A Catalan apostrophe marks a vowel that has disappeared: el avi → l'avi, de hora → d'hora, em agrada → m'agrada. It is not decorative punctuation, and it is not the English possessive apostrophe. Most learner errors arise from applying the visual shortcut “apostrophize before any vowel” without checking stress, pronunciation, or whether a weak pronoun comes before or after the verb.
The correction method has three steps. First identify the full form—el, la, de, em, et, es, en. Then listen to the beginning or end of the neighboring word. Finally attach the reduced form with no space around the apostrophe. The full reference rules appear on The Apostrophe; this page diagnoses the places where that process breaks down.
Articles: sound matters more than the first letter
Masculine el and feminine la normally become l' before a vowel or silent h: l'arbre, l'home, l'àvia, l'ombra. The important exception concerns feminine la before unstressed i/hi and u/hu: la idea, la història, la universitat, la humitat. Initial glides [j] and [w] also block elision: el iogurt, la hiena.
Repair 1: elide before an ordinary vowel.
❌ El avi de l'Ona encara viu al mateix barri.
Incorrect — el loses its vowel before avi.
✅ L'avi de l'Ona encara viu al mateix barri.
Ona's grandfather still lives in the same neighborhood.
Repair 2: do not elide feminine la before unstressed i.
❌ L'història que explica la guia és fascinant.
Incorrect — història begins with unstressed i, so feminine la remains full.
✅ La història que explica la guia és fascinant.
The story the guide tells is fascinating.
Repair 3: do not elide feminine la before unstressed u.
❌ L'universitat ha ampliat l'horari de la biblioteca.
Incorrect — universitat begins with unstressed u.
✅ La universitat ha ampliat l'horari de la biblioteca.
The university has extended the library's opening hours.
Repair 4: a written vowel can represent a glide.
❌ He comprat l'iogurt natural que em vas recomanar.
Incorrect — initial i in iogurt is consonantal [j], so masculine el does not elide.
✅ He comprat el iogurt natural que em vas recomanar.
I bought the plain yogurt you recommended.
The same phonological test gives la hiena and de iogurt. An aspirated h in a nonadapted loan can also block elision: el hàmster, de Hollywood. Silent Catalan h does not: l'hivern, d'hora. The fixed forms la una “one o'clock” and la Haia must be learned separately.
De has its own rule
The preposition de becomes d' before vowels and silent h, including the unstressed i/u environments where feminine la remains full. Compare la història but d'història, and la universitat but d'universitat.
Repair 5: elide de before a vowel.
❌ Necessitem una ampolla de aigua per a l'excursió.
Incorrect — de elides before aigua.
✅ Necessitem una ampolla d'aigua per a l'excursió.
We need a bottle of water for the outing.
Repair 6: do not transfer la's exception to de.
❌ Treballa de infermera en una clínica privada.
Incorrect — de still elides before unstressed initial i.
✅ Treballa d'infermera en una clínica privada.
She works as a nurse in a private clinic.
Repair 7: do not elide before an initial glide.
❌ La salsa és d'iogurt, menta i llimona.
Incorrect — iogurt begins with [j], which blocks elision.
✅ La salsa és de iogurt, menta i llimona.
The sauce is made with yogurt, mint, and lemon.
These contrasts show why a global search-and-replace cannot fix apostrophes. La universitat and d'universitat begin with the same noun but select different behavior because the full forms have different exception sets.
Preverbal m', t', s', and n'
Before a vowel-initial verb, em, et, es, and en become m', t', s', and n': m'espera, t'ajuda, s'aixeca, n'arriben. Before a consonant they remain em, et, es, en. These weak pronouns precede the finite verb as one orthographic group but do not float away from it.
Repair 8: reduce em before a vowel.
❌ Em agrada arribar abans que comenci la reunió.
Incorrect — preverbal em elides before agrada.
✅ M'agrada arribar abans que comenci la reunió.
I like arriving before the meeting starts.
Repair 9: reduce es before a vowel, including silent h.
❌ En Pol se ha llevat tard perquè no ha sentit l'alarma.
Incorrect — es becomes s' before ha.
✅ En Pol s'ha llevat tard perquè no ha sentit l'alarma.
Pol got up late because he didn't hear the alarm.
Repair 10: reduce partitive en before a vowel.
❌ Si sobren croquetes, en agafaré dues per sopar.
Incorrect — weak en becomes n' before agafaré.
✅ Si sobren croquetes, n'agafaré dues per sopar.
If there are croquettes left, I'll take two for dinner.
The pronouns hi and ho do not become h' or o'. Nor should you invent elided forms for li, ens, or us. With clusters, the apostrophe moves according to the established forms: me'n recordo, te l'envio, se n'adona. That is a morphological pattern, not free punctuation.
After the verb: apostrophe and hyphen have different jobs
After an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative imperative, weak pronouns attach. A full form after a consonant normally takes a hyphen (portar-me, digues-ne); a reduced form after a vowel uses an apostrophe (mira'm, renta't, compra'n). Combinations can contain both: dona-me'l.
❌ Explica m què ha passat abans que arribi tothom.
Incorrect — postverbal em must attach as 'm with no space.
✅ Explica'm què ha passat abans que arribi tothom.
Tell me what happened before everyone arrives.
❌ Agafa'n tres i porta m en una quan puguis.
Incorrect — the second postverbal cluster needs hyphen and apostrophe attachment.
✅ Agafa'n tres i porta-me'n una quan puguis.
Take three and bring me one when you can.
For the full positioning system, see Postverbal Pronouns. The crucial proofreading contrast is me'l porta before the finite verb versus porta-me'l after an imperative.
Two spacing errors that create another message
A misplaced boundary can leave a grammatical sentence—but not the one intended.
Em porta l'abric perquè fa fred.
Valid Catalan: ‘He/she brings me the coat because it is cold.’ It is not the command ‘Take the coat.’
✅ Emporta't l'abric perquè fa fred.
Take your coat because it is cold.
Here emportar-se is one pronominal verb. Splitting em porta produces the different verb portar with indirect object em.
Mira, em sembla que tens una taca a la galta.
Valid Catalan: ‘Look, I think you have a mark on your cheek.’ It does not ask the listener to look at me.
✅ Mira'm: em sembla que tens una taca a la galta.
Look at me: I think you have a mark on your cheek.
The apostrophe turns em into the attached object of the imperative. Punctuation and prosody support the two different analyses.
Spanish contact and legitimate variation
Spanish spelling can encourage forms such as bare me agrada or an apostrophe where Spanish would contract words differently. Catalan must be analyzed on its own terms: m'agrada, d'aigua, al mercat. Conversely, personal articles vary. Central Catalan commonly uses en, la, and elided l' with names; Valencian usage often omits the personal article, while Balearic preserves additional article systems. Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese varieties also differ in their article inventories. Omitting a personal article in a variety that does so is not an apostrophe error.
Formal IEC/AVL spelling agrees on the core apostrophation system described here. Typography may display a curly apostrophe (’) or the straight keyboard form ('), but it must be a real apostrophe, not an acute accent, closing quotation mark used inconsistently, or a space-separated ornament.
A short correction task
Repair every boundary in: L' universitat m ha enviat un correu de informació i vol que l' Irene respongui abans d' una.
✅ La universitat m'ha enviat un correu d'informació i vol que la Irene respongui abans de la una.
The university has sent me an information email and wants Irene to reply before one.
The feminine la remains before unstressed u and i; em elides before ha; de elides before informació; the fixed clock-time phrase is la una. No apostrophe takes surrounding spaces.
Common Mistakes
❌ L' infermera m' ha demanat que esperi cinc minuts.
Incorrect — la stays full before unstressed i, and no apostrophe takes a following space.
✅ La infermera m'ha demanat que esperi cinc minuts.
The nurse asked me to wait five minutes.
❌ Treballa com a professora de universitat i està especialitzada en robòtica.
Incorrect — de elides before universitat even though feminine la would remain full.
✅ Treballa com a professora d'universitat i està especialitzada en robòtica.
She works as a university lecturer and specializes in robotics.
❌ Porta m'ho demà, que avui ja no ho podré revisar.
Incorrect — a postverbal two-pronoun cluster attaches with a hyphen and apostrophe.
✅ Porta-m'ho demà, que avui ja no ho podré revisar.
Bring it to me tomorrow, because I won't be able to review it today.
Key Takeaways
- Recover the full form before deciding whether elision applies.
- Feminine la stays full before unstressed i/u, but de still apostrophizes there.
- Initial glides and aspirated h block elision; silent h does not.
- Preverbal clitics remain before the verb, while postverbal clitics attach with apostrophes and hyphens.
Final proofreading checklist
- What is the unreduced form: el, la, de, em, et, es, or en?
- Does the next word begin with a true vowel sound, a glide, silent h, or aspirated h?
- For feminine la before i/u, is the initial vowel stressed?
- Is a weak pronoun before a finite verb or attached after an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative imperative?
- Are every apostrophe and hyphen flush against their neighboring letters, with no spaces?
- Is the apparent “error” actually a legitimate regional choice to omit or change an article?
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- The ApostropheA2 — Use the Catalan apostrophe with articles, de, and weak pronouns, including the vowel and clitic contexts that block elision.
- Article Elision: l’A1 — Form l' from el or la before vowels and silent h, while preserving la in the contexts that block elision.
- Elided Weak-Pronoun FormsA2 — Choose m', t', l', s', and n' before vowel-initial verbs, including the feminine la exception before unstressed i and u.
- Postverbal Pronouns with Infinitives, Gerunds, and ImperativesA2 — Attach weak pronouns after infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives with the correct full or reduced form.
- Apostrophes and Hyphens in Pronoun ClustersB2 — Spell preverbal and postverbal pronoun clusters by choosing full, reinforced, elided, and reduced forms in the right order.
- Hyphens in Pronouns, Compounds, and NumbersB1 — Apply current Catalan hyphen rules to postverbal pronouns, lexical compounds, coordinated prefixes, and written numbers.