The 20 Most Common Catalan Verbs

If you’ve already started learning Catalan, then you’ll know a few verbs already. They’re an important building block and often a tricky part of grammar because in many languages, verbs change to reflect tense and who is speaking or being spoken about. In this post, you’ll learn about the 20 most common verbs in Catalan, as well as how to conjugate them in the present, past, and future tenses!

Learning grammar is a time-consuming effort in any language, especially when it comes to verbs. Romance languages are even more so because verbs change a lot more than we’re used to in English, depending on who is the subject of the verb.

Still, that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to learn! With just a little time and effort, you’ll be speaking like a pro.

We’ve collected the 20 most common Catalan verbs (taken from this Wiktionary frequency list) and conjugated them in the present, imperfect, preterite (a type of past tense explained below), and future tenses for you. Plus, some of the verbs have some added notes and phrases that might help you with their usage and teach you something new.

But first, let’s do a quick overview of those tenses.

The tenses

A verb tense is an addition or change to a verb that shows when an action takes place. For example, compare the English I go and I went. One is happening now, and one happened in the past.

Different languages have different ways of showing tenses. In English, we differentiate between something happening in the general present tense (I go) and something happening as we’re speaking (I am going), which not all languages do.

Likewise, in Catalan, there is more than one past tense. There are three of them, although one is rarely used in spoken language.

We’ve conjugated these verbs in the four simple tenses: present, past (preterite), past (imperfect), and future.

The present tense

The present tense expresses an action or state in the present time. It is also used to express things that are usual or characteristic.

The past tense

The past tense, also called the preterite, expresses an action or state that happened in the past. (For Catalan, these are completed actions.)

The imperfect tense

The imperfect tense expresses a continuing state or incomplete action, especially in the past.

The future tense

The future tense expresses actions or states that are yet to come.

The verbs

We pulled these 20 verbs from this Catalan Wiktionary frequency list, taking their first occurrence and descending in order of frequency. That means some of them might seem higher up than they should be – because they are not only used on their own as verbs but also as auxiliary or ‘helper’ verbs for other phrases.

An example of this in English would be I have done it. In this sentence, ‘have’ doesn’t have its usual meaning of ‘to possess’ something. Instead, it is helping the verb ‘to do’ and expressing a tense. This is the same in Catalan, though you might see some other verbs up at the top there.

Either way, these are all useful verbs to know!

1. anar – to go

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	vaig	anava	aní	aniré
tu	vas	anaves	anares	aniràs
ell, ella, vostè	va	anava	anà	anirà
nosaltres	anem	anàvem	anàrem	anirem
vosaltres	aneu	anàveu	anàreu	anireu
ells, elles, vostès	van	anaven	anaren	aniran

You might hear anar used a lot in speech, as it is often used to form the preterite when talking. This form is anar + infinitive, e.g. Vaig donar has the same meaning as Doní.

There are also some idiomatic phrases where you would use anar:

• anar a mal borràs – to go downhill, to go south
• anar a parar – to end up, to wind up

2. ser/ésser – to be

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	soc	era	fui	seré
tu	ets	eres	fores	seràs
ell, ella, vostè	és	era	fou	serà
nosaltres	som	érem	fórem	serem
vosaltres	sou	éreu	fóreu	sereu
ells, elles, vostès	són	eren	foren	seran

If you’ve learnt any Spanish, then the concept of two words meaning ‘to be’ won’t be wholly unfamiliar to you. It’s the same in Catalan!

Ser or ésser (ser comes from a reduction of ésser, so they have the same meaning and are conjugated in the same way) indicate an inherent quality. If you want to talk about qualities that are temporary or only occur at a particular time, then you would use estar.

For example, Sóc d’Espanya means ‘I am from Spain’. We use ser/ésser because this is an unchangeable state.

However, Estic a Itàlia means ‘I am in Italy’. Here, we use estar [link to verb below] because this is only a temporary state that could change.

3. haver – to have

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	he, haig	havia	haguí	hauré
tu	has	havies	hagueres	hauràs
ell, ella, vostè	ha	havia	hagué	haurà
nosaltres	havem, hem	havíem	haguérem	haurem
vosaltres	haveu, heu	havíeu	haguéreu	haureu
ells, elles, vostès	han	havien	hagueren	hauran

Although haver means ‘to have’, it is not in the sense of ownership. It’s used most often as an auxiliary verb, as mentioned above. You’ll use haver a lot to form perfect tenses (past/future perfect, e.g. ‘I have done’ or ‘I will have done’).

Haver is used to indicate things exist with the phrase ‘there is/are’ – hi ha. It is also used with de to form haver de, which means ‘to have to [do something]’. This is the only time you will use this haig first-person form, with haig de.

4. fer – to do, to make

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	faig	feia	fiu	faré
tu	fas	feies	feres	faràs
ell, ella, vostè	fa	feia	feu	farà
nosaltres	fem	fèiem	férem	farem
vosaltres	feu	fèieu	féreu	fareu
ells, elles, vostès	fan	feien	feren	faran

As well as meaning ‘to do’ or ‘to make’, fer is used when talking about the weather. For example, fa fred means ‘it is cold’.

Some idiomatic phrases use fer:

• fer cinc cèntims – to summarise
• bufar i fer ampolles – a piece of cake, a walk in the park (lit. to blow and make bottles, referring to bottle makers who blew glass)

5. tenir – to have

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	tinc	tenia	tinguí	tindré
tu	tens	tenies	tingueres	tindràs
ell, ella, vostè	té	tenia	tingué	tindrà
nosaltres	tenim	teníem	tinguérem	tindrem
vosaltres	teniu	teníeu	tinguéreu	tindreu
ells, elles, vostès	tenen	tenien	tingueren	tindran

Unlike haver, tenir‘s meaning of ‘to have’ is the same as ‘to possess or own something’. Useful!

6. poder – to be able to, can

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	puc	podia	poguí	podré
tu	pots	podies	pogueres	podràs
ell, ella, vostè	pot	podia	pogué	podrà
nosaltres	podem	podíem	poguérem	podrem
vosaltres	podeu	podíeu	poguéreu	podreu
ells, elles, vostès	poden	podien	pogueren	podran

The Catalan word potser which means ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’ is a joining of two different verb forms – pot (‘it may’) and ser (‘to be’).

7. arribar – to arrive

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	arribo	arribava	arribí	arribaré
tu	arribes	arribaves	arribares	arribaràs
ell, ella, vostè	arriba	arribava	arribà	arribarà
nosaltres	arribem	arribàvem	arribàrem	arribarem
vosaltres	arribeu	arribàveu	arribàreu	arribareu
ells, elles, vostès	arriben	arribaven	arribaren	arribaran

An idiomatic phrase that uses arribar is arribi el que arribi, which means ‘come what may’.

8. trobar – to find

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	trobo	trobava	trobí	trobaré
tu	trobes	trobaves	trobares	trobaràs
ell, ella, vostè	troba	trobava	trobà	trobarà
nosaltres	trobem	trobàvem	trobàrem	trobarem
vosaltres	trobeu	trobàveu	trobàreu	trobareu
ells, elles, vostès	troben	trobaven	trobaren	trobaran

Several verbs in Catalan have different meanings if they are used with a reflexive pronoun, and trobar is one of them. If you see the verb trobar-se, then it will mean ‘to meet’ instead of ‘to find’.

The proverb tal faràs, tal trobaràs uses both trobar and the verb fer [link to fer]. It means ‘you make the bed you lie in’; or, more literally, ‘so you do, thus will find’.

9. obrar – to act, to behave, to work

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	obro	obrava	obrí	obraré
tu	obres	obraves	obrares	obraràs
ell, ella, vostè	obra	obrava	obrà	obrarà
nosaltres	obrem	obràvem	obràrem	obrarem
vosaltres	obreu	obràveu	obràreu	obrareu
ells, elles, vostès	obren	obraven	obraren	obraran

The meaning of ‘to work’ here is not ‘to go and do a job’ (that’s treballar!), but ‘to function correctly’. Another synonym for this meaning would be funcionar.

The Catalan word for a play (theatre production), obra is related to obrar. Obra can also be translated as a literary or artistic work (e.g. a book or painting) or as the effort expended on a task (e.g. I put in a lot of work).

10. partir – to divide, to part, to split

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	parteixo	partia	partí	partiré
tu	parteixes	parties	paritres	partiràs
ell, ella, vostè	parteix	partia	partí	partirà
nosaltres	partim	partíem	partírem	partirem
vosaltres	partiu	partíeu	partíreu	partireu
ells, elles, vostès	parteixen	partien	partiren	partiran

The preposition a partir de involves partir and means ‘starting from’, or ‘beginning’.

11. estar – to be, to be situated

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	estic	estava	estiguí	estaré
tu	estàs	estaves	estigueres	estaràs
ell, ella, vostè	està	estava	estigué	estarà
nosaltres	estem	estàvem	estiguérem	estarem
vosaltres	esteu	estàveu	estiguéreu	estareu
ells, elles, vostès	estan	estaven	estigueren	estaran

Like we said when referring to ser, estar is used to talk about temporary qualities or states. It is also used to talk about where something is in terms of its location.

Estar is also used to form something called the continuous aspect. This is something we have in English – ‘He is already sleeping’ as opposed to ‘he sleeps’. In Catalan, you use estar + present participle, like in English. So, ‘he is already sleeping’ becomes Ja està dormint.

12. començar – to begin

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	començo	començava	comencí	començaré
tu	comences	començaves	començares	començaràs
ell, ella, vostè	comença	començava	començà	començarà
nosaltres	comencem	començàvem	començàrem	començarem
vosaltres	comenceu	començàveu	començàreu	començareu
ells, elles, vostès	comencen	començaven	començaren	començaran

The verb començar is suspected to come from the Vulgar Latin *cominitāre, which is also where we get the English word ‘commence’!

13. morir – to die

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	moro	moria	morí	moriré
tu	mors	mories	morires	moriràs
ell, ella, vostè	mor	moria	morí	morirà
nosaltres	morim	moríem	morírem	morirem
vosaltres	moriu	moríeu	moríreu	morireu
ells, elles, vostès	moren	morien	moriren	moriran

The word mort, which derives from morir, means ‘dead person’, but also colloquially refers to difficult problems a person can face.

14. passar – to happen, to spend, to pass

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	passo	passava	passí	passaré
tu	passes	passaves	passares	passaràs
ell, ella, vostè	passa	passava	passà	passarà
nosaltres	passem	passàvem	passàrem	passarem
vosaltres	passeu	passàveu	passàreu	passareu
ells, elles, vostès	passen	passaven	passaren	passaran

The meaning ‘to spend’ is almost exclusively used to refer to time – as that is something that ‘passes by’.

The phrase qui dia passa, any empeny literally translates as ‘he who passes a day, pushes a year’. It means the same as ‘never put off until tomorrow what you can do today’.

15. donar – to give

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	dono	donava	doní	donaré
tu	dones	donaves	donares	donaràs
ell, ella, vostè	dona	donava	donà	donarà
nosaltres	donem	donàvem	donàrem	donarem
vosaltres	doneu	donàveu	donàreu	donareu
ells, elles, vostès	donen	donaven	donaren	donaran

The Catalan verb donar comes from the Latin donāre, which is the present active infinitive of the verb dōnō. Dōnō means ‘I give, I present’.

16. dir – to say, to tell

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	dic	deia	diguí	diré
tu	dius	deies	digueres	diràs
ell, ella, vostè	diu	deia	digué	dirà
nosaltres	diem	dèiem	diguérem	direm
vosaltres	dieu	dèieu	diguéreu	direu
ells, elles, vostès	diuen	deien	digueren	diran

Dir is used in the phrases és a dir, which means ‘that is, in other words’, as well as voler dir, which is often used to mean ‘to be sure’ but only as a question tag (e.g. vols dir? means ‘are you sure?’).

The reflexive version of the verb, dir-se, means ‘to be called’.

17. anomenar – to call, to name, to mention

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	anomeno	anomenava	anomení	anomenaré
tu	anomenes	anomenaves	anomenares	anomenaràs
ell, ella, vostè	anomena	anomenava	anomenà	anomenarà
nosaltres	anomenem	anomenàvem	anomenàrem	anomenarem
vosaltres	anomeneu	anomenàveu	anomenàreu	anomenareu
ells, elles, vostès	anomenen	anomenaven	anomenaren	anomenaran

One proverb that uses the verb anomenar is a casa d’un penjat no hi anomenis cordes. The equivalent meaning in English is ‘don’t talk about an uncomfortable situation in the presence of someone affected by it’.

18. rebre – to receive, to get

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	rebo	rebia	rebí	rebré
tu	reps	rebies	reberes	rebràs
ell, ella, vostè	rep	rebia	rebé	rebrà
nosaltres	rebem	rebíem	rebérem	rebrem
vosaltres	rebeu	rebíeu	rebéreu	rebreu
ells, elles, vostès	reben	rebien	reberen	rebran

In Catalan, a building’s entrance hall is called a rebedor, which is derived from this verb. Rebre also has some alternative forms – you might hear or see recebre instead or, if you are in Alghero, Italy, the Catalan dialect spoken there tends to use the term recivir.

19. tornar – to come back, to return

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	torno	tornava	torní	tornaré
tu	tornes	tornaves	tornares	tornaràs
ell, ella, vostè	torna	tornava	tornà	tornarà
nosaltres	tornem	tornàvem	tornàrem	tornarem
vosaltres	torneu	tornàveu	tornàreu	tornareu
ells, elles, vostès	tornen	tornaven	tornaren	tornaran

The reflexive form of tornar, tornar-se, means ‘to turn’ or ‘to become’. Tornar comes from the Old Catalan tornar, which is derived from the Latin tornāre, meaning ‘I turn, I round off’.

20. conèixer – to know

person	present	imperfect	preterite	future
jo	conec	coneixia	coneguí	coneixeré
tu	coneixes	coneixies	conegueres	coneixeràs
ell, ella, vostè	coneix	coneixia	conegué	coneixerà
nosaltres	coneixem	coneixíem	coneguérem	coneixerem
vosaltres	coneixeu	coneixíeu	coneguéreu	coneixereu
ells, elles, vostès	coneixen	coneixien	conegueren	coneixeran

Conèixer‘s meaning of ‘to know’ refers to knowing a person or place, getting to know somebody, or recognising something. ‘To know’ a fact is the verb saber.

The phrase donar a conèixer combines two of the verbs on our list and means ‘to make known’.

What’s next?

Now you’ve learnt more about the 20 most common Catalan verbs, it’s time to use them! Put them into practice in your next conversation, or why not use the uTalk app and see which of these verbs crop up in the sentences on there?

You can learn Catalan with uTalk for less. Get 40% off your next subscription and level up your language learning by playing games, scoring points, and having fun.

Happy language learning!