Giving Examples: Per Exemple, Com Ara, and Posem Per Cas | Catalan Grammar

Examples can illustrate a category, make an abstract claim concrete, or invite someone to imagine a test case. Catalan uses per exemple for the broadest of these jobs, com ara especially before representative members of a category, and posem per cas when the speaker constructs a case for discussion. English “for example” can translate all three, but choosing by function produces clearer, more idiomatic discourse.

The markers do not necessarily claim that the list is complete. In fact, their normal implication is “these are representative instances; others are possible.” Position and punctuation tell the reader how much material the marker governs, while intonation lets a speaker present an example as helpful, corrective, or tentative.

The basic choice

Marker	Main function	Typical position	Register
per exemple	general-purpose illustration	initial, medial, or after the example	all registers
com ara	introduces one or more members of a category	immediately before a noun phrase or short list	neutral; very natural in Catalan
posem per cas	sets up an imagined or representative case	initial or parenthetical	neutral to formal; explanatory

Algunes despeses, per exemple el transport, es poden justificar amb un rebut digital.

Some expenses, for example transport, can be documented with a digital receipt.

Necessitem fruita que aguanti bé el viatge, com ara pomes, peres o mandarines.

We need fruit that travels well, such as apples, pears, or mandarins.

Posem per cas que el proveïdor no lliura el material a temps: quin marge tenim?

Suppose, for example, that the supplier does not deliver the material on time: what margin do we have?

The first sentence singles out an illustration inside a larger claim. The second names sample members after a category. The third does not report a real failure: it creates a scenario so that the speakers can reason through it.

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Use com ara when you could naturally say “such as” before a noun or list. Use posem per cas when you could say “suppose, for instance, that...”. In all other ordinary cases, per exemple is the flexible default.

Per exemple: the flexible default

Per exemple can introduce a full sentence, interrupt one parenthetically, or follow the material it labels. Initial position gives it broad scope and is usually followed by a comma. Medial position is set off by two commas when it is genuinely parenthetical.

Per exemple, podríem reservar una sala petita i retransmetre la sessió en línia.

For example, we could book a small room and stream the session online.

Els dimecres, per exemple, la biblioteca obre fins a les nou.

On Wednesdays, for example, the library stays open until nine.

Podem començar per una zona més tranquil·la, el pati interior, per exemple.

We can start with a quieter area—the inner courtyard, for example.

The three positions guide scope. Sentence-initial Per exemple, presents the whole proposal as an illustration. Parenthetical per exemple highlights Wednesdays among other days. Final position feels like an afterthought and is especially natural in conversation.

In speech, a short pause around per exemple is normal. Heavy falling stress may make the example sound like a correction—“this obvious case proves my point.” A lighter, slightly rising contour leaves it as one possibility among several.

Pots citar un cas concret; per exemple, explica què va passar al magatzem dimarts.

You can cite a specific case; for example, explain what happened at the warehouse on Tuesday. (direct)

Potser ajudaria posar-ne un exemple; podries explicar, si et va bé, què va passar dimarts al magatzem.

It might help to give an example; you could explain, if that suits you, what happened at the warehouse on Tuesday. (softened)

The second version mitigates the suggestion through potser, the conditional podries, and si et va bé. Merely adding per exemple does not make an instruction tactful.

Com ara: members of a category

Com ara commonly follows a general noun phrase and introduces representative members. It behaves much like English “such as,” but it is a genuine Catalan choice, not a literal copy of Spanish como ahora. The words form a unit here; ara does not mean temporal “now.”

Els tràmits senzills, com ara demanar un certificat, es poden fer des del mòbil.

Simple procedures, such as requesting a certificate, can be done from a mobile phone.

Hi ha tasques que es poden ajornar, com ara l'inventari anual o la revisió dels arxius.

Some tasks can be postponed, such as the annual inventory or the review of the files.

When the example phrase is nonrestrictive—an optional illustration of an already identifiable category—it is normally separated by a comma. Do not put an automatic comma between com ara and the examples it directly introduces: com ara pomes i peres, not com ara, pomes i peres.

Com ara is most comfortable with noun phrases, infinitives, or compact list items. A long hypothetical clause is usually clearer with per exemple or posem per cas.

Posem per cas: build a scenario

Literally “let us put as a case,” posem per cas asks the addressee to entertain an example. It is useful in explanations, teaching, negotiations, and reasoned argument. The first-person plural posem creates a shared thought experiment rather than claiming that the event occurred.

Posem per cas que compres el bitllet avui i la companyia canvia l'horari demà.

Suppose, for example, that you buy the ticket today and the company changes the schedule tomorrow.

La garantia pot cobrir una substitució si, posem per cas, la bateria deixa de carregar durant el primer mes.

The warranty may cover a replacement if, for instance, the battery stops charging during the first month.

In the second example, posem per cas is parenthetical inside the conditional and is therefore enclosed by commas. Before a long hypothetical case, a colon or full stop is often cleaner: La garantia pot cobrir una substitució. Posem per cas que... In formal analytical prose, suposem que is another straightforward option. Posem per cas sounds explanatory and reader-oriented, but not slangy.

Real example, category member, or hypothetical case?

Communicative goal	Natural choice	Why
illustrate a claim with a known event	per exemple	does not alter the event's factual status
name sample items after a class	com ara	keeps the category–member relation close
test a rule with an invented scenario	posem per cas	openly frames the case as a thought experiment
define the previous wording	és a dir, not an example marker	a reformulation claims equivalence, not mere illustration

This last distinction matters. In Treballa en el sector primari, és a dir, en activitats d'extracció de recursos, the second phrase explains what “primary sector” means. With per exemple, it would give only one possible activity. See reformulation markers for that relation.

Informal and formal exchanges

—Què hi podríem portar, al pícnic? —Alguna cosa fàcil de compartir, com ara una coca de verdures o una truita.

—What could we bring to the picnic? —Something easy to share, such as a vegetable flatbread or an omelette. (informal)

The short list directly answers the question. Final level intonation after truita closes the list; a continuing rise would imply more examples are coming.

—Ens podria indicar una incidència representativa? —Sí. Posem per cas la interrupció del servei del 14 de març, que va afectar tres centres.

—Could you identify a representative incident? —Yes. Take, for example, the service interruption of 14 March, which affected three centres. (formal)

The exchange maintains vostè: ens podria indicar. A reply such as Mira, per exemple... would switch unexpectedly to tu and lower the register. The formal answer uses posem per cas to select a case for examination, not to imply that the incident was imaginary.

Repairing an interaction

—Els participants poden portar material propi, és a dir, un portàtil. —Només poden portar un portàtil?

—Participants may bring their own equipment, that is, a laptop. —May they only bring a laptop? (és a dir wrongly suggests equivalence)

The speaker intended “laptop” as one example, but és a dir presents it as the definition of material propi. The listener reasonably interprets the category as restricted.

—No, un portàtil és només un exemple. Poden portar material propi, com ara un portàtil, una tauleta o uns auriculars. —Perfecte, ara queda clar.

—No, a laptop is only an example. They may bring their own equipment, such as a laptop, a tablet, or headphones. —Perfect, that's clear now.

The repair names the discourse relation and supplies an open list. This is clearer than simply exchanging connectors without explaining whether the items are exhaustive.

Regional naturalness

Per exemple and com ara are standard and natural throughout the Catalan-speaking territories. Posem per cas is also standard, though speakers differ in how often they use it and may prefer per exemple, suposem que, or local conversational routines. Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, Alguerese, and Central Catalan also differ in rhythm and in how long a list can continue without an explicit closing contour.

Spanish influence can produce por exemple or per ejemplo, neither of which belongs to standard Catalan. Conversely, do not reject com ara because its word-for-word interpretation seems odd in English or Spanish: as an exemplifying unit, it is idiomatic Catalan. Regional style affects frequency, not the basic category–example relation.

Correction task

Decide whether each context needs per exemple, com ara, or posem per cas.

A brochure names two sample low-emission vehicles after the category “vehicles lleugers.”
A teacher invents a case in which a tenant loses the keys.
A speaker adds one illustrative whole proposal after a completed claim.

Els vehicles lleugers, com ara les bicicletes i els patinets, poden entrar al recinte.

Light vehicles, such as bicycles and scooters, may enter the site. — category members

Posem per cas que el llogater perd les claus un diumenge: a qui ha de trucar?

Suppose the tenant loses the keys on a Sunday: whom should they call? — hypothetical case

Podem reduir les cues. Per exemple, podem obrir una segona finestreta a primera hora.

We can reduce the queues. For example, we can open a second counter first thing in the morning. — a complete illustrative proposal

Common Mistakes

1. Importing a mixed Spanish form.

❌ Podem visitar pobles petits, per ejemplo, Prades o Rupit.

Incorrect: ejemplo is Spanish.

✅ Podem visitar pobles petits, per exemple, Prades o Rupit.

We can visit small towns, for example Prades or Rupit.

2. Separating com ara from the list it introduces.

❌ Evita teixits delicats, com ara, la seda i el lli fi.

Incorrect punctuation: no comma belongs between com ara and its examples.

✅ Evita teixits delicats, com ara la seda i el lli fi.

Avoid delicate fabrics, such as silk and fine linen.

3. Treating an example as an exhaustive definition.

❌ Ofereixen activitats aquàtiques, és a dir, caiac.

Misleading if kayaking is only one activity: és a dir presents an equivalence.

✅ Ofereixen activitats aquàtiques, per exemple caiac.

They offer water activities, for example kayaking.

4. Stacking markers that do the same job.

❌ Per exemple, com ara podríem instal·lar tendals al pati.

Incorrect stacking: choose a sentence example or introduce a noun phrase.

✅ Per exemple, podríem instal·lar tendals al pati.

For example, we could install awnings in the courtyard.

Key Takeaways

Use per exemple as the flexible default, com ara to introduce representative members of a category, and posem per cas to construct or select a case for reasoning. Initial and parenthetical markers normally need punctuation that reveals their scope; com ara stays directly attached to the list it introduces. An example illustrates rather than defines, so do not replace an exemplifying marker with és a dir unless the two formulations are genuinely equivalent.

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