Verbal Periphrases in Catalan

In Brief

A Catalan verbal periphrasis combines a conjugated verb with an infinitive (the basic verb form, such as venir “to come”) to express ideas such as obligation, recent completion, repetition, or imminence. In Has de venir, only has changes for the subject; venir stays in the infinitive. The linking word—usually de or a—is part of the construction and cannot normally be omitted or exchanged.

Overview

Verbal periphrases (perífrasis verbals) let two or more words work together as one verbal unit. English often expresses the same meanings with phrases such as “have to,” “have just,” “do again,” “stop doing,” “be about to,” and “be going to.” The Catalan structures may look familiar, but their linking prepositions and ranges of meaning do not always match English word for word.

At B1, six especially useful patterns are haver de + infinitive, acabar de + infinitive, tornar a + infinitive, deixar de + infinitive, estar a punt de + infinitive, and anar a + infinitive. They allow you to place an event just before or just after the present moment, describe a repeated or discontinued habit, and state what is necessary.

The first verb is sometimes called the auxiliary (the conjugated verb that carries tense and person). The second verb supplies the main action and remains in the infinitive. Learning each periphrasis as a complete frame is more reliable than translating one English verb at a time.

How It Works

The basic structure is:

conjugated verb + linking word + infinitive

In Hem de marxar, hem identifies the subject as “we” and places the obligation in the present. Marxar names the action but does not change. To move the sentence into the past or conditional, conjugate the first verb: Havíem de marxar (“We had to leave”); Hauríem de marxar (“We should leave”).

The six core patterns

Periphrasis	Core meaning	Structure	Example
haver de	necessity, obligation; sometimes expectation	haver de + infinitive	Has de descansar. — You have to rest.
acabar de	an action happened very recently	acabar de + infinitive	Acaben d'arribar. — They have just arrived.
tornar a	repetition: do something again	tornar a + infinitive	Torna-ho a provar. — Try it again.
deixar de	stop or cease an action	deixar de + infinitive	Ha deixat de ploure. — It has stopped raining.
estar a punt de	be on the verge of an action	estar a punt de + infinitive	Estem a punt de començar. — We are about to begin.
anar a	immediate intention, impending action, or movement for a purpose	anar a + infinitive	Vaig a parlar amb ella. — I am going to speak to her.

Haver de: necessity and obligation

The present-tense forms of haver de are worth memorizing as a unit. Before a vowel, de contracts to d': He d'anar-hi.

Subject	Form	Example
jo	he de / he d'	He de treballar. — I have to work.
tu	has de / has d'	Has d'esperar. — You have to wait.
ell, ella, vostè	ha de / ha d'	Ha de sortir. — He/she has to leave.
nosaltres	hem de / hem d'	Hem d'acabar. — We have to finish.
vosaltres	heu de / heu d'	Heu d'entrar. — You all have to come in.
ells, elles, vostès	han de / han d'	Han d'estudiar. — They have to study.

The tense of haver changes the time or force of the obligation:

• Havia de trucar-te. — I had to call you / I was supposed to call you.
• He hagut de cancel·lar la reunió. — I have had to cancel the meeting.
• Hauràs de reservar taula. — You will have to book a table.
• Hauríem de parlar. — We should talk.

The conditional hauria de, hauries de, and so on often softens obligation into advice, much like English “should.”

Acabar de: something has just happened

Use the present of acabar plus de when the main event occurred only a short time ago:

• Acabo d'arribar. — I have just arrived.
• La Marta acaba de telefonar. — Marta has just called.

The imperfect gives a past reference point: Acabàvem de seure quan va sonar el telèfon (“We had just sat down when the phone rang”). Context determines how short the interval feels.

Do not confuse this periphrasis with finishing an activity. Acabo de llegir el llibre normally means “I have just read the book,” while He acabat de llegir el llibre means “I have finished reading the book.” The compound form he acabat de uses the ordinary meaning “finish,” not necessarily “just.”

Tornar a: doing something again

Tornar a + infinitive marks repetition. The repeated event may be deliberate or accidental:

• Ho tornaré a intentar. — I will try it again.
• Ha tornat a perdre les claus. — He/she has lost the keys again.

English sometimes uses an re- verb, but Catalan commonly keeps the transparent periphrasis: “reread” can be tornar a llegir, and “reopen” can be tornar a obrir.

Deixar de: stopping or no longer doing

Deixar de + infinitive presents an activity as ending:

• He deixat de fumar. — I have stopped smoking.
• Ja no treballa aquí: va deixar de venir al març. — He/she no longer works here: he/she stopped coming in March.

With negation, its meaning often changes. No deixa de parlar literally says that the person does not stop talking, so the natural English translation is “He/she keeps talking.” In more formal prose, no deixa de ser interessant means “it is still interesting” or “it is nonetheless interesting.”

Estar a punt de: on the verge of something

This pattern places an event immediately ahead of a reference point:

• El tren està a punt de sortir. — The train is about to leave.
• Estava a punt de trucar-te. — I was just about to call you.

Because the action is only impending, it may not happen: Estava a punt de sortir, però va començar a ploure (“I was about to go out, but it started raining”).

Anar a: immediate intention and movement

Anar a + infinitive needs special care. It can describe an immediate intention or an action being set in motion: Vaig a comprovar-ho ara mateix (“I am going to check it right now”). It can also retain the literal meaning of movement toward an activity: Vaig a estudiar a la biblioteca may mean “I am going to the library to study.” Context often resolves the difference.

Catalan does not use this construction as freely as English uses “be going to” for every future prediction or plan. For a neutral future statement, the present or future tense is often more natural: Demà treballo or Demà treballaré (“I’m working / I’ll work tomorrow”). Reserve anar a + infinitive for genuine movement, an immediate course of action, or a clearly imminent event rather than treating it as the default future tense.

Also notice the crucial a. Va cantar means “he/she sang” because va + infinitive without a forms the Catalan periphrastic past. Va a cantar means “he/she is going to sing” or “goes to sing.”

Negation and object pronouns

Put no before the conjugated verb:

• No hem de córrer. — We must not run / We do not have to run, depending on context.
• No tornaré a fer-ho. — I will not do it again.
• Encara no ha deixat de ploure. — It still has not stopped raining.

English distinguishes “must not” from “do not have to,” but no haver de can be ambiguous. Use No cal que vinguis (“You do not need to come”) when absence of necessity must be clear. Use No has de venir for a prohibition only when the situation makes that reading clear, or state it more directly.

A weak object pronoun (a short form such as ho “it” or em “me”) can often go before the conjugated verb or attach to the infinitive:

• Ho he de fer / He de fer-ho. — I have to do it.
• M'he de llevar aviat / He de llevar-me aviat. — I have to get up early.
• Ho tornarà a explicar / Tornarà a explicar-ho. — He/she will explain it again.

Do not place the pronoun between the linking preposition and the infinitive.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Vaig a estudiar.	I am going to study.	Immediate intention; context may also suggest movement.
Acabo d'arribar.	I have just arrived.	de becomes d' before a vowel.
Has de venir abans de les vuit.	You have to come before eight.	Present obligation.
He deixat de fumar.	I have stopped smoking.	A former activity has ended.
Hem hagut d'esperar mitja hora.	We have had to wait half an hour.	Completed necessity in the recent past.
Hauries de dormir més.	You should sleep more.	Conditional form used as advice.
Acabaven de tancar quan hi vam arribar.	They had just closed when we arrived.	Recent action relative to a past moment.
Si no surt bé, ho tornarem a provar.	If it does not work out, we will try it again.	Future repetition.
La Júlia ha tornat a canviar d'opinió.	Júlia has changed her mind again.	Repetition, possibly unexpected.
Quan deixaràs de mirar el mòbil?	When will you stop looking at your phone?	Ending an ongoing habit.
No deixa de fer preguntes.	He/she keeps asking questions.	Negated deixar de expresses continuation.
Afanya't: la pel·lícula està a punt de començar.	Hurry up: the film is about to start.	An event is imminent.
Estàvem a punt de sopar quan van arribar.	We were about to have dinner when they arrived.	Impending action at a past reference point.
Ara vaig a comprovar si la porta és tancada.	I am going to check now whether the door is locked.	Immediate next action.
Demà hauré de llevar-me a les sis.	Tomorrow I will have to get up at six.	Future necessity.

Common Mistakes

Omitting or changing the linking word

• Wrong: Has a estudiar més.
• Right: Has d'estudiar més.
• Why: Obligation uses haver de + infinitive. Learn the linking word with the first verb; it is not chosen according to the English translation.

Using tenir que for “have to”

• Wrong in standard Catalan: Tinc que marxar.
• Right: He de marxar.
• Why: Tenir que is widespread under Spanish influence, but standard Catalan uses haver de. In careful speech and writing, choose he de, has de, ha de, and the other forms.

Treating anar a as a universal future

• Unnatural as a neutral prediction: L'any que ve vaig a viure a Girona.
• Natural: L'any que ve viuré a Girona. / L'any que ve visc a Girona.
• Why: For a neutral plan or prediction, Catalan commonly uses the future or present tense. Anar a + infinitive works best for movement, immediate intention, or imminence.

Confusing “just did” with “finished doing”

• Wrong for “I have just eaten”: He acabat de menjar.
• Right: Acabo de menjar.
• Why: Present acabo de + infinitive means that something has just happened. He acabat de + infinitive normally says that you have finished the activity.

Forgetting that va + infinitive is past without a

• Wrong for “He/she is going to speak”: Va parlar.
• Right: Va a parlar.
• Why: Va parlar is the periphrastic past, “he/she spoke.” The preposition a separates anar a + infinitive from this very common past-tense structure.

Translating “don’t have to” too literally

• Potentially ambiguous: No has de venir demà.
• Clear: No cal que vinguis demà.
• Why: The first sentence may be understood as “You must not come tomorrow.” No cal que... clearly means there is no necessity; it takes a subjunctive verb form, here vinguis.

Usage Notes

In everyday Catalan, these periphrases occur in every tense, not only the present. The tense belongs to the conjugated first verb, while the infinitive stays unchanged. This makes the frames productive: once you know tornar a fer, you can build hi tornava a pensar, ho tornaré a fer, or no ho tornaria a dir.

Register matters most with obligation and futurity. Haver de is neutral and standard in both speech and writing. Hauries de is a useful polite recommendation, whereas a present form such as Has de... can sound firmer. For impersonal instructions, s'ha de + infinitive means “one must” or “it is necessary to”: S'ha de prémer aquest botó (“You have to press this button”).

You may hear regional or colloquial alternatives, as well as tenir que in informal speech. Recognition is useful, but learners should consistently produce standard haver de. Similarly, contact with Spanish and English encourages very broad use of anar a + infinitive. Natural Catalan often prefers a simple present or future unless the action is immediate or actual movement is involved.

Punctuation does not separate the two verbs: do not insert a comma inside ha de venir or està a punt de començar. The words form a single verbal unit even though other short elements, especially pronouns and adverbs, may appear around it.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

At higher levels, the literal core of a periphrasis can develop pragmatic shades of meaning—meanings supplied by context and the speaker’s attitude.

• Expectation or probability with haver de: A hores d'ara ja ha de ser a casa can mean “By now he/she must be at home,” a conclusion rather than an obligation.
• Unfulfilled intention: Anava a sortir quan m'has trucat means “I was about to go out when you called.” The imperfect anava presents an intended action that another event interrupted.
• Persistence with negated deixar de: No deixa de sorprendre'm means “It never ceases to surprise me.” In formal argument, No deixa de ser una possibilitat means that something remains a possibility despite reservations.
• Repetition with an emotional coloring: Ha tornat a arribar tard simply reports recurrence, but in context it can convey annoyance: “He/she is late again.” The grammar itself does not force that attitude.
• Stacked meanings: More than one verbal idea can appear in the same clause: Hauràs de tornar a començar (“You will have to start again”). The inner unit tornar a començar expresses repetition; hauràs de adds future necessity.

Pronoun placement becomes especially important when structures stack. Keep the result easy to process: Ho hauràs de tornar a fer or Hauràs de tornar a fer-ho. Although several placements may be grammatically possible in some combinations, these two clear patterns are dependable for learners.

Finally, not every sequence of two verbs is a true periphrasis. In Vaig a la biblioteca a estudiar, vaig has its full movement meaning and a estudiar states purpose. In a periphrastic reading, the verbs work more tightly together to express one temporal or modal idea. Context, especially a destination phrase such as a la biblioteca, helps reveal the structure.

Practice Tips

1. Build six personal sentence frames. Complete He de..., Acabo de..., Torno a..., He deixat de..., Estic a punt de..., and Ara vaig a... with actions from your own day. Personal examples make the different time relationships easier to remember.
2. Change only the first verb. Take Hem de marxar through past, future, and conditional forms: Havíem de marxar, haurem de marxar, hauríem de marxar. Check that marxar never changes.
3. Listen for contrasts, not isolated phrases. When reading or listening, collect pairs such as acabo de llegir versus he acabat de llegir, and va parlar versus va a parlar. These small contrasts prevent the most persistent errors.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Common Irregular Verbs — provides essential forms of haver, estar, and anar used as the conjugated part of these periphrases.
• Next step: Causative Constructions — develops related multi-verb structures such as fer + infinitive and causative deixar + infinitive.