En and Hi Errors | Catalan Grammar

English can translate both en and hi as “it,” “there,” “of it,” or nothing at all. That is why translation-based guessing fails. Catalan chooses the pronoun from the relation inside the omitted phrase: en normally resumes a de-complement, a source, or an indefinite/quantified noun; hi normally resumes a place or destination and complements introduced by a, en, amb, or per.

This page is a diagnostic clinic. Before correcting anything, reconstruct the full Catalan phrase: parlar del canvi, pensar en el canvi, sortir de l'edifici, anar a l'edifici, comprar tres entrades. Once the hidden preposition or quantity is visible, the pronoun is usually predictable. The complete contrast is developed in Choosing En or Hi.

The decision workflow

Ask these questions in order:

Is an indefinite noun omitted while a number, quantity, or adjective remains? Choose en: en vull dues.
Does the verb, noun, or adjective govern de? Choose en: en parlem, n'està orgullosa.
Is the relation movement from a place? Choose en: en surt, en torna.
Is it location, destination, or path? Choose hi: hi viu, hi va, hi passa.
Does the predicate govern a, en, amb, or per? Usually choose hi: hi renuncia, hi pensa, hi compta, hi opta.
Is it actually a definite direct object, a person, or a proposition? You may need el/la/els/les, li/els, or ho, not either of these pronouns.

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Do not ask “Which pronoun means ‘it’?” Ask “What exact Catalan phrase has disappeared?” The answer del pressupost points to en; en el pressupost points to hi.

Repairs 1–3: omission and lexical prepositions

English often drops a known complement: “We already talked.” Catalan can also use parlar absolutely, but if you mean “talked about it,” the pronoun carries that relation.

1. Preserve an understood de-complement.

Ja coneixem la proposta; demà tornarem a parlar.

Valid only as ‘tomorrow we will talk again’; it fails to retain the intended ‘about the proposal.’

✅ Ja coneixem la proposta; demà en tornarem a parlar.

We know the proposal already; tomorrow we'll talk about it again.

This is the first meaning-changing case: omission does not always create nonsense. It can turn a specific anaphoric complement into a general activity.

2. Follow Catalan pensar en, not English “think about.”

❌ Encara en penso, en aquella oferta de feina.

Incorrect — the Catalan frame is pensar en, so its pronoun is hi.

✅ Encara hi penso, en aquella oferta de feina.

I still think about that job offer.

The phrase after the comma is a right-dislocated clarification, which is why pronoun and full phrase legitimately coexist here.

3. Follow Catalan dependre de, despite English “depend on.”

❌ El viatge depèn del temps, i hi dependrà fins a l'últim moment.

Incorrect — dependre governs de, so the resumed complement takes en.

✅ El viatge depèn del temps, i en dependrà fins a l'últim moment.

The trip depends on the weather, and will depend on it until the last moment.

There is no fully logical shortcut to each lexical preposition. Learn parlar de, dependre de, pensar en, confiar en, comptar amb, and optar per as complete frames. Once that frame is known, the pronoun choice is systematic.

Repairs 4–5: source versus destination

English “there” ignores direction. Catalan builds direction into the clitic: en points away from a de-source, whereas hi locates, approaches, enters, or crosses a place.

4. A source takes en.

❌ Érem al teatre. Quan s'ha acabat la funció, hi hem sortit per la porta lateral.

Incorrect for ‘we came out of it’ — the theater is a source introduced by de.

✅ Érem al teatre. Quan s'ha acabat la funció, n'hem sortit per la porta lateral.

We were at the theater. When the performance ended, we came out through the side door.

Here n' represents del teatre. The explicit route per la porta lateral does not change that source relation.

5. A destination takes hi.

La nova biblioteca obre dissabte. Dilluns ens n'anirem.

Valid Catalan, but the second sentence means ‘we will leave/go away on Monday’; it does not say we will go to the library.

✅ La nova biblioteca obre dissabte. Dilluns hi anirem.

The new library opens on Saturday. We'll go there on Monday.

This is the second meaning-changing case. Pronominal anar-se'n describes departure, whereas locative hi retrieves the destination of anar. Both are real Catalan, but their spatial arrows point in opposite directions.

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Draw an arrow: away from de gives en; toward, at, or through a place gives hi. Then check whether apparent en is instead partitive—“some of them.”

Repairs 6–7: quantities versus definite objects

Partitive en replaces an indefinite noun while a quantity or descriptive remainder stays overt. It does not replace a fully definite direct object merely because English says “them.”

6. Keep en with a numeral.

❌ Tinc cinc invitacions, però només regalaré dues.

Incorrect for ‘two of them’ — the omitted noun invitacions needs partitive en.

✅ Tinc cinc invitacions, però només en regalaré dues.

I have five invitations, but I'll only give away two of them.

The numeral does not itself replace the noun. En retrieves the kind being counted.

7. Use a direct-object pronoun for a definite set.

❌ —Tens les entrades del concert? —Sí, en tinc a la cartera.

Incorrect — les entrades is a definite complete set, not an indefinite quantity.

✅ —Tens les entrades del concert? —Sí, les tinc a la cartera.

—Do you have the concert tickets? —Yes, I have them in my wallet.

If the answer were Sí, en tinc dues, partitive en would be correct because “two tickets” selects a quantity rather than the whole definite set. This minimal contrast prevents the mistaken rule “plural things always take en.”

Repairs 8–9: apparent duplication

In a neutral clause, choose either the full in-situ complement or its weak-pronoun replacement. But dislocation changes the structure: a detached topic at the left or an afterthought at the right is normally resumed by a clitic. Punctuation and intonation matter.

8. Avoid unmotivated in-situ doubling.

En parlarem del contracte durant la reunió de dilluns.

Possible with dislocation, but awkward as neutral in-situ formal prose because en and del contracte fill the same complement slot.

✅ Parlarem del contracte durant la reunió de dilluns.

We'll talk about the contract during Monday's meeting.

Alternatively, if the contract is already salient, write En parlarem durant la reunió de dilluns. Do not delete every apparent repetition automatically: En parlarem, del contracte, dilluns is possible with a right-dislocated clarification.

9. Restore the resumptive pronoun after a detached topic.

❌ Del nou horari, parlarem quan arribi la coordinadora.

Incomplete as a left-dislocation in the neutral standard — the detached de-topic calls for resumptive en.

✅ Del nou horari, en parlarem quan arribi la coordinadora.

As for the new schedule, we'll discuss it when the coordinator arrives.

What looks like duplication is grammatical because the comma-separated topic sits outside the clause; en occupies the complement position inside it. Compare Weak-Pronoun Redundancy.

Repair 10: n'hi is not optional in quantified existentials

Existential haver-hi already contains hi. When its indefinite noun is omitted under a quantity, partitive en joins it in the fixed order n'hi.

❌ —Quantes taules plegables queden? —Hi ha tres al magatzem.

Incomplete for the intended ‘there are three of them’ — hi belongs to haver-hi but does not replace taules.

✅ —Quantes taules plegables queden? —N'hi ha tres al magatzem.

—How many folding tables are left? —There are three in the storeroom.

The singular verb remains ha in the formal standard. The cluster is never hi en ha. More complex combinations are mapped on En and Hi Together.

Repair 11: make position visible in spelling

Before a finite verb, en becomes n' before a vowel or silent h; hi never elides. After an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative imperative, both attach with a hyphen.

❌ En he parlat amb l'advocada, però ara no vull pensar hi més.

Incorrect — preverbal en elides before he, and postverbal hi attaches with a hyphen.

✅ N'he parlat amb l'advocada, però ara no vull pensar-hi més.

I've discussed it with the lawyer, but now I don't want to think about it anymore.

With another weak pronoun, personal or reflexive pronouns normally precede: me'n recordo, se'n queixa, m'hi acostumo, s'hi interessa. Forms such as en me recordo reveal that the learner is translating words rather than building a Catalan clitic cluster.

English paraphrases and contact effects

English lets speakers paraphrase around these pronouns: “I have two,” “I went there,” “I talked about it.” Catalan uses en/hi as ordinary grammatical cohesion, so repeated omission makes discourse sound incomplete even when listeners recover the reference. Spanish contact can reinforce omission because modern Spanish lacks productive equivalents of Catalan en and hi. It can also encourage a full phrase where Catalan naturally uses a clitic.

The core written distinction belongs to both IEC and AVL standards. (Regional: Valencian, informal) some varieties use fewer productive instances in spontaneous speech, especially when context makes the complement obvious. Central and Balearic speech often preserve the pronouns robustly; Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese systems vary in particular verbs and combinations. A regional omission should not be called defective simply because it differs from Central speech. For formal pan-regional writing, retain the standard contrasts and mark authentic dialogue faithfully.

A short correction task

Repair this dialogue: —Has anat a l'arxiu? —Sí, en he anat, hi he sortit fa deu minuts i he portat dos expedients.

✅ —Has anat a l'arxiu? —Sí, hi he anat, n'he sortit fa deu minuts i n'he portat dos, d'expedients.

—Have you gone to the archive? —Yes, I went there, left it ten minutes ago, and brought two files.

Destination selects hi; source and quantity select en. The right-dislocated d'expedients clarifies the partitive and is separated prosodically.

Common Mistakes

❌ —Et recordes d'aquell vespre a Cadaqués? —Sí, em recordo perfectament.

Incorrect in the answer — once the de-complement is omitted, recordar-se requires en to retain it.

✅ —Et recordes d'aquell vespre a Cadaqués? —Sí, me'n recordo perfectament.

—Do you remember that evening in Cadaqués? —Yes, I remember it perfectly.

❌ Pots comptar amb la Berta: en pots comptar sempre.

Incorrect — comptar amb selects hi, not en.

✅ Pots comptar amb la Berta: hi pots comptar sempre.

You can count on Berta; you can always count on her.

❌ Ja tinc tres carpetes, però compraré dues més per al curs.

Incorrect for ‘two more of them’ — the omitted indefinite noun needs partitive en.

✅ Ja tinc tres carpetes, però en compraré dues més per al curs.

I already have three folders, but I'll buy two more for the course.

Key Takeaways

Reconstruct the full Catalan phrase: de and sources select en; locations, goals, and many other governed complements select hi.
Use partitive en when an indefinite noun is omitted under a quantity.
Distinguish a definite direct object from a partitive one: les tinc but en tinc dues.
Judge apparent doubling by syntax and intonation; detached topics normally require clitic resumption.

Final proofreading checklist

What full Catalan phrase does the pronoun replace?
Is its relation de, source, quantity, location, goal, path, or another governed preposition?
If a numeral remains, have you supplied partitive en?
If the antecedent is a complete definite direct object, should the pronoun be el/la/els/les instead?
If pronoun and full phrase coexist, is the phrase genuinely dislocated and punctuated accordingly?
Are n' and postverbal hyphens spelled correctly?
Have you distinguished contact-driven omission from a legitimate regional pattern?

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