An adjective complement completes the meaning of an adjective: orgullós de la feina “proud of the work,” fidel als seus principis “faithful to her principles,” compatible amb el sistema “compatible with the system.” The adjective agrees with the noun it describes, but the adjective—not English—selects the preposition that introduces its complement.
This is partly lexical. There is no general rule that predicts why Catalan says capaç de, semblant a, and compatible amb. Learn the adjective together with its frame, then learn how that frame changes before an infinitive, a finite que-clause, or a weak pronoun.
Agreement and preposition are independent
Inflect the adjective for its subject or head noun; leave the selected preposition unchanged.
| Gender and number | Form | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | orgullós de | un pare orgullós dels fills |
| feminine singular | orgullosa de | una mare orgullosa dels fills |
| masculine plural | orgullosos de | uns avis orgullosos dels nets |
| feminine plural | orgulloses de | unes àvies orgulloses dels nets |
Aquestes dues investigadores joves estan orgulloses dels resultats obtinguts.
These two young researchers are proud of the results obtained.
Aquestes, dues, investigadores, joves, and orgulloses form a feminine plural chain. The masculine plural noun inside the complement gives dels resultats obtinguts; it does not control the form of orgulloses.
Frequent adjective–preposition frames
The following groups are useful, but they are not exhaustive.
| Preposition | Frequent adjectives | Example |
|---|---|---|
| de | capaç, conscient, content, orgullós, segur, ple | conscient del risc |
| a | acostumat, contrari, fidel, igual, semblant, sensible | acostumada al soroll |
| amb | compatible, coherent, casat, relacionat | compatible amb el programa |
| per a | adequat, bo, dolent, útil when expressing destination or suitability | útil per als principiants |
Aquest carregador no és compatible amb el meu ordinador, però és útil per al telèfon.
This charger isn't compatible with my computer, but it is useful for the phone.
La proposta és coherent amb els objectius i fidel als acords anteriors.
The proposal is consistent with the objectives and faithful to the previous agreements.
Before masculine el/els, a and de contract to al/als and del/dels; per gives pel/pels, while per a gives per al/per als. Feminine articles do not contract: a la proposta, de les dades, per a la reunió. These articles belong to the complement noun phrase; copying English article omission produces unnatural Catalan.
There can be more than one frame because the meanings differ. Bo per a la salut evaluates benefit or suitability; bo en matemàtiques identifies an area of skill. Content de la decisió gives the cause or object of satisfaction, while content amb la decisió can emphasize satisfaction with an arrangement or choice. Variation does not mean that every preposition is interchangeable.
Noun complements and infinitive complements
Many adjectives that select de before a noun keep it before an infinitive: capaç de reaccionar, content d'ajudar, orgullosa d'haver-ho aconseguit. The infinitive normally has an understood subject controlled by the main clause.
La Berta és capaç de resoldre el problema tota sola.
Berta is capable of solving the problem by herself.
Estem molt contents d'haver acceptat la invitació.
We are very happy to have accepted the invitation.
In the first sentence, Berta is the one who solves. In the second, the people denoted by nosaltres accepted the invitation. The perfect infinitive haver acceptat places the accepting before the present emotion.
Some adjectives take a before a nominal complement and before an infinitive: acostumat al fred, acostumat a llevar-se d'hora. Before an infinitive, the simple prepositions a and de are maintained; en and amb in selected complements may alternate with a or de according to the governing adjective and construction. The dedicated preposition change before infinitives page treats that broader system.
Els nens ja estan acostumats a anar a l'escola a peu.
The children are already used to walking to school.
Finite que-clauses: no de que
When the complement is a finite clause introduced by conjunction que, the prepositions a, de, en, and amb are normally omitted in standard Catalan. Compare the three shapes of the same complement:
| Complement type | Example |
|---|---|
| noun phrase | Estic segur de la resposta. |
| infinitive clause | Estic segur d'haver respost bé. |
| finite clause | Estic segur que he respost bé. |
Som conscients que la decisió afectarà moltes famílies.
We are aware that the decision will affect many families.
Som conscients de que... is nonstandard dequeisme. If dropping the preposition makes a dense formal sentence hard to process, insert a noun: Som conscients del fet que la decisió... This preserves de because it now introduces el fet, not the conjunction que.
The finite clause also allows its own subject. Compare:
La Júlia està contenta d'haver vingut.
Júlia is happy to have come.
La Júlia està contenta que hagis vingut.
Júlia is happy that you have come.
The infinitive has Júlia as its understood subject. In the second sentence, tu is the subject of hagis vingut. Emotion and evaluation commonly trigger the subjunctive because the clause is presented as the object of a reaction, not asserted as the speaker's independent news. By contrast, certainty normally takes the indicative: Estic segur que vindrà.
Replacing de-complements with en
The weak pronoun en can replace a complement headed by de. It stands before a finite verb and attaches after a positive imperative or infinitive according to the ordinary clitic rules.
Estàs orgullosa del projecte? Sí, n'estic molt orgullosa.
Are you proud of the project? Yes, I'm very proud of it.
In the answer, n' represents del projecte. The adjective remains feminine singular because its subject is the woman answering; the pronoun has no gender agreement.
When a de-phrase is placed at the left as a topic, formal and ordinary Catalan normally resumes it with en:
D'aquest resultat, totes dues n'estem ben orgulloses.
As for this result, both of us are very proud of it.
This is not pointless repetition. The initial phrase establishes the topic, and n' occupies the complement position required inside the clause.
Replacing other prepositional complements with hi
Hi replaces many inanimate complements introduced by a, en, or amb, including adjective complements.
Encara no estic acostumat a aquest horari, però aviat m'hi acostumaré.
I'm not used to this schedule yet, but I'll soon get used to it.
La direcció era contrària al canvi, però els treballadors també hi eren contraris.
Management was opposed to the change, but the workers were opposed to it too.
The second example shows hi with an adjective directly: hi eren contraris. With a left-dislocated topic, resumption is again natural: A aquest canvi, hi som contraris. For people, a strong pronoun is often clearer or required by the construction: fidel a ella, not mechanically hi fidel.
False friends, gender, and phrase position
Catalan sensible a means “sensitive to,” not English “sensible.” English “sensible” is usually assenyat/assenyada or raonable.
Aquesta pell és molt sensible al sol; convé protegir-la bé.
This skin is very sensitive to the sun; it should be protected well.
Do not infer noun gender from Spanish. Catalan síndrome is feminine, so write una síndrome associada a la fatiga, not un síndrome associat.
A long adjective phrase normally follows its noun: una decisió contrària als nostres interessos. Copying English order to produce una contrària als nostres interessos decisió is impossible in neutral Catalan. If the adjective is predicative, its complement follows it: La decisió és contrària als nostres interessos.
In careful standard language, per a marks suitability or destination before a noun: adequat per als infants. In much (regional: Central) speech, per and per a merge in many contexts; (regional: Valencian) the distinction is more consistently maintained. Follow one coherent standard in edited prose.
Likewise, keep neighboring forms consistent: Central aquestes alumnes seves estan acostumades al fred; (regional: Valencian) estes alumnes seues estan acostumades al fred.
Common Mistakes
1. Translating an English preposition word for word.
❌ Estic orgullosa amb la meva feina.
Incorrect in the intended meaning — orgullós selects de.
✅ Estic orgullosa de la meva feina.
I am proud of my work.
2. Keeping de before conjunction que.
❌ Som conscients de que falta temps.
Incorrect in standard Catalan — de is dropped before conjunction que.
✅ Som conscients que falta temps.
We are aware that there is not enough time.
3. Omitting clitic resumption after a left-dislocated complement.
❌ D'aquesta decisió, estem molt contents.
Incomplete in the ordinary dislocation pattern — the de-complement should be resumed with en.
✅ D'aquesta decisió, n'estem molt contents.
As for this decision, we are very happy with it.
4. Guessing gender from Spanish.
❌ Han detectat un síndrome associat a l'estrès.
Incorrect — síndrome is feminine in Catalan.
✅ Han detectat una síndrome associada a l'estrès.
They have detected a syndrome associated with stress.
5. Mixing Central and Valencian paradigms.
❌ Estes dues alumnes seves estan contentes amb el resultat.
Inconsistent in a single-variety model — estes is Valencian and seves is Central.
✅ Aquestes dues alumnes seves estan contentes amb el resultat.
These two students of theirs are happy with the result. Central standard baseline.
Key Takeaways
Learn an adjective together with its selected preposition. Keep that preposition before a noun or, where licensed, an infinitive; omit a, de, en, and amb before conjunction que in standard Catalan. Replace de-complements with en and many inanimate a/en/amb-complements with hi. Throughout, the adjective agrees with the subject or head noun—not with the noun inside its complement.
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Prepositions Selected by AdjectivesB1 — Build Catalan adjective complements with de, a, en, amb, and per while distinguishing required arguments from optional circumstances.
- Preposition Drop before QueB2 — Learn when Catalan drops a governed preposition before a finite que-clause, how formal and informal usage differ, and how to avoid dequeisme and queisme.
- En for De-ComplementsB1 — Use en to replace complements selected by de after verbs, adjectives, and nouns, while respecting focus and extraction limits.
- Hi for Prepositional ComplementsB1 — Use hi to resume known complements governed by a, en, amb, or per without confusing them with direct and indirect objects.
- Past Participles as AdjectivesB1 — Use past participles as agreeing adjectives for resultant states and distinguish them from perfect tenses and eventive passives.
- Adjective AgreementA1 — Learn how Catalan adjectives match a noun in gender and number, including four-form, two-form, and common spelling patterns.