En or Hi? | Catalan Grammar

The weak pronouns en and hi often become “it,” “there,” “of it,” or nothing at all in English. Catalan does not choose between them by translation: it chooses according to the missing phrase's grammatical job. En resumes a quantity or indefinite noun, a complement built with de, or a source; hi resumes a location, destination, path, or most complements built with another preposition.

This is a choice about structure. Reconstruct the full Catalan phrase before replacing it, and the apparently arbitrary contrast becomes predictable.

The step-by-step choice

Follow this order; the first matching line normally gives the answer.

Missing phrase	Choose	Full phrase → pronoun
indefinite noun or quantity	en	dues pomes → en vull dues
selected by de	en	del pressupost → en parlem
source, “from there”	en	de l'estudi → en surt
static location	hi	a l'estudi → hi treballa
goal or path	hi	cap a l'estudi → hi va
complement with a, en, amb, per	hi	en el projecte → hi confia
lexicalized expression	learn the whole expression	haver-hi, veure-hi, anar-se'n

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Temporarily restore the full phrase: parlar de la beca points to en, while pensar en la beca points to hi. The same English “about the grant” conceals two different Catalan frames.

Partitive en versus definite-object pronouns

Use en when an indefinite noun, a mass, or the noun inside a quantity is understood. Keep the quantity outside the pronoun.

—Quantes còpies en color necessites? —En necessito cinc per a la reunió.

—How many color copies do you need? —I need five for the meeting. (Partitive en resumes còpies.)

—On són les còpies en color? —Les necessito ara mateix.

—Where are the color copies? —I need them right now. (Definite set → les, not en.)

That first minimal pair contrasts a quantity drawn from a kind with an identified set. En does not mean “them” in general. This is why Tens cafè? —Sí, en tinc is natural, but Tens el cafè que he comprat? —Sí, el tinc requires the definite direct-object pronoun.

Al rebost encara hi ha farina, però no en queda gaire.

There is still flour in the pantry, but there isn't much left. (En resumes an amount of flour.)

De points to en; other selected prepositions point to hi

Many verbs, adjectives, and nouns select a preposition. Learn that preposition as part of the expression. Parlar de, adonar-se de, and estar orgullós de take en when the complement is recoverable; pensar en, acostumar-se a, comptar amb, and optar per normally take hi.

La comissió ha parlat de la nova biblioteca i en tornarà a parlar dimarts.

The committee has discussed the new library and will discuss it again on Tuesday. (Parlar de → en.)

La comissió pensa en la nova biblioteca i hi dedicarà la sessió de dimarts.

The committee is thinking about the new library and will devote Tuesday's session to it. (Pensar en → hi.)

La decisió depèn de l'informe tècnic; de moment, en depèn tot el calendari.

The decision depends on the technical report; for now, the whole schedule depends on it. (Dependre de → en.)

L'equip confia en l'informe tècnic i hi confia malgrat les crítiques.

The team trusts the technical report and trusts it despite the criticism. (Confiar en → hi.)

English uses “on” with depend and no visible preposition with trust, so it cannot predict the Catalan choice. The governing Catalan expression can.

With people, a stressed prepositional phrase is often clearer and more natural when identity or contrast matters: Parlo d'ella, no d'ell; penso en la Joana. Do not force an unstressed en or hi merely to avoid repeating a person.

Source en versus location and goal hi

Spatially, en looks backward to a source introduced by de. Hi covers being somewhere, going there, and passing through it.

La Jana entra al magatzem a les vuit i hi treballa fins al migdia.

Jana enters the warehouse at eight and works there until noon. (Goal and location → hi.)

La Jana ve del magatzem al migdia i en ve carregada de capses.

Jana comes from the warehouse at noon and comes back from there loaded with boxes. (Source → en.)

Demà anirem al refugi per la pista nova; hi arribarem abans que es faci fosc.

Tomorrow we'll go to the shelter by the new track; we'll get there before dark. (Destination → hi.)

Demà tornarem del refugi pel camí vell; en baixarem després d'esmorzar.

Tomorrow we'll return from the shelter by the old path; we'll come down from there after breakfast. (Source → en.)

Cada matí passa pel pont de fusta, però avui no hi passarà perquè rellisca.

Every morning he crosses the wooden bridge, but today he won't go across it because it's slippery. (Path → hi.)

Sota el pont hi ha un embarcador; la barca de correu en surt cada dia a les set.

There is a landing stage under the bridge; the mail boat leaves from it every day at seven. (Source → en.)

“There” appears in several English translations, yet direction divides the forms. Visualize an arrow: away from a de-source gives en; at, toward, or through gives hi.

Predicate hi and lexicalized expressions

Hi can resume certain predicative complements—states or manners associated with the verb—rather than literal places.

La directora va arribar nerviosa, però el portaveu no hi va arribar gens.

The director arrived nervous, but the spokesperson did not arrive nervous at all. (Hi resumes the predicative state.)

Some combinations must be learned as lexical units. In haver-hi “there be,” hi is part of the existential construction. Partitive en can then join it: n'hi ha.

A la sala petita hi ha dotze cadires; a la gran n'hi ha més de cinquanta.

There are twelve chairs in the small room; in the large one there are more than fifty. (N' is partitive; hi belongs to haver-hi.)

In no hi veig “I can't see,” hi forms part of a conventional expression of sensory capacity. In anar-se'n “leave/go away” and sortir-se'n “manage,” en is likewise lexicalized. Trying to recover a literal de + noun for every token gives the wrong analysis.

Sense les ulleres no hi veig prou bé per llegir la lletra petita.

Without my glasses I can't see well enough to read the small print. (Lexicalized sensory hi.)

El primer mes va ser dur, però al final ens en vam sortir tots sols.

The first month was hard, but in the end we managed on our own. (Sortir-se'n is lexicalized.)

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When en and hi occur together, do not treat n'hi as a third pronoun. In n'hi ha quatre, en retrieves the counted noun and hi belongs to existential haver-hi.

A dialogue where the pronoun changes the route

—Ja ets a la biblioteca? —Sí, hi soc des de les nou.

—Are you at the library already? —Yes, I've been there since nine. (Static location.)

—Quan surts de la biblioteca? —En surto d'aquí a deu minuts.

—When are you leaving the library? —I'm leaving there in ten minutes. (Source.)

—Penses en l'examen? —Hi penso massa i no em concentro.

—Are you thinking about the exam? —I think about it too much and can't concentrate. (Pensar en.)

—Has parlat de l'examen amb la tutora? —Encara no n'he parlat.

—Have you talked about the exam with your tutor? —I haven't talked about it yet. (Parlar de.)

Regional and register guidance

Both pronouns belong to contemporary standard Catalan across the IEC and AVL traditions. Their frequency in spontaneous speech varies: (regional: Valencian) and some Northwestern varieties may use an overt noun, a stressed phrase, or omission where Central Catalan strongly favors a weak pronoun. This variation does not license random substitution between en and hi in careful writing. (regional: Balearic) speech robustly preserves many clitic uses, with its own pronunciation and combinations.

In (formal) prose, maintaining the selected complement often prevents ambiguity. In conversation, a full phrase can be preferable when the antecedent is distant or human. Register changes the choice between pronoun and full phrase more often than it changes the structural opposition between en and hi.

Common Mistakes

❌ Tens préssecs? Sí, hi tinc quatre a la nevera.

Incorrect: the omitted counted noun requires partitive en, not locative hi.

✅ Tens préssecs? Sí, en tinc quatre a la nevera.

Do you have peaches? Yes, I have four in the fridge.

❌ Sempre parla del viatge, però no hi vol parlar avui.

Incorrect: parlar takes de, so the complement is resumed by en.

✅ Sempre parla del viatge, però no en vol parlar avui.

She always talks about the trip, but she doesn't want to talk about it today.

❌ Vaig cap al mercat i en arribaré en cinc minuts.

Incorrect for a destination: cap a points to hi.

✅ Vaig cap al mercat i hi arribaré en cinc minuts.

I'm heading to the market and I'll arrive there in five minutes.

❌ Acabo de sortir de l'ascensor i ja hi soc fora.

Incorrect: leaving a source requires en; hi would locate someone at/in a place.

✅ Acabo de sortir de l'ascensor i ja en soc fora.

I've just got out of the lift and I'm already outside it.

Correction task

Correct the two pronouns in De la proposta, hi parlarem demà; a la sala gran, en serem a les deu. The first phrase is selected by de; the second is a location:

De la proposta, en parlarem demà; a la sala gran, hi serem a les deu.

We'll talk about the proposal tomorrow; we'll be in the large room at ten.

When unsure, expand the missing phrase. Quantity, de, or source leads to en. Place, goal, path, or another selected preposition leads to hi. Lexicalized constructions must be learned whole. The fuller en/hi contrast reference supplies additional verb frames and edge cases.

Key Takeaways

Use en for an omitted indefinite noun or quantity, a de-complement, and movement from a source.
Use hi for a static location, destination, path, and most complements selected by a, en, amb, or per.
Recover the Catalan preposition instead of translating English “it” or “there.”
Learn haver-hi, veure-hi, anar-se'n, and sortir-se'n as complete lexicalized expressions.

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