Catalan verbs often select a preposition before an essential complement: adonar-se de l'error, pensar en les vacances, parlar de política, confiar en l'equip, acostumar-se al soroll. The relation is part of the verb's lexical frame. English may use another preposition—or none—and Spanish may look similar while still encouraging a false verb or construction.
Learn each verb aloud with its preposition and one blank: adonar-se de _, pensar en _, parlar de _, confiar en _, acostumar-se a _. This method also predicts the weak pronoun: complements with de normally become en; those with a or en normally become hi.
The verb complements overview groups many more selected prepositions by relation.
Pattern grid
| Stored frame | Relation | Example complement | Pronoun frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| adonar-se de | become aware of | de l'error | adonar-se'n |
| pensar en | direct thought toward | en el viatge | pensar-hi |
| parlar de | take as a topic | de la reunió | parlar-ne |
| confiar en | place trust in / rely on | en la metgessa | confiar-hi for a thing; strong pronoun for a person |
| acostumar-se a | adapt oneself to | al nou horari | acostumar-s'hi |
The verb still inflects freely: m'adono, te n'adonaràs, ens n'hem adonat; hi penso, hi pensàvem; s'hi acostumaran. The reflexive pronouns in adonar-se and acostumar-se change with the subject, while en/hi represents the prepositional complement.
Adonar-se de: noticing and realizing
Adonar-se is pronominal: the se is part of the verb, not a direct object meaning “oneself.” A noun complement follows de, which contracts with an article: de + el → del.
Ens vam adonar de l'error quan ja havíem enviat el correu.
We noticed the error when we had already sent the email.
La Berta no s'adona del soroll perquè hi està acostumada.
Berta doesn't notice the noise because she is used to it.
Once the error or fact is known, en replaces the de-complement:
Jo no me n'havia adonat fins que m'ho vas assenyalar.
I hadn't realized it until you pointed it out to me.
Before a finite clause with conjunction que, careful standard Catalan drops de: M'adono que falta una pàgina. The nominal frame can be preserved with del fet que.
Ara m'adono que hem reservat la sala equivocada.
Now I realize that we booked the wrong room.
The Spanish-shaped donar-se compte de is widespread in contact-influenced speech but is not the shared formal IEC/AVL model. Use adonar-se de.
Pensar en: mental focus
Pensar en directs attention toward a person, object, possibility, or nominalized activity. It is not simply English “think” followed by a freely chosen equivalent of about.
Durant tota la reunió pensava en el tren que havia d'agafar.
Throughout the meeting I was thinking about the train I had to catch.
Pensa a tancar les finestres abans de sortir.
Remember to close the windows before leaving.
Before an infinitive, careful formal Catalan normally changes en to a or de: pensar a millorar, pensa d'endur-te les claus. Pensar en + infinitive is also widespread in informal registers. This is a regular register-sensitive change before an infinitive; with a noun phrase, the core frame remains pensar en: pensar en el viatge.
With a recoverable topic, use hi: Hi penso sovint. By contrast, pensar que + clause states an opinion or belief and has no en in careful standard Catalan.
—Encara penses en aquella oferta? —Sí, hi penso cada dia, però crec que no l'acceptaré.
—Are you still thinking about that offer? —Yes, I think about it every day, but I don't think I'll accept it.
The contrast between hi penso and crec/penso que... is semantic as well as formal: focused contemplation versus a proposition judged true.
Parlar de: topic, not interlocutor
Parlar de introduces what the conversation is about. The person spoken with follows amb: parlar amb la directora de l'horari. The language can be a bare object or use en in an adverbial expression, depending on context: parlar català; parlar en català.
Demà parlarem del pressupost amb la tresorera.
Tomorrow we will discuss the budget with the treasurer.
No en vull parlar ara; necessito ordenar les idees.
I don't want to talk about it now; I need to organize my thoughts.
English can strand about in “the issue we talked about.” Standard Catalan keeps the relation visible in formal relatives: el tema de què vam parlar. In ordinary clauses, it becomes en: Ja en vam parlar.
Aquest és el problema de què us vaig parlar ahir.
This is the problem I told you about yesterday. (careful standard)
Confiar en: trust and reliance
Confiar en takes a person, institution, resource, or expected capacity as its basis of trust. With a full noun, keep en: confiar en la metgessa, en l'experiència, en el sistema.
Confio en la teva experiència per resoldre aquesta incidència.
I trust your experience to resolve this incident.
Podem confiar en aquest autobús o sol arribar tard?
Can we rely on this bus, or is it usually late?
For an inanimate complement, hi is natural: Hi confio. For a person, a strong prepositional pronoun is often clearer and avoids treating hi as a general human pronoun: Confio en ella. Before a finite que-clause, formal Catalan drops en: Confio que arribarà.
Confio que el tècnic trobarà una solució abans de dilluns.
I trust that the technician will find a solution before Monday.
Acostumar-se a: adaptation
Acostumar-se a is also pronominal. It means becoming or being habituated to a situation; a can introduce a noun or infinitive and contracts with el/els: al soroll, als horaris.
Al principi em costava llevar-me tan d'hora, però m'hi he acostumat.
At first I found it hard to get up so early, but I've got used to it.
Els nens s'acostumaran a compartir l'habitació en pocs dies.
The children will get used to sharing the room in a few days.
Do not remove the reflexive pronoun: acostumar algú a una cosa means “accustom someone to something,” whereas acostumar-se a means the subject adapts.
A poc a poc, hem acostumat el gos als sorolls del carrer.
Little by little, we have accustomed the dog to street noise. (causative, not reflexive)
Three substitutable frames
- [reflexive person] + adonar-se de + [noun/fact]: M'adono del canvi; Ens vam adonar de la confusió; replacement Me n'adono.
- [speaker] + parlar de + [topic] + amb + [interlocutor]: Parlaré del contracte amb l'advocada; replacement En parlaré amb ella.
- [reflexive person] + acostumar-se a + [noun/infinitive]: T'has acostumat a la calor; S'acostumen a treballar de nit; replacement T'hi has acostumat.
Person, tense, and number vary; selected prepositions and the pronominal status of the verb do not.
Literal image, idiomatic function, and alternatives
| Frame | Literal organization | Pragmatic function | Plain alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| adonar-se de | turn one's awareness toward | realize/notice | veure; descobrir |
| pensar en | place thought in/on | focus on; remember to | tenir present |
| parlar de | speak of | take as topic | comentar |
| confiar en | place trust in | trust/rely on | fiar-se de |
| acostumar-se a | adapt oneself to | get used to | adaptar-se a |
Es va fer conscient de l'error is comprehensible but heavy and nonidiomatic in everyday conversation; se'n va adonar is the preferred compact frame. The alternative is useful only in contexts where a gradual process of becoming conscious is genuinely intended.
Mini-dialogue
—Has pensat en el canvi d'horari? —Sí, hi penso des d'ahir. N'he parlat amb l'equip i confio en el seu criteri. —I us acostumareu a començar tan aviat? —Segur que sí; al cap d'una setmana ja ens hi haurem acostumat.
—Have you thought about the schedule change? —Yes, I've been thinking about it since yesterday. I've discussed it with the team, and I trust their judgment. —And will you get used to starting so early? —Sure; after a week we'll already have got used to it.
Each clitic points back through the stored frame: pensar-hi, parlar-ne, acostumar-s'hi.
Common Mistakes
❌ Em vaig donar compte de l'error massa tard.
Spanish darse cuenta has supplied the light verb. Standard Catalan uses adonar-se.
✅ Me'n vaig adonar massa tard.
I realized it too late.
⚠️ Estic pensant sobre la teva proposta.
Pensar sobre is possible when it means deliberate reflection on a subject, but it is marked if the intended neutral meaning is simply 'have the proposal in mind'; that core frame is pensar en.
✅ Estic pensant en la teva proposta.
I'm thinking about your proposal.
❌ Ja hem parlat sobre d'aquest problema.
Two competing topic markers have been stacked. Use parlar de, or sobre without de in a marked 'on the subject of' phrase.
✅ Ja hem parlat d'aquest problema.
We have already talked about this problem.
❌ La proposta és bona, i la confio completament.
The selected complement is not a direct object; an inanimate en-complement is replaced by hi.
✅ La proposta és bona, i hi confio completament.
The proposal is good, and I have complete confidence in it.
❌ En un correu formal sobre una incidència: «Qui dia passa, any empeny; ja ens hi acostumarem!»
The proverb and cheerful resignation trivialize a formal complaint rather than addressing it.
✅ En un correu formal: «Estem treballant per resoldre la incidència i agraïm la vostra paciència.»
In a formal email: 'We are working to resolve the incident and appreciate your patience.'
Key Takeaways
- Memorize the whole frame: adonar-se de, pensar en, parlar de, confiar en, acostumar-se a.
- Adonar-se and acostumar-se are pronominal; their reflexive pronoun changes with the subject.
- A recoverable de complement becomes en: adonar-se'n, parlar-ne. A recoverable a/en complement becomes hi: pensar-hi, confiar-hi, acostumar-s'hi.
- Contract preposition and article normally: del problema, al soroll, als horaris.
- In careful formal Catalan, selected prepositions generally drop before conjunction que where that verb licenses a finite clause: m'adono que..., confio que.... Use del/en el fet que when a nominal bridge is needed or the relation must remain explicit.
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Prepositions Selected by VerbsB1 — Learn high-frequency Catalan verb–preposition patterns, the meaning contrasts they encode, and how to read and remember dictionary government.
- 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.
- Conjugation of adonar-seC1 — Complete conjugation and clitic syntax of adonar-se for realizing and noticing, including de-complements, en replacement, and compound forms.