Present Tense -ar Verbs in Catalan

In Brief

For a regular Catalan verb ending in -ar, remove -ar and add -o, -es, -a, -em, -eu, -en: parlo, parles, parla, parlem, parleu, parlen. The ending identifies the subject, so Catalan commonly says Parlem català rather than Nosaltres parlem català for “We speak Catalan.”

Overview

The present indicative is the ordinary verb form used for facts, habits, and actions happening now. “Indicative” simply means that the speaker presents something as real or factual. It is one of the first systems introduced at A1 because it lets you talk about daily life immediately: where you work, what you study, what you eat, and which languages you speak.

Catalan verbs are listed in the infinitive, the basic form translated with English “to,” such as parlar (“to speak”), treballar (“to work”), and estudiar (“to study”). Verbs in -ar belong to the first conjugation, by far the largest verb class. Once you know its six present-tense endings, you can use a wide range of common verbs.

English relies heavily on subject words such as “I,” “you,” and “we,” while its present-tense verb changes very little. Catalan does the opposite: the verb ending changes for each grammatical person and usually makes the subject clear. Learning the endings as a spoken rhythm—not merely as a written chart—will therefore make both listening and speaking easier.

How It Works

Build the regular present tense

A conjugated verb is a verb changed to match its subject (the person or thing performing the action). To conjugate a regular -ar verb:

1. Start with the infinitive: parlar.
2. Remove -ar to find the stem: parl-.
3. Add the ending that matches the subject.

Person	Subject pronoun	Ending	parlar	English
First person singular	jo	-o	parlo	I speak
Second person singular	tu	-es	parles	you speak
Third person singular	ell, ella, vostè	-a	parla	he/she speaks; you speak formally
First person plural	nosaltres	-em	parlem	we speak
Second person plural	vosaltres	-eu	parleu	you all speak
Third person plural	ells, elles, vostès	-en	parlen	they speak; you all speak formally

The same endings attach to other regular stems:

Infinitive	Stem	Selected present forms
treballar (to work)	treball-	treballo, treballes, treballa, treballem, treballeu, treballen
cantar (to sing)	cant-	canto, cantes, canta, cantem, canteu, canten
mirar (to look at/watch)	mir-	miro, mires, mira, mirem, mireu, miren
estudiar (to study)	estudi-	estudio, estudies, estudia, estudiem, estudieu, estudien

Subject pronouns are often omitted

Catalan is a subject-dropping language: an unstressed subject pronoun can be left out when the context and verb ending already show who is acting.

• Treballo a Girona. — “I work in Girona.”
• Estudieu català? — “Do you all study Catalan?”
• Canten molt bé. — “They sing very well.”

The pronouns are still correct. Use one when introducing or contrasting a subject, preventing ambiguity, or adding emphasis:

• Jo treballo a casa, però ella treballa a l'oficina. — “I work at home, but she works at the office.”

This differs from normal English, where “work at home” cannot ordinarily stand as a complete statement meaning “I work at home.” Do not translate every English subject automatically, but do not try to ban Catalan pronouns either: they have a useful role in emphasis and contrast.

Negatives and questions

To make a basic negative, place no directly before the conjugated verb:

• No treballo els diumenges. — “I do not work on Sundays.”
• No parlen anglès. — “They do not speak English.”

Catalan does not add an equivalent of English “do/does.” Questions can keep the same basic order as statements and use questioning intonation in speech or a question mark in writing:

• Treballes aquí? — “Do you work here?”
• Parleu català? — “Do you all speak Catalan?”
• On estudien? — “Where do they study?”

This is an important adjustment for English speakers: Do you work? corresponds to Treballes?, not to a word-for-word structure containing a separate verb for “do.”

The main uses of the present

The regular forms stay the same across several common meanings:

Use	Catalan	English
action happening now	Ara parlo amb la Marta.	I am speaking with Marta now.
habit or routine	Camino cada matí.	I walk every morning.
general fact	La Terra gira al voltant del Sol.	Earth revolves around the Sun.
current state or situation	Treballo en una escola.	I work at a school.
arranged or understood future	Demà dinem junts.	We are having lunch together tomorrow.

English often requires “am/is/are + -ing” for an action in progress. Catalan can use its simple present when words such as ara (“now”) make the timing clear. Catalan also has a progressive construction, estar + gerund (the “-ing”-like verb form), but it puts stronger focus on the action as ongoing: Ara estic treballant means “I am working right now.”

Predictable spelling adjustments

Some verbs remain regular in sound and endings but change a letter to preserve pronunciation before e. These are spelling adjustments, not a new set of person endings.

Infinitive type	What changes before e	Examples
-car	c → qu	busques, busquem, busqueu from buscar
-gar	g → gu	pagues, paguem, pagueu from pagar
-çar	ç → c	comences, comencem, comenceu from començar
some -jar verbs	j/g follows Catalan spelling rules	menjo, menges, menja, mengem, mengeu, mengen from menjar

Compare busco with busquem: the spelling changes because c before e would represent a different sound, but the endings are still -o and -em. Learn these forms aloud with the infinitive so that the spelling reflects a sound you already know.

Not every verb whose infinitive ends in -ar is fully regular. Very common verbs such as anar (“to go”) and estar (“to be”) have irregular present forms. The six endings in this article are the reliable beginner rule for regular first-conjugation verbs, not a promise about every -ar verb in the language.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Jo parlo tres llengües.	I speak three languages.	Jo adds emphasis or identifies the speaker.
Tu treballes molt.	You work a lot.	Informal singular tu.
La Júlia compra pa cada matí.	Júlia buys bread every morning.	Habit; third person singular.
Ara miro una sèrie catalana.	I am watching a Catalan series now.	The simple present can describe what is happening now.
Nosaltres estudiem català.	We study Catalan.	First person plural.
Dinem a la una.	We have lunch at one.	The ending makes nosaltres unnecessary.
Vosaltres parleu molt de pressa.	You all speak very quickly.	Informal plural vosaltres.
Busqueu un hotel al centre?	Are you all looking for a hotel downtown?	Question without English-style “do.”
Ells canten bé.	They sing well.	Third person plural.
Les botigues tanquen a les vuit.	The shops close at eight.	A plural noun controls the -en form.
No treballo els caps de setmana.	I do not work on weekends.	No comes before the verb.
Senyora Puig, parla anglès?	Ms Puig, do you speak English?	Formal singular vostè is understood; third person form.
Demà sopem amb uns amics.	We are having dinner with some friends tomorrow.	Present tense for an arranged future event.
Comencem la classe a les nou.	We start class at nine.	començar has the spelling adjustment ç → c before e.

Common Mistakes

Keeping the infinitive instead of conjugating it

• Wrong: Jo parlar català.
• Right: Jo parlo català.
• Why: Parlar is the infinitive, “to speak.” A normal present-tense statement needs the form matching jo: parlo.

Using one form for every person

• Wrong: Nosaltres parlen català.
• Right: Nosaltres parlem català.
• Why: The subject is first person plural (“we”), so the ending must be -em. -en belongs to ells/elles/vostès.

Copying English third-person -s

• Wrong: Ella parles anglès.
• Right: Ella parla anglès.
• Why: English marks “he/she speaks” with -s, but Catalan uses the third-person-singular ending -a. Parles means “you speak” with informal singular tu.

Adding an English-style “do” to questions or negatives

• Wrong: Fas treballes aquí? or No faig treballo aquí.
• Right: Treballes aquí? or No treballo aquí.
• Why: Catalan forms these basic questions with intonation and negatives with no. It does not use fer (“to do/make”) as a helper matching English “do.”

Ignoring spelling adjustments

• Wrong: Nosaltres buscem feina.
• Right: Nosaltres busquem feina.
• Why: In buscar, c changes to qu before the -em ending so that the consonant sound remains consistent.

Using the plural “you” ending for one person

• Wrong: Tu parleu català?
• Right: Tu parles català?
• Why: Tu takes -es. -eu goes with vosaltres, used when speaking informally to more than one person.

Usage Notes

Informal and formal “you”

Catalan makes distinctions hidden by the single English word “you.” Use tu with one person in an informal relationship and vosaltres with several people informally. Both have their own verb forms: tu parles and vosaltres parleu.

Formal vostè takes the third-person singular form, while plural vostès takes the third-person plural:

• Vostè treballa aquí? — “Do you work here?” (formal, one person)
• Vostès treballen aquí? — “Do you work here?” (formal, several people)

The appropriate level of formality depends on region, age, setting, and the relationship between speakers. Vós, another respectful form, also exists and takes the same verb form as vosaltres (vós parleu), but beginners can first focus on tu, vosaltres, vostè, and vostès.

Pronunciation and stress

In forms such as parlo, parles, parla, and parlen, the stem carries the stress. In parlem and parleu, the ending is stressed. Listening for this contrast helps distinguish forms that may look similar on the page.

Pronunciation varies across Catalan-speaking regions, especially in unstressed vowels. These accent differences do not change the core person pattern. Aim for consistency with the variety you are learning rather than trying to mix several regional pronunciations from the start.

Choosing simple or progressive present

Do not assume every English -ing form must become a Catalan progressive. For a present activity, both of these may be possible, with a difference in focus:

• Ara treballo. — “I am working now”; a neutral statement about the present situation.
• Ara estic treballant. — “I am working right now”; highlights the activity in progress.

For habits, use the simple present: Treballo cada dissabte (“I work every Saturday”), not a progressive merely because English happens to use one in a particular context.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every detail here at A1, but these points explain forms you will encounter later.

First, the present can refer to the future when a time expression or context makes the meaning clear: Aquest vespre sopem fora (“We are eating out this evening”). This is especially natural for plans, schedules, and events treated as settled. The future tense remains available when the speaker wants to present the event differently, for example as a prediction or a more neutral future statement.

Second, subject omission is not random. A pronoun becomes useful when speakers contrast people, change the topic, or correct an assumption: Tu treballes demà; jo descanso (“You work tomorrow; I’m off”). Advanced fluency involves hearing this discourse function rather than following a mechanical rule to “always drop pronouns.”

Third, standard Catalan has regional first-person-singular forms. Much Central Catalan uses -o, as in jo parlo; Valencian commonly has -e, jo parle; Balearic varieties often have no overt ending, jo parl. These are systematic standard regional differences, not careless versions of the same form. A beginner can actively learn the paradigm used in their course while learning to recognise the others.

Finally, a verb may have regular person endings while showing spelling or stem behavior that deserves separate attention. Forms such as menjo/menges or busco/busques are best learned as sound-and-spelling patterns. Truly irregular verbs, including anar and estar, need their own paradigms. Later, the present stem and your knowledge of person will also support learning commands, the present subjunctive, and other verb systems, even though their endings are different.

Practice Tips

1. Use a six-slot drill. Choose five common regular verbs—such as parlar, treballar, mirar, cantar, and estudiar—and say all six forms in order. Then cover the chart and produce a random person rather than always reciting from jo to ells.
2. Build tiny contrasts. Make pairs such as Jo treballo, però nosaltres estudiem or Tu cuines i ells renten els plats. Contrasts connect each ending to a real subject and train you to omit pronouns when they are unnecessary.
3. Transform one sentence. Start with Treballes aquí. Turn it into a question (Treballes aquí?), a negative (No treballes aquí), and a different person (Treballem aquí). Then repeat with a spelling-change verb such as buscar or començar.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — learn the Catalan words for “I,” “you,” “we,” and the other subjects matched by these endings.
• Next step: Periphrastic Past (Passat Perifràstic) — talk about completed past actions with a characteristic Catalan construction.
• Next step: Verbs of Motion and Direction — expand from the regular pattern into common ways of describing movement.
• Later: Future Tense — contrast present-tense plans with a dedicated future form.
• Later: Imperative Mood — use verb forms to give instructions and commands.
• Later: Present Subjunctive — express meanings such as wishes, doubt, and necessity in dependent clauses.