1. The use of definite article would require quite a
dense chapter. Here we will offer some patterns on how to use definite article
in Catalan, whose usage is rather similar to the one existing in Italian or
Portuguese.
2. The usage of the definite article when acting as a Subject is
rather simple: no subject in Catalan may appear without an article; English,
instead, avoids articles when referring to general or abstract concepts, even
to uncountable nouns.
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al nostre país l’aigua és escassa
|
water is scarce in our
country
|
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la gent es queixa molt
|
people complain too much
|
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els caramels són sobre la taula
|
the candies are on the table
|
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el cafè no m’agrada
|
I don’t like coffee
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3. The main difference between the usage of definite and indefinite
article is quite simple: a noun phrase that is introduced for the first
time will take the indefinite article; actually it involves that the concept or
idea expressed by means of that noun was previously unknown to both the speaker
and/or the listener. If the same concept is introduced again, or if it was
previously known, the definite article will be used:
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– m’he comprat una novel·la
+ hm, sembla interessant la novel·la
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“I’ve just bought a novel”.
“Hm, the novel seems
interesting”.
|
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m’he llegit el llibre (previously known)
|
I’ve read the book
|
|
m’he llegit un llibre (previously unknown)
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I’ve read a book
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4. When dealing with the Direct Object, things may vary regarding
the Subject.
4.1. For plural countable nouns and abstract nouns it is quite usual to omit
any article (in case there were some, it would be indefinite):
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volem justícia
|
we want justice
|
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vols (uns) caramels?
|
do you want (any) sweets
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vols aigua?
|
do you want any water?
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tenim entrepans de pollastre
|
we’ve got chicken sandwiches
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French, in the previous examples, would require
partitives:
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nous voulons de la justice
|
we want justice
|
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est-ce que tu veux des bonbons?
|
do you want (any) sweets
|
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est-ce que tu veux de l’eau?
|
do you want any water?
|
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on a des sandwiches de poulet
|
we’ve got chicken sandwiches
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4.2. Countable nouns in singular do require an
article (if definite or indefinite, it will depend on what is was stated in §3
above)
5. Most time expressions including noun phrases
require the definite article:
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l’any / el mes passat vam comprar aquesta col·lecció
|
last year/ month we bought
this collection
|
|
al gener no va fer gaire fred
|
in January the weather
wasn’t too cold
|
|
ens veurem a la tarda, d’acord?
|
we’ll meet up this afternoon, won’t we?
|
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a l’estiu no anirem a Peníscola
|
we won’t go to Peniscola in
the summer
|
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BUT: divendres hi ha una corsa
|
there’s a running competition on Friday
|
|
Observe how seasons, months and moments of
the day are introduced not only by the article, but also by the preposition a. Week days, instead, are
preceded by neither a preposition nor an article
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6. Partitive constructions tend to avoid articles.
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dóna’m un tros de pa
|
give me a piece of bread
|
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per a la cuinada em cal un quart de quilo de carn
|
for the stew, I need a
quarter of a kilo of meat
|
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han construït deu nous quilòmetres d’autopista
|
they have built ten new
kilometres of motorway
|
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al carrer hi ha un grapat de gent protestant
|
there’s a lot of people
protesting on the street
|
|
és un període de temps molt breu
|
it’s a rather brief period
of time
|
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necessitem dos litres de llet
|
we need two litres of milk
|
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m’han donat tres setmanes de vacances
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I’ve given two weeks of holidays
|
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there are box of fruit
everywhere
|
|
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encara queden dues sessions de cinema
|
there are still two movie sessions left
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7. However, some of these nouns do rule out article.
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una part del públic va abandonar l’estadi
|
a part of the audience left
the stadium
|
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hi ha una secció de la biblioteca que cal restaurar
|
there’s a section of the
library requiring renewal
|
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la meitat de la setmana no sóc a casa
|
half the week I am not home
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