Catalan speakers do not choose a verb for every noun from scratch. They retrieve familiar combinations such as fer una pregunta, tenir gana, donar les gràcies, prendre una decisió, posar fi a una discussió, and treure profit d'una ocasió. English often chooses a different light verb, and Spanish can look deceptively similar while preferring a different one.
This is grammar as well as vocabulary: the collocation controls articles, prepositions, clitics, and the amount of variation allowed. Learn the whole frame, not just the noun. The examples are common across the Catalan-speaking area unless noted; the main regional form here is Valencian traure, corresponding to Central Catalan treure.
The focused donar versus fer guide develops the most confusing light-verb contrast.
Pattern grid
| Light verb | Frequent stored combinations | English mismatch | Fixed grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| fer | fer una pregunta, fer cas, fer por, fer una passejada | ask, pay attention, be scary, take a walk | article varies; fer cas de |
| tenir | tenir gana, set, son, por, pressa, raó | be hungry/thirsty/sleepy/afraid/right | usually no article |
| donar | donar les gràcies, suport, permís, una oportunitat | thank, support, allow, give a chance | donar X a Y; articles differ |
| prendre | prendre una decisió, mesures, nota, el sol | make a decision, take action/notes, sunbathe | stored article and number |
| posar | posar en marxa, posar fi a, posar ordre | launch, put an end to, tidy | fixed preposition in two frames |
| treure | treure profit de, conclusions de, importància a | make use of, draw conclusions, play down | selected de or a |
Fer: actions, effects, and activities
Fer is the broadest Catalan light verb, but that does not mean it can accompany every action noun. It is natural in fer una pregunta, fer un esforç, fer cas, fer mal, fer por, fer vergonya, fer una passejada, and fer un petó.
Abans de signar, et puc fer una pregunta sobre la clàusula tercera?
Before signing, can I ask you a question about the third clause?
No facis cas dels rumors; demà publicaran les dades definitives.
Don't pay attention to the rumours; they will publish the final figures tomorrow.
Fer cas normally has no article. A person or source being heeded follows de in the full frame: fer cas de la metgessa, fer cas d'un avís. A personal referent is commonly resumed with li/els (fer-li cas), while a statement or warning is resumed with en (fer-ne cas).
El soroll del motor em fa por, perquè ahir no se sentia.
The noise from the engine scares me, because it wasn't audible yesterday.
English uses “be afraid” to describe the experiencer, but Catalan can present the cause with fer por a algú. Spanish uses dar miedo; copying that light verb as donar por is a recognizable contact-induced calque, not the shared standard taught here.
Tenir: bodily and mental states
The common state nouns after tenir normally appear without an article: tenir gana, set, son, fred, calor, por, pressa, raó. The verb agrees with the experiencer, while the noun stays singular.
Tinc molta gana, però esperaré que arribin els altres.
I'm very hungry, but I'll wait for the others to arrive.
Si teniu pressa, comenceu sense nosaltres.
If you're in a hurry, start without us.
La Júlia tenia raó: el tren surt de l'altra andana.
Júlia was right: the train leaves from the other platform.
Adjectives such as molta can quantify the state noun, but the definite article is not inserted: molta son, not la son in the basic state frame. Outside this frame, the same noun can take an article: La son afecta la concentració “Sleepiness affects concentration.”
Donar: transfer, support, and conventional social acts
Donar keeps a general transfer pattern—someone gives something to someone—but the “thing” can be abstract. High-frequency packages include donar suport a, donar permís a, donar una oportunitat a, donar les gràcies a, and donar un cop d'ull a.
El comitè donarà suport a la proposta si en reduïm el cost.
The committee will support the proposal if we reduce its cost.
Volem donar les gràcies a tot el personal que va treballar diumenge.
We want to thank all the staff who worked on Sunday.
The articles are lexical: donar suport usually has no article, while donar les gràcies has the definite plural article. The target takes a. It can be resumed as hi when inanimate: La proposta és sensata i hi donarem suport. A human recipient normally uses li/els: Li van donar permís.
La directora li va donar una altra oportunitat després de parlar-hi.
The head gave him another chance after speaking with him.
Prendre: decisions and deliberate acts
Prendre forms several important collocations that English divides between make and take: prendre una decisió, prendre mesures, prendre nota/apunts, prendre el sol, prendre possessió. It also means consuming food, drink, or medicine in many contexts.
Hem de prendre una decisió abans que tanquin les inscripcions.
We have to make a decision before registration closes.
L'ajuntament prendrà mesures per reduir el soroll nocturn.
The council will take measures to reduce nighttime noise.
Pren nota del número d'expedient, que te'l demanaran a recepció.
Write down the case number; they will ask you for it at reception.
The noun controls its own article and number. There is no general rule “always use una after prendre”: compare una decisió, plural mesures, zero-article nota, and definite el sol.
Posar and treure: setting up and deriving
Posar often profiles causing a state: posar en marxa un projecte, posar ordre a l'arxiu, posar fi a un conflicte. In the first and third expressions, changing the preposition produces a different or nonstandard frame.
Al gener posarem en marxa un servei de préstec de bicicletes.
In January we will launch a bicycle-loan service.
La mediadora va posar fi a una discussió que durava des del matí.
The mediator put an end to an argument that had lasted since morning.
Treure combines with results and advantages: treure una conclusió de, treure profit de, treure importància a. (regional: Valencian) traure is the standard Valencian form, so traure profit is not an error or a lesser variant.
No podem treure conclusions d'una mostra tan petita.
We cannot draw conclusions from such a small sample.
La cooperativa ha sabut treure profit d'un local que estava buit.
The cooperative has managed to make good use of premises that were empty.
When a de-complement is recoverable, use en: N'hem tret profit. A target introduced by a is replaced by hi: No hi treguis importància. The pronoun follows from the stored preposition.
Three substitutable frames
- tenir + [state noun]: tenir gana/set/son/por/pressa/raó. The noun usually has no article; degree words may be added: tenir molta son.
- donar + [support/permission/opportunity] + a + [recipient or target]: donar suport al pla; donar permís als alumnes; donar una oportunitat al candidat.
- treure/traure + [result or value] + de + [source]: treure conclusions de l'enquesta; treure profit del curs; treure una lliçó de l'error.
D'aquella experiència, en vam treure una lliçó que encara recordem.
We drew a lesson from that experience that we still remember.
The frame allows tense, person, number, modifiers, and a limited set of noun partners to vary. It does not license any semantically similar noun: collocational freedom is real but constrained.
Literal image and idiomatic meaning
| Collocation | Literal image | Usual meaning | Comprehensible alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| prendre una decisió | take a decision | decide | decidir |
| posar en marxa | put into motion | launch/start | iniciar |
| treure profit de | pull benefit out of | make good use of | aprofitar |
| fer cas de | make heed of | listen to/pay attention to | escoltar atentament |
Van decidir ajornar-ho is a perfectly natural, noncollocational alternative to Van prendre la decisió d'ajornar-ho. The collocation packages a decision as an event or institutional act; the simple verb is shorter and often better in conversation.
Mini-dialogue
—Ja heu fet una decisió? —Encara no: demà prendrem la decisió definitiva. —Doncs preneu nota dels riscos i no traieu importància al termini. —Tens raó; en farem cas.
—Have you made a decision yet? —Not yet: tomorrow we'll make the final decision. —Then note the risks and don't play down the deadline. —You're right; we'll heed that.
The first speaker's fer una decisió is understandable but collocationally foreign. The reply naturally recasts it with prendre. The final en farem cas replaces the advice complement in the frame fer cas de [una cosa].
Common Mistakes
❌ Hem fet una decisió difícil.
A word-for-word copy of English 'made a decision'. Catalan selects prendre.
✅ Hem pres una decisió difícil.
We have made a difficult decision.
❌ Aquesta carretera em dona por de nit.
Spanish dar miedo has supplied the light verb; shared standard Catalan uses fer por.
✅ Aquesta carretera em fa por de nit.
This road scares me at night.
❌ Tenim la pressa perquè l'autobús surt ara.
The state collocation normally has no article.
✅ Tenim pressa perquè l'autobús surt ara.
We're in a hurry because the bus is leaving now.
❌ Volem donar gràcies a tot el personal.
The conventional social formula requires the definite plural article: donar les gràcies.
✅ Volem donar les gràcies a tot el personal.
We want to thank all the staff.
❌ Posem final amb aquesta discussió.
The frozen frame has been changed. Catalan uses posar fi a.
✅ Posem fi a aquesta discussió.
Let's put an end to this argument.
Key Takeaways
- Learn light verb and noun together: fer una pregunta, tenir gana, donar suport, prendre una decisió, posar fi a, treure profit de.
- Articles are part of the package: zero article in tenir por and donar suport, but les in donar les gràcies and el in prendre el sol.
- Stored prepositions predict clitics: treure profit de → treure'n profit; donar suport a una proposta → donar-hi suport.
- English and Spanish are unreliable guides. Especially remember Catalan prendre una decisió and fer por.
- (regional: Valencian) traure corresponds to Central treure; both participate in the same collocations.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Expressions with FerB1 — Understand how fer organizes weather, elapsed time, activities, causation, appearance, measurements, and Catalan do/make collocations.
- Expressions with TenirB1 — Use tenir naturally for possession, age, bodily states, desire, success and failure, result states, and fixed noun expressions.
- Expressions with DonarB1 — Distinguish literal and idiomatic donar from Catalan fer, including transfer, permission, results, reactions, clitics, and Spanish calques.
- Donar or Fer in Common CollocationsB2 — Choose donar or fer as part of a complete Catalan collocation, especially where English or Spanish suggests the wrong light verb.
- Light-Verb ConstructionsB2 — Use Catalan support verbs such as fer, donar, prendre, and tenir with the nouns they conventionally select.