and style guide you are using rather than forcing every case into a single English-based test.

Finally, prepositions appear before relative pronouns (words that connect a noun to a describing clause): la persona amb qui parlo (“the person I am speaking with”), el tema de què parlem (“the topic we are talking about”), and la raó per la qual ho faig (“the reason why I do it”). These patterns preserve the preposition required by the verb or meaning and become important in formal writing.

Practice Tips

1. Build phrase families. Choose one place and say vaig a..., soc a..., vinc de..., and passo per.... Changing only the relationship makes the contrast easier to remember.
2. Drill articles with prepositions. Make four-column sets such as al mercat / a la plaça / als mercats / a les places, then repeat them with de and per. Include vowel-initial nouns: a l'escola, de l'hotel.
3. Keep a verb-plus-preposition list. When you meet a verb such as parlar, write down a whole example—Parlem de música—rather than writing only “parlar = to speak.”

Related Concepts

• Next step: Contractions and Elision — practice al, del, pel, and article elision in a wider system.
• Next step: Location and Directions — use these prepositions to ask where places are and explain how to reach them.