Sequence of Tenses in Catalan

Concordança de Temps Verbals

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In Brief

In Catalan, first choose the mood of the subordinate clause from its meaning, then choose its tense from the main verb's time frame. With the subjunctive, a present or future viewpoint normally leads to the present or perfect subjunctive; a past or conditional viewpoint normally leads to the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive: Vull que ho facis but Volia que ho fessis. Reported statements often shift in a similar way: Diu que vindrà becomes Va dir que vindria.

Overview

The sequence of tenses (concordança de temps verbals) is the relationship between the tense of a main clause and the tense of a dependent, or subordinate, clause. A subordinate clause is a part of a sentence that depends on another part: in Vull que vinguis, “I want” is the main clause and que vinguis is the dependent clause. Catalan uses this relationship to show whether the dependent event is simultaneous with, later than, or earlier than the main event.

This matters especially with the subjunctive (the set of verb forms used when an event is wanted, doubted, evaluated, possible, or not presented as a fact). English often uses an infinitive or an ordinary-looking verb where Catalan uses que plus a subjunctive: “I wanted her to come” is Volia que vingués. Catalan also shifts tenses in indirect or reported speech, much as English often does after “said” or “explained.”

At C1, the goal is not simply to memorize “present goes with present, past goes with past.” You need to keep three decisions separate: what meaning selects the mood, what time frame the speaker adopts, and when the subordinate event occurs relative to that frame.

How It Works

Step 1: decide whether the clause is indicative or subjunctive

The tense of the main verb does not by itself determine the mood. The indicative presents information as a statement, perception, or known fact; the subjunctive presents it through a filter such as desire, doubt, emotion, judgment, purpose, or nonexistence.

Sé que ve. — I know that he/she is coming. The information is presented as fact, so ve is indicative.
Dubto que vingui. — I doubt that he/she will come. Doubt selects the subjunctive.
Vaig veure que plovia. — I saw that it was raining. Perception of a real event selects the indicative.
Volia que no plogués. — I wanted it not to rain. Desire selects the subjunctive.

Choose the mood from the meaning first. Only then apply the appropriate tense sequence.

Step 2: locate the main verb's viewpoint

For subjunctive sequence, it is useful to divide main verbs into two broad time frames.

Main-clause viewpoint	Common main forms	Typical subordinate forms
Present or future sphere	present, future, imperative; often present perfect when the result remains current	present subjunctive or perfect subjunctive
Past or conditional sphere	imperfect, simple/periphrastic past, pluperfect, conditional, conditional perfect	imperfect subjunctive or pluperfect subjunctive

This is a viewpoint system, not a mechanical matching of identical tense names. Catalan has no productive future subjunctive in normal modern use. A subordinate event that lies in the future is therefore commonly expressed with the present subjunctive: Et trucaré quan arribi (“I’ll call you when I arrive”).

Step 3: show the subordinate event's relative time

Within each time frame, decide whether the subordinate event is simultaneous or later, or whether it is already complete.

Main viewpoint	Simultaneous or later subordinate event	Earlier or completed subordinate event
Present/future	present subjunctive: Espero que vingui	perfect subjunctive: Espero que hagi vingut
Past/conditional	imperfect subjunctive: Esperava que vingués	pluperfect subjunctive: Esperava que hagués vingut

The perfect subjunctive consists of the present subjunctive of haver plus a past participle (the form such as fet, “done”): hagi fet, hagis fet, hagi fet, hàgim fet, hàgiu fet, hagin fet. It looks back from a present or future reference point.

The pluperfect subjunctive consists of the imperfect subjunctive of haver plus a past participle: hagués fet, haguessis fet, hagués fet, haguéssim fet, haguéssiu fet, haguessin fet. It looks back from a past or conditional reference point.

Compare the complete four-part pattern:

Vull que ho facis ara. — I want you to do it now.
Espero que ho hagis fet. — I hope you have done it.
Volia que ho fessis aquell dia. — I wanted you to do it that day.
Esperava que ho haguessis fet abans. — I hoped you had done it earlier.

Present perfect: follow the active viewpoint

The Catalan present perfect (he demanat, ha dit) often remains connected to the present. If a request or instruction is still active, a present subjunctive is natural:

Li he demanat que vingui demà. — I have asked him/her to come tomorrow.
T'he trucat perquè m'ajudis. — I have called you so that you can help me.

A clearly past reference point leads to the imperfect subjunctive:

Li havia demanat que vingués l'endemà. — I had asked him/her to come the next day.
El vaig trucar perquè m'ajudés. — I called him so that he would help me.

This contrast shows why the speaker's time perspective matters more than simply spotting a verb that refers to the past.

Conditional main clauses

A present conditional in the main clause normally takes the imperfect subjunctive in a dependent que-clause:

M'agradaria que vinguessis. — I would like you to come.
Caldria que ho reviséssim. — We ought to review it.

A conditional perfect normally combines with the pluperfect subjunctive when the desired or evaluated event was already in the past:

M'hauria agradat que haguessis vingut. — I would have liked you to come.
Hauria estat millor que ens ho haguessin dit abans. — It would have been better if they had told us earlier.

Do not copy the conditional into the subordinate clause. Standard Catalan uses voldria que vinguessis, not voldria que vindries.

Tense shifts in reported speech

Reported speech retells someone's words without quoting them directly. When the reporting verb is present, the original time frame usually stays unchanged:

Direct: «Estic cansada.» — “I am tired.”
Reported now: Diu que està cansada. — She says that she is tired.

When the reporting verb moves into the past, forms commonly shift back to preserve their relationship to that past moment.

Original words	Present reporting	Past reporting
«Treballo a casa.»	Diu que treballa a casa.	Va dir que treballava a casa.
«He acabat.»	Diu que ha acabat.	Va dir que havia acabat.
«Vindré demà.»	Diu que vindrà demà.	Va dir que vindria l'endemà.
«Tanca la porta.»	Diu que tanquis la porta.	Va dir que tanquessis la porta.

Commands and requests cannot simply remain imperatives inside indirect speech. They are normally recast with que and the subjunctive: Em va demanar que esperés (“He/she asked me to wait”).

Time and place words may also change with the new viewpoint: avui can become aquell dia, demà can become l'endemà, ahir can become el dia abans, and aquí can become allà. These are not automatic substitutions: keep the original word if the place or day is still the speaker's present one.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Vull que ho facis amb calma.	I want you to do it calmly.	Present viewpoint; later action
Volia que ho fessis amb calma.	I wanted you to do it calmly.	Past viewpoint; simultaneous or later action
Dubto que vingui a la reunió.	I doubt that he/she will come to the meeting.	Present subjunctive with doubt
Dubtava que vingués a la reunió.	I doubted that he/she would come to the meeting.	Imperfect subjunctive after a past main verb
Espero que hagi anat bé.	I hope it went well.	Completed event viewed from the present
Esperava que hagués anat bé.	I hoped it had gone well.	Event completed before a past reference point
Li vaig demanar que m'ajudés.	I asked him/her to help me.	Past request with imperfect subjunctive
Et diré que ho facis demà.	I will tell you to do it tomorrow.	Future main verb; present subjunctive for a later action
Quan arribis, envia'm un missatge.	When you arrive, send me a message.	Future-oriented time clause uses present subjunctive
Va dir que arribaria cap a les nou.	He/she said that he/she would arrive around nine.	Future seen from a past reporting point
Sabem que ja han sortit.	We know that they have already left.	A fact takes the indicative, not the subjunctive
Buscàvem algú que sabés reparar-ho.	We were looking for someone who knew how to repair it.	Unidentified person under a past viewpoint
M'agradaria que parléssim demà.	I would like us to talk tomorrow.	Conditional plus imperfect subjunctive
Hauria preferit que no ho haguessin publicat.	I would have preferred them not to have published it.	Past unreal preference; pluperfect subjunctive

Common Mistakes

Choosing the mood from tense alone

Wrong: Sé que vingui demà.
Right: Sé que vindrà demà.
Why: Saber presents the information as known, so the subordinate clause is indicative. A past or present main tense controls sequence only after meaning has established which mood is needed.

Keeping the present subjunctive after a clear past viewpoint

Wrong: Volia que ho facis de seguida.
Right: Volia que ho fessis de seguida.
Why: The wanting belongs to a past frame, and the requested action is simultaneous with or later than that wanting. Standard tense agreement therefore uses the imperfect subjunctive.

Losing the difference between completed and uncompleted events

Wrong: Espero que anés bé when you mean “I hope it went well.”
Right: Espero que hagi anat bé.
Why: The event is complete but assessed from the present, so Catalan uses the perfect subjunctive. With a past reference point, use Esperava que hagués anat bé.

Using a conditional after que

Wrong: M'agradaria que vindries.
Right: M'agradaria que vinguessis.
Why: A desired event governed by a conditional main verb takes the imperfect subjunctive, not another conditional.

Copying English infinitive structure with different subjects

Wrong: Vull tu venir demà.
Right: Vull que vinguis demà.
Why: When the person who wants and the person who comes are different, Catalan normally uses que plus a conjugated subjunctive. With one subject, use the infinitive: Vull venir demà (“I want to come tomorrow”).

Backshifting every reported fact mechanically

Unnecessarily shifted: El professor va explicar que la Terra girava al voltant del Sol if the sentence is intended as a timeless scientific fact.
Natural: El professor va explicar que la Terra gira al voltant del Sol.
Why: A present can remain when the information is still valid at the time of speaking. Use the imperfect when you are locating a situation specifically in the reported past: Va explicar que llavors vivia a Girona.

Usage Notes

Tense agreement is strongest in careful writing, formal speech, reported narrative, and any sentence where the timeline could otherwise be unclear. In spontaneous conversation, speakers may keep a present form when a request, belief, or fact still feels current. That is not random: it changes the viewpoint. Compare Em va dir que venia (“He/she told me that he/she was coming,” anchored in that past account) with Em va dir que ve demà (“He/she told me that he/she is coming tomorrow,” still presented as part of the speaker's current schedule).

English helps in reported speech because it also has backshift: “will” often becomes “would,” and “is working” often becomes “was working.” But English is a poor guide for subjunctive requests. English “I asked her to stay” hides both the conjunction and the mood; Catalan makes them visible in Li vaig demanar que es quedés.

Subject pronouns are often omitted in Catalan, so a translated sentence can be ambiguous without context. Va dir que vindria may mean “He said he would come,” “She said she would come,” or even that another previously mentioned person would come. Add a name or pronoun when clarity requires it: La Marta va dir que ella vindria, però que en Pau no podria.

Beyond the Basics: Viewpoint and Deliberate Non-shift

Sequence of tenses describes a default relationship, not a rule that erases meaning. An apparent exception often signals that the speaker has changed the vantage point.

A present tense after a past reporting verb can mark continuing truth or current commitment:

Ens van assegurar que el museu obre cada dia a les deu. — They assured us that the museum opens every day at ten.
M'ha promès que vindrà. — He/she has promised me that he/she will come.

The second sentence uses a present perfect reporting verb and a future indicative because the promise is still active. If the account is closed off in the past, the forms shift: M'havia promès que vindria, però no va venir (“He/she had promised me that he/she would come, but did not”).

Relative clauses can also participate in sequence when their antecedent is wanted, hypothetical, or unidentified. An antecedent is the person or thing described by the relative clause:

Busco una persona que parli japonès. — I am looking for someone who speaks Japanese.
Buscava una persona que parlés japonès. — I was looking for someone who spoke Japanese.
No trobo cap document que ho expliqui. — I cannot find any document that explains it.
No vaig trobar cap document que ho expliqués. — I did not find any document that explained it.

Finally, the time relationship may override a simplistic one-form pairing. After a future main verb, a perfect subjunctive can mark completion before another future point: Quan tornis, espero que ja hagis acabat l'informe (“When you return, I hope you will already have finished the report”). The perfect form is not “past” in isolation; it is anterior—earlier relative to the chosen reference point.

Practice Tips

Build four-sentence sets. Start with Vull que vinguis and change first the viewpoint, then the relative time: Volia que vinguessis; espero que hagis vingut; esperava que haguessis vingut. This trains the system rather than isolated endings.
Retell short messages. Turn «Arribaré demà» into Diu que arribarà demà and then Va dir que arribaria l'endemà. Change pronouns, time words, and place words only when the new situation requires it.
Draw a two-point timeline. Mark the main event and the dependent event. If the dependent event is earlier, choose a perfect form; if it is simultaneous or later, choose a simple form within the correct present/future or past/conditional frame.