Likes, Wants, and Needs | Catalan Grammar

Catalan does not use one general verb for English “like, want, and need.” It distinguishes a preference frame built around the thing liked (m'agrada), a direct will (vull), a conventionally softened wish (voldria), and two need patterns with different structures (em cal and necessito).

These are stored grammatical combinations. The apostrophe in m'agrada, the absence of a subject pronoun before vull, and the agreement contrast m'agrada/m'agraden all belong to the phrase—not just to spelling.

Pattern grid

Meaning	Stored frame	Variable slot	Example
I like...	M'agrada...	singular noun or infinitive	M'agrada la música.
I like...	M'agraden...	plural noun	M'agraden els concerts.
I want...	Vull...	noun or infinitive	Vull descansar.
I would like...	Voldria...	noun or infinitive	Voldria reservar.
I need...	Em cal...	singular noun or infinitive	Em cal ajuda.
I need...	Em calen...	plural noun	Em calen dues còpies.
I need...	Necessito...	direct object or infinitive	Necessito una còpia.

Three highly productive substitutable frames are:

M'agrada + singular/infinitive: m'agrada el barri / m'agrada cuinar / m'agrada aquesta idea.
Voldria + noun/infinitive: voldria un cafè / voldria parlar amb la directora / voldria canviar l'hora.
Em cal + singular/infinitive; em calen + plural: em cal temps / em cal sortir / em calen ulleres.

M'agrada and m'agraden

The logic of agradar differs from English like. In M'agrada aquest llibre, the book is the grammatical subject—the thing “is pleasing”—and m' identifies the experiencer, “to me.” That is why the verb agrees with what is liked:

M'agrada aquest restaurant perquè és tranquil.

I like this restaurant because it's quiet. (singular subject: agrada)

M'agraden els mercats de barri i les botigues petites.

I like neighborhood markets and small shops. (plural subject: agraden)

An infinitive behaves as a singular activity, so use agrada:

M'agrada caminar vora el mar quan es pon el sol.

I like walking by the sea when the sun sets.

The apostrophe is obligatory before the vowel of agrada: em + agrada → m'agrada. With other persons, the same frame changes the experiencer clitic: t'agrada, li agrada, ens agrada, us agrada, els agrada.

—T'agrada la sopa? —Sí, però no m'agrada gaire picant.

—Do you like the soup? —Yes, but I don't like it very spicy. (informal)

English puts the person first as subject. Catalan can place the experiencer phrase first for contrast—A mi m'agrada—but it still keeps the clitic m'. The strong phrase does not replace the weak pronoun.

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Look to the right of agrada/agraden for agreement: one thing or an activity takes agrada; multiple things take agraden.

Vull: a direct want

Vull is the first-person singular of voler. It can take a noun or an infinitive directly: vull aigua, vull marxar. It expresses the speaker's will clearly and is natural for plans, choices, and contrasts.

Aquest cap de setmana vull descansar i veure els amics.

This weekend I want to rest and see my friends.

In a service encounter, bare vull + item may sound abrupt because it presents desire without converting it into a conventional request. The grammar is correct; the pragmatic fit is the issue. Voldria, posi'm, or an item followed by si us plau is usually more idiomatic.

The understandable Desitjo un cafè is grammatical, but it sounds elevated rather than like an ordinary café order. The conventional service frame is Voldria un cafè. Likewise, do not copy the two meanings of Spanish querer into one Catalan verb: voler expresses ordinary desire, while estimar means “love” or “esteem,” so Estimo un cafè cannot mean “I want a coffee.”

Vull la taula del costat de la finestra, no la del passadís.

I want the table by the window, not the one by the aisle. (direct contrast; firmness intended)

English learners sometimes add de before an infinitive by analogy with other constructions. Voler takes the infinitive directly: vull aprendre, not vull d'aprendre.

Voldria: wish and polite request

Voldria is the conditional of voler, literally “I would want.” In actual interaction it is the standard frame “I would like,” especially for purchases, bookings, appointments, and careful proposals. The conditional places some distance between desire and demand.

Voldria una barra de pa i dos croissants, si us plau.

I'd like a loaf of bread and two croissants, please.

Voldria canviar la cita de dimarts al matí.

I'd like to move Tuesday morning's appointment.

This is a literal-versus-idiomatic contrast. Translating every morpheme yields “I would want,” but the whole expression functions as a polite request. Conversely, English “I would love...” is not mechanically voldria estimar; context chooses m'encantaria, m'agradaria molt, or another frame.

The direct and softened versions make the pragmatic difference visible:

Vull parlar amb la responsable ara.

I want to speak to the manager now. (direct; may be deliberately firm)

Voldria parlar amb la responsable quan estigui disponible.

I'd like to speak to the manager when she's available. (softened)

Adding many formal markers is unnecessary. Disculpi, si fos tan amable, voldria potser... can delay the request without increasing respect. One attention marker plus a clear voldria frame normally suffices.

At the opposite extreme, colloquial Ei! does not soften a service request: Ei, vull una habitació can sound brusque at a reception desk. Use a greeting plus voldria instead: Bon dia, voldria una habitació.

For more on burden, address, and the difference between a clear request and an order, see making requests.

Em cal and em calen

Caldre presents something as necessary. Like agradar, it organizes the clause around the thing needed: Em cal un document, Em calen dos documents. The experiencer is a weak pronoun, and the verb agrees in number with the needed noun.

Per acabar la inscripció, em cal una còpia del passaport.

To finish the registration, I need a copy of the passport.

Em calen dues signatures abans de divendres.

I need two signatures before Friday. (plural: calen)

With an infinitive, use singular cal: em cal descansar, “I need to rest.” In everyday speech, em cal can sound more necessity-focused and, for some speakers or contexts, slightly less conversational than necessito. It is nevertheless standard and highly useful, particularly when stating requirements.

Demà em cal llevar-me d'hora perquè agafo el primer tren.

Tomorrow I need to get up early because I'm taking the first train.

The impersonal pattern cal + infinitive means “it is necessary to”: Cal reservar. It does not identify who needs to act. Em cal reservar adds the experiencer “I.”

Necessito: a transitive need

Necessito works more like English need: the speaker is the understood subject, and the needed thing is its direct object. It does not require an experiencer clitic.

Necessito el carregador abans de la reunió.

I need the charger before the meeting.

Necessito dormir una mica; aquesta nit gairebé no he descansat.

I need to sleep a little; I barely rested last night.

Compare the structures:

Frame	Grammatical center	Number contrast
Em cal una clau.	the needed thing is the subject	Em calen dues claus.
Necessito una clau.	the speaker is subject; thing is object	Necessito dues claus.

Both can mean “I need a key,” but their internal grammar is different. This is precisely why phraseology matters: replacing one verb while retaining the other frame produces a mismatch.

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If the frame begins with em cal, check agreement with the needed thing. If it begins with necessito, keep the first-person verb unchanged whether the object is singular or plural.

Mini-dialogue

—Bon dia. Què voldria? —Voldria una habitació tranquil·la per a dues nits. —La vol amb esmorzar? —Sí, m'agrada esmorzar d'hora. També em cal una taula per treballar. —Cap problema; en tenim una que dona al pati.

—Good morning. What would you like? —I'd like a quiet room for two nights. —Would you like it with breakfast? —Yes, I like having breakfast early. I also need a desk to work at. —No problem; we have one overlooking the courtyard. (formal service exchange)

The employee's voldria is third-person formal, “what would you like?” The customer's voldria happens to have the same surface form in first person. Context identifies the subject. La vol continues vostè agreement.

An informal exchange is more direct:

—Què vols fer aquesta tarda? —Vull anar a la platja, però necessito acabar això primer. —D'acord; m'avises quan estiguis.

—What do you want to do this afternoon? —I want to go to the beach, but I need to finish this first. —All right; let me know when you're ready. (informal)

Regional and register notes

The Central first-person forms are vull, voldria, necessito. Valencian commonly uses necessite (regional: Valencian) while sharing vull and voldria. The construction caldre is standard across the language, although its everyday frequency relative to necessitar varies by speaker and setting. These are repertoire differences, not evidence that one region lacks a way to express need.

Common Mistakes

❌ M'agrada els llibres de viatges.

Incorrect — the plural subject els llibres requires agraden.

✅ M'agraden els llibres de viatges.

I like travel books.

❌ A mi agrada cuinar.

Incorrect — the strong phrase a mi does not replace the weak clitic m'.

✅ A mi m'agrada cuinar; al meu germà, no.

I like cooking; my brother doesn't.

❌ Vull de parlar amb la directora.

Incorrect — voler takes an infinitive directly, without de.

✅ Voldria parlar amb la directora, si us plau.

I'd like to speak with the director, please.

❌ Em cal dues fotografies.

Incorrect — the plural needed noun requires calen.

✅ Em calen dues fotografies per al carnet.

I need two photographs for the ID card.

❌ Em necessito un ordinador més ràpid.

Incorrect — necessitar is transitive here and does not take the experiencer clitic em.

✅ Necessito un ordinador més ràpid per editar vídeo.

I need a faster computer for video editing.

Key Takeaways

M'agrada agrees with one liked thing or an activity; m'agraden agrees with plural things.
Keep the weak pronoun in a mi m'agrada; the strong phrase adds contrast.
Vull states desire directly, while voldria conventionally softens a service request.
Em cal/em calen agrees with the needed thing; necessito takes that thing as a direct object.
Learn the clitic, verb, and complement together: swapping only the lexical verb breaks the frame.
Regional first-person forms vary, but the underlying contrasts remain available across Catalan.

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