The string preposition + que hides several different structures. In careful standard Catalan, the simple prepositions a, de, en, and amb selected by a verb, adjective, or noun are normally omitted before conjunction que plus a finite clause: s'adona de l'error but s'adona que s'ha equivocat. Yet a preposition must remain before interrogative què or a relative form when it performs a function inside the subordinate clause: no sap de què parlem.
For the full syntactic rule beyond error correction, see preposition drop before que.
English encourages literal sequences such as “insist on that”; Spanish contact reinforces maintained de que and en que. Hypercorrection then creates the opposite error: learners delete a required preposition before every form that sounds like que. The accent and the clause structure, not the sound alone, decide the repair.
A diagnostic workflow
- Find the word that selects the preposition: adonar-se de, confiar en, oposar-se a, estar d'acord amb.
- Replace the following material with això. If de/a/en/amb això is required, you have identified the underlying government.
- Inspect what actually follows. A noun, pronoun, or infinitive can host the preposition. Before conjunction que introducing a complete finite clause, formal Catalan normally drops simple a, de, en, and amb.
- Ask whether què itself fills a role inside the clause. If it means “what” or appears in a relative construction, retain the preposition and write the required accent or relative form.
- If direct omission is stiff or hard to process, provide a host: el fet que, a noun, or an infinitive.
Common Mistakes
The following ten repairs expose the clause type and the false analogy behind each surface sequence.
1. Drop de before declarative conjunction que
❌ Ens hem adonat de que faltava la pàgina amb les signatures.
Avoid maintained de before conjunction que in careful formal Catalan.
✅ Ens hem adonat que faltava la pàgina amb les signatures.
We realized that the page with the signatures was missing.
Adonar-se selects de before a noun—adonar-se de l'error—but the selected preposition is omitted before a finite declarative clause (formal).
2. Drop en after insistir before a finite clause
❌ La metgessa insisteix en que tornem d'aquí a quinze dies.
Avoid en + conjunction que in formal prose.
✅ La metgessa insisteix que tornem d'aquí a quinze dies.
The doctor insists that we return in two weeks.
Compare insisteix en aquesta recomanació and insisteix a tornar-hi (formal). The finite complement uses que without retained en.
3. Restructure awkward a + que
❌ Els comerciants s'oposen a que tallin el carrer cada dissabte.
Avoid a + conjunction que in careful standard prose.
✅ Els comerciants s'oposen al fet que tallin el carrer cada dissabte.
The shopkeepers object to the street being closed every Saturday.
Bare omission (s'oposen que...) follows the formal rule but can sound abrupt. Al fet que supplies a nominal host for a and makes the structure transparent.
4. Restructure amb + que
❌ No estem d'acord amb que publiquin els noms dels menors.
Avoid amb immediately before conjunction que in formal prose.
✅ No estem d'acord amb el fet que publiquin els noms dels menors.
We disagree with the fact that they publish the minors' names.
Here amb el fet preserves the adjective's complement naturally. Depending on meaning, No estem d'acord que els publiquin is also possible, but the nominal restructuring is the safest formal repair.
5. Remove intrusive de when nothing selects it
❌ La portaveu considera de que la mesura arriba massa tard.
Incorrect — considerar takes a direct declarative complement here; de has no governor.
✅ La portaveu considera que la mesura arriba massa tard.
The spokesperson considers that the measure comes too late.
This is dequeisme, not preposition drop. The això test gives La portaveu considera això, never considera d'això.
6. Do not add de after dir
❌ M'han dit de que demà no obriran fins a les deu.
Incorrect — dir introduces this reported statement directly with que.
✅ M'han dit que demà no obriran fins a les deu.
They've told me that tomorrow they won't open until ten.
Spanish-contact de que and an English “tell me about” analogy can both mislead. Here the clause reports content and requires plain que.
7. Keep de before interrogative què
❌ Encara no entenc què depèn l'import final.
Incorrect — què is the complement of dependre and needs de.
✅ Encara no entenc de què depèn l'import final.
I still don't understand what the final amount depends on.
This is an embedded question, not a declarative que-clause. Què means “what,” carries an accent, and remains governed by de inside the question.
8. Keep en before a relative form
❌ Aquest és el calaix que guardem els contractes antics.
Incorrect — the relative has a locative function requiring en in careful prose.
✅ Aquest és el calaix en què guardem els contractes antics.
This is the drawer in which we keep the old contracts.
The subordinate clause contains a gap corresponding to en el calaix. Preposition drop before conjunction que is irrelevant because this is a prepositional relative; on is another natural repair: el calaix on guardem...
9. Do not break established conjunctions
❌ T'esperaré fins arribis, encara que es faci tard.
Incorrect — temporal fins que is a conjunction; this is not selected-preposition drop.
✅ T'esperaré fins que arribis, encara que es faci tard.
I'll wait for you until you arrive, even if it gets late.
Expressions such as fins que, des que, abans que, and perquè have their own grammar. The rule concerning selected a/de/en/amb does not authorize deleting part of a conjunction.
10. Use an infinitive when the subject is shared
❌ La tècnica està segura de que acabarà la reparació abans del migdia.
Avoid maintained de before a finite que-clause in careful prose.
✅ La tècnica està segura d'acabar la reparació abans del migdia.
The technician is sure she will finish the repair before noon.
Because the technician is understood as the subject of both verbs, an infinitive gives a compact (formal) repair while preserving the selected de before a nonfinite complement. The equally formal finite repair is està segura que acabarà..., with de omitted. Do not force an infinitive when the subjects differ.
Two apparent errors that carry another meaning
Depèn que el proveïdor accepti les noves condicions.
It depends on the supplier accepting the new terms. — que is a conjunction introducing the condition.
Depèn de què accepti el proveïdor.
It depends on what the supplier accepts. — què is interrogative and governed by de.
Both are grammatical, but the first asks whether a whole proposition becomes true; the second leaves the supplier's object unknown. Inserting or deleting de and the accent changes the type of clause.
No recordava que havíem parlat del pressupost.
She didn't remember that we had discussed the budget. — forgotten fact.
No recordava de què havíem parlat.
She didn't remember what we had discussed. — forgotten topic.
The first que introduces remembered content. The second què stands for the topic selected by parlar de. “Correcting” the second by deleting de would destroy its grammatical relation and change the intended question.
Register and regional reality
Maintaining a, de, en, or amb before declarative que is common in spontaneous speech (informal), with frequencies shaped by region, speaker, construction, and Spanish contact. In edited (formal) Catalan, omission or restructuring remains the reliable cross-regional practice associated with IEC and AVL standards. That does not make every spoken maintenance a comprehension failure.
(regional: Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese) speakers may differ in which repair sounds most natural: bare omission, el fet que, an infinitive, or a lexical recast. The formal target is a defensible Catalan construction, not the mechanical imitation of Central conversational preferences.
Correction task
Classify each que before editing: No sé en que s'han basat; Celebro de que hagis vingut; S'ha acostumat a que tot sigui immediat; No sortiré fins que pari de ploure.
No sé en què s'han basat.
I don't know what they based it on. — embedded interrogative, so keep en and accent què.
Celebro que hagis vingut.
I'm glad you came. — celebrar selects no de.
S'ha acostumat al fet que tot sigui immediat.
She has become accustomed to everything being immediate. — give a a nominal host.
No sortiré fins que pari de ploure.
I won't go out until it stops raining. — fins que is an intact temporal conjunction.
What the pattern reveals
The ten repairs above show four distinct problems: nonstandard retention before conjunction que, intrusive de without a governor, hypercorrect deletion before interrogative or relative què, and the accidental destruction of a conjunction. They cannot be solved by the slogan “never put a preposition before que.” That slogan is false.
Key Takeaways
- Formal preposition drop concerns selected a, de, en, and amb before declarative conjunction que.
- Interrogative and relative què retain the preposition required inside their clause.
- El fet que, a noun, or an infinitive can provide a natural host when bare omission is awkward.
- Do not confuse dequeisme, preposition drop, and fixed conjunctions: they require different repairs.
Proofreading checklist
- Which word governs the disputed complement?
- What does the això test reveal about its underlying preposition?
- Is que a conjunction, interrogative què, or part of a relative phrase?
- Before declarative que, have you omitted selected simple a/de/en/amb or restructured naturally?
- Did you accidentally add de after a verb such as considerar, pensar, dir, or creure?
- If you deleted a preposition, was it required inside an embedded question or relative clause?
- Have you preserved established conjunctions such as fins que and des que?
- Does an infinitival repair keep the intended subject relation?
- Have you labeled maintained spoken patterns without condemning a whole regional variety?
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- 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.
- Preposition Change before an InfinitiveB2 — Understand why selected en and amb may change to a or de before Catalan infinitives, and when current standard usage permits them to remain.
- Prepositions Selected by VerbsB1 — Learn high-frequency Catalan verb–preposition patterns, the meaning contrasts they encode, and how to read and remember dictionary government.
- Prepositional Relatives with Què, Qui, and El QualB1 — Choose què, qui, or the agreeing forms of el qual after Catalan prepositions and avoid stranded or resumptive alternatives.
- The Complementizer QueA2 — Use que to introduce finite Catalan complement clauses after speech, thought, perception, emotion, and evaluation, without copying English omission or Spanish prepositions.
- Si and Interrogatives in Embedded QuestionsB2 — How Catalan embeds yes-no and wh-questions with si or an interrogative word, using Catalan word order, tense, and punctuation.