Catalan often expresses an adverbial relation with a weak pronoun: en can mean “from there,” while hi can mean “there, to it, along it, in that way.” English may repeat “there,” retain a preposition, or omit the understood phrase altogether. Catalan instead places a small clitic beside the verb, where it preserves the missing phrase's structural role.
The choice is not a translation contest between two words. You reconstruct the full Catalan phrase and ask what relation it bears to the verb: source, location, destination, path, manner, or a selected prepositional complement. This page concentrates on adverbial uses; noun-related partitive en is covered on the partitive en page.
The core decision table
| Recovered relation | Full phrase | Weak pronoun | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| source or origin | venir de l'estació | en | venir-ne |
| static location | treballar al taller | hi | treballar-hi |
| destination | anar cap al refugi | hi | anar-hi |
| path | passar pel pont | hi | passar-hi |
| manner, including a de-phrase | treballar de pressa | hi | treballar-hi |
| selected de-complement, not spatial | parlar del pressupost | en | parlar-ne |
| most selected a/en/amb/per complements | pensar en el termini | hi | pensar-hi |
The table reveals one honest difficulty: the preposition alone is not always enough. Spatial source de selects en, but a manner complement introduced by de selects hi. Meaning and syntactic function decide.
En preserves a source
When a place introduced by de is the point of departure, en replaces that entire source phrase. English normally uses “from there” or simply leaves the source understood.
—Encara sou a l'arxiu? —No, en sortim ara mateix i arribarem en deu minuts.
Are you still at the archive? —No, we're leaving there right now and we'll arrive in ten minutes.
Vam passar el cap de setmana a Cadaqués i en vam tornar dilluns al matí.
We spent the weekend in Cadaqués and came back from there on Monday morning.
The pronoun does not literally mean the noun “place.” It packages the relation de + known place. That is why the same antecedent takes hi when its role changes:
Dissabte hi anirem, a la masia, i diumenge en tornarem després de dinar.
On Saturday we'll go there, to the farmhouse, and on Sunday we'll come back from there after lunch.
The right-dislocated a la masia identifies the destination resumed by hi. In the second clause, the farmhouse becomes the source and therefore appears as en.
Hi preserves location, destination, or path
Use hi when a known place is static, a goal, or a route rather than a de-source.
La sala petita és més tranquil·la; hi farem les entrevistes de la tarda.
The small room is quieter; we'll hold the afternoon interviews there.
No agafis el túnel vell: hi passen massa camions a aquesta hora.
Don't take the old tunnel; too many lorries go through it at this time.
—Demà vas al mercat de Sant Antoni? —Sí, hi vaig abans de treballar.
Are you going to Sant Antoni Market tomorrow? —Yes, I'm going there before work.
English can answer the last question with “Yes, I am,” and Spanish can use sí, voy without a locative clitic. Neutral Catalan normally keeps the understood destination: sí, hi vaig. Omitting it under the influence of either language is one of the most persistent learner errors.
With ser used for ordinary location, hi resumes the place: La directora és al despatx → Hi és. The clitic does not replace the subject or the verb; it only represents al despatx.
Manner is hi—even when the phrase begins with de
A circumstantial manner phrase is normally resumed by hi, regardless of whether its overt preposition is amb, de, or another form. This is where a mechanical “de equals en” rule fails.
La Núria treballa sempre amb molta cura, i fins i tot els dies difícils hi treballa.
Núria always works very carefully, and even on difficult days she does so.
—El nou ajudant treballa de pressa? —Sí, hi treballa, però encara comet algun error.
Does the new assistant work quickly? —Yes, he does, but he still makes the occasional mistake.
The English translations naturally use “does so,” because repeating “with great care” or “quickly” would sound heavy. Catalan hi performs that anaphoric job. These examples are grammatically useful but stylistically marked: in an isolated everyday answer, speakers may repeat a short manner adverb instead. Pronominal hi becomes especially valuable when it maintains cohesion across coordinated or contrasted clauses.
Compare this minimal pair:
Del despatx, en surt sempre de pressa.
He always leaves the office quickly. — En resumes the source del despatx.
De pressa, hi treballa només quan té una data límit.
He works quickly only when he has a deadline. — Hi resumes the fronted manner de pressa.
Both overt phrases begin with de, but their semantic roles differ. The placement of només in the second sentence also matters: it restricts the time condition, not the existence of the manner relation itself.
Selected complements: the boundary of the adverbial system
Not every en or hi is freely locative. Many verbs select a preposition as part of their lexical construction: parlar de → parlar-ne, adonar-se de → adonar-se'n, pensar en → pensar-hi, confiar en → confiar-hi. These pronouns still encode a relation, but the relation is required or licensed by the verb rather than being an optional setting.
Quan parlem del calendari, en parlem amb dades; si pensem en alternatives, també hi pensem tenint presents els costos reals.
When we talk about the schedule, we discuss it using data; if we consider alternatives, we also do so with the real costs in mind.
This sentence deliberately contrasts parlar de with pensar en. Choosing the pronoun from the English prepositions “about” or “of” would be unreliable. Reconstruct the Catalan government. The full inventories belong on en for de-complements and hi for prepositional complements.
Spanish often has a similar full preposition but lacks productive equivalents of these clitics. Preserving Spanish syntax yields Parlarem demà where Catalan needs En parlarem demà for “we'll talk about it tomorrow.” Shared vocabulary does not mean shared pronominal grammar.
Position and spelling
Before a finite verb, en and hi are proclitic: en vinc, hi vaig. En elides to n' before a vowel or silent h: n'he tornat. Hi never elides: hi arribo, hi he anat. After an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative imperative, the pronoun attaches with the required hyphen or apostrophe.
| Environment | En | Hi |
|---|---|---|
| finite verb | en surt | hi entra |
| compound tense | n'ha sortit | hi ha entrat |
| infinitive | sortir-ne | entrar-hi |
| affirmative imperative | surt-ne | entra-hi |
| negative imperative | no en surtis | no hi entris |
No hi entris sense casc; si ja n'has sortit, espera'ns al costat de la porta.
Don't go in there without a helmet; if you've already come out, wait for us beside the door.
In a verb phrase with a modal or aspectual verb, standard Catalan may allow clitic climbing: Hi vull anar / Vull anar-hi. Do not state both copies: Hi vull anar-hi is redundant in the intended neutral construction.
Full phrase, replacement, and dislocation
In an ordinary clause, use the full phrase or its pronoun: Treballo al port or Hi treballo. When a place is detached as a topic, hi can resume it inside the clause and a comma signals the separation.
Al laboratori nou, hi treballem des del juny; a l'antic, ja no hi entra ningú.
We've been working in the new laboratory since June; nobody goes into the old one anymore.
Not every clause-initial location is a detached complement. A broad frame can simply locate the whole event: A l'estiu, molta gent treballa de nit. It does not require hi. The difference is one of scope: a resumed predicate location belongs inside the verb phrase, while a sentence frame sets the scene for the whole proposition.
Do not strand Catalan prepositions
English can say “the office I work in,” leaving the preposition at the end. Standard Catalan keeps the relation with a relative adverb or a preposition plus relative pronoun: el despatx on treballo or (formal) el despatx en què treballo. It does not copy English as el despatx que treballo a.
Nor should careful Catalan add a redundant hi when on or en què already fills the same relative slot: use el despatx on treballo, not the colloquial doubling el despatx on hi treballo as your neutral model. In a new independent clause, however, hi can retrieve the same place: És el despatx on treballo; hi passo gairebé tot el dia.
Natural dialogue
—Ja has anat al magatzem? —Sí, hi he anat a primera hora. —I les caixes del fons? —N'he tret les que necessitem i hi tornaré després de dinar. —Treballes bé amb la màquina nova? —Sí, ja m'hi he acostumat.
Have you been to the warehouse yet? —Yes, I went there first thing. —And the boxes at the back? —I've taken out the ones we need, and I'll go back there after lunch. —Are you working well with the new machine? —Yes, I've already got used to it.
The dialogue includes destination hi, source en, partitive en inside n'he tret les que necessitem, and selected complement m'hi he acostumat. Identical forms can carry different relations; the governing phrase and context identify each one.
Regional and register perspective
The source/non-source contrast belongs to both IEC and AVL standards. (regional: Valencian, informal) some speakers use productive en and hi less consistently in spontaneous speech, especially where Spanish contact favors omission; Central and Balearic speech often preserves them robustly. Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese systems have their own clitic realizations and combinations. For pan-regional formal writing, keep the semantic contrast and the standard written forms shown here.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting a known destination because English can omit “there.”
❌ —Vas a la biblioteca després de classe? —Sí, vaig.
Incomplete in neutral Catalan for 'yes, I'm going there'; the known destination should be resumed.
✅ —Vas a la biblioteca després de classe? —Sí, hi vaig.
Are you going to the library after class? —Yes, I am.
2. Using hi for a de-source.
❌ Hem passat dos dies a Eivissa i hi tornem aquest vespre.
Wrong for 'we're returning from there this evening'—the island is the source.
✅ Hem passat dos dies a Eivissa i en tornem aquest vespre.
We've spent two days in Ibiza, and we're coming back from there this evening.
3. Assuming every de-phrase becomes en.
❌ Sempre treballa de mala gana i avui també en treballa.
Incorrect—de mala gana expresses manner, so its substitute is hi.
✅ Sempre treballa de mala gana i avui també hi treballa.
He always works reluctantly, and he's doing so today too.
4. Copying Spanish omission with a selected complement.
❌ Ja coneixem la proposta; demà parlarem amb la directora.
Wrong for the intended meaning 'we'll talk about it with the director'—the de-complement has disappeared.
✅ Ja coneixem la proposta; demà en parlarem amb la directora.
We already know the proposal; tomorrow we'll discuss it with the director.
5. Stranding a preposition.
❌ Aquest és el banc que hi treballa la meva germana a.
Incorrect—Catalan does not strand a, and hi cannot repair the malformed relative.
✅ Aquest és el banc on treballa la meva germana.
This is the bank where my sister works.
Short correction task
Supply the clitic in these replies: Vens del teatre? —Sí, _ vinc → en vinc; Vas al teatre? —Sí, _ vaig → hi vaig; Treballa amb cura? —Sí, _ treballa → hi treballa. Then repair el carrer que passem per: el carrer per on passem or el carrer pel qual passem (formal).
Key Takeaways
Use en for a recoverable de-source and hi for location, destination, path, and manner—even manner introduced by de. Reconstruct the Catalan phrase instead of translating English “there” or copying Spanish omission. Keep the clitic next to the verb, distinguish replacement from dislocation, and preserve prepositions inside Catalan relative structures rather than stranding them.
Related Topics
- Locative EnB1 — Use locative en for places of origin introduced by de, and distinguish this productive source use from lexicalized pronominal verbs.
- Hi for LocationsB1 — Use hi for static places, destinations, and paths, and keep obligatory hi in the existential verb haver-hi.
- Choosing En or HiB1 — Choose en for de-relations, sources, and partitives, and hi for other governed complements, destinations, locations, and paths.
- 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.
- Pronoun Placement Across Verb FormsB1 — Place weak pronouns before finite verbs, after infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives, and correctly across verb phrases.
- En or Hi?B1 — Choose en for quantities, de-relations, and sources, and hi for locations, goals, paths, and most other prepositional complements.