Making plans in Catalan is not just a matter of translating meet, want, and work for you. Everyday speakers reuse a small set of stored frames: quedem...? proposes a meeting, et ve de gust...? checks desire, and et va bé...? checks practical suitability. The pronoun is part of the frame, not an optional decoration.
The forms on this page are contemporary and neutral-to-informal unless marked otherwise. They work throughout the Catalan-speaking territory; pronunciation and some time-telling habits vary, but the central grammar does not.
For full paradigms, see quedar and poder; the focus here is how their forms combine in real planning exchanges.
The planning pattern grid
| Purpose | Stored pattern | What can vary | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suggest meeting | Quedem + time/place? | person, tense, time, place | neutral, everyday |
| Suggest an activity | Et ve de gust + noun/infinitive? | dative pronoun, tense, desired activity | informal to neutral |
| Check availability | Pots + infinitive? | person, tense, activity | neutral |
| Check suitability | Et va bé + time/place? | dative pronoun; singular or plural subject | neutral, everyday |
| Accept | Perfecte / D'acord / Em va bé | little internal variation | neutral |
| Reschedule | Ho deixem per + time? | new time; person of deixar | neutral |
| Cancel politely | Em sap greu, però no podré... | dative pronoun, reason, event | neutral to formal |
Frame 1: quedar to arrange a meeting
In this sense, quedar means “arrange to meet” or simply “meet up.” The people can appear with amb, the purpose with per + infinitive, and the agreed time or place as an adjunct. In a first-person plural question, the subject is normally omitted: Quedem...? already means “Shall we meet...?” Do not add a reflexive pronoun: quedar-se normally means “stay” or “keep,” not “arrange to meet.”
Substitutable frame: Quedem [a les set] [davant del cinema] [per sopar]?
Quedem divendres cap a les vuit davant del teatre?
Shall we meet on Friday at around eight in front of the theatre? (neutral, everyday)
He quedat amb la Júlia per fer un cafè després de classe.
I've arranged to meet Júlia for a coffee after class. (neutral)
On quedem, a l'estació o directament al restaurant?
Where shall we meet, at the station or directly at the restaurant? (informal)
The time prepositions are compact: a les nou “at nine,” cap a les nou “around nine,” divendres with no preposition, and al vespre “in the evening.” Central Catalan also commonly uses the quarter-based system (un quart de nou = 8:15), while hour-plus-minute wording is widely understood everywhere. At A2, a numerical time avoids regional ambiguity.
Frame 2: desire with venir de gust
Venir de gust is an idiom meaning “feel like” or “appeal.” Its literal image is that an activity “comes from pleasure,” but its grammar is closer to English “appeal to”: the person is a dative clitic (em, et, li, ens, us, els), while the desired thing controls the verb. An infinitive or singular noun takes ve; a plural noun can take venen.
Substitutable frame: Et ve de gust [anar a caminar / una pizza / que hi anem tots]?
Et ve de gust anar a la platja diumenge al matí?
Do you feel like going to the beach on Sunday morning? (informal)
Avui no em ve gaire de gust sortir; estic rebentada.
I don't much feel like going out today; I'm exhausted. (informal; a female speaker)
Us venen de gust unes tapes abans del concert?
Do you all fancy some tapas before the concert? (informal; the plural noun licenses venen)
The fixed material is venir de gust. You may change the tense (em venia de gust), the person (li ve de gust), and the desired item. Dropping de or replacing venir with an English-style verb destroys the stored expression.
Frame 3: availability and suitability
Use poder + infinitive to ask whether someone is able or available to do something. Use anar bé when you want to know whether a proposed time, place, or arrangement suits them. With anar bé, the person is again dative; the proposed option is the grammatical subject, so plural options allow plural van.
Substitutable frame: Et va bé [demà / aquest horari / quedar a Sants]?
Pots venir una mica abans per ajudar-nos a parar taula?
Can you come a little earlier to help us set the table? (neutral)
Et va bé dissabte a la tarda o ja tens plans?
Does Saturday afternoon work for you, or do you already have plans? (informal)
A la Laia li van bé tant les sis com dos quarts de set.
Both six and half past six work for Laia. (neutral; Central-style dos quarts de set = 6:30)
És bo per a tu? is comprehensible as a word-for-word rendering of “Is it good for you?”, but it sounds like an assessment of benefit or health. For scheduling, the idiomatic question is Et va bé? This is a good example of why phraseology is grammatical knowledge: Catalan stores a verb, a dative clitic, and an adverb together.
Accepting, declining, and changing the plan
Short acceptances are normal. D'acord, perfecte, fet “done/deal,” and em va bé all confirm a plan. Som-hi! is an enthusiastic “let's go,” not a neutral answer to every future arrangement. For a tentative answer, use en principi, sí or crec que sí.
—A les set a la plaça? —Perfecte, ens veiem allà.
—At seven in the square? —Perfect, see you there. (informal mini-dialogue)
En principi em va bé, però t'ho confirmo demà al migdia.
In principle that works for me, but I'll confirm it to you tomorrow at midday. (neutral)
To reschedule, ho deixem per... treats the existing arrangement as a known object represented by ho. Ho passem a...? is also possible, especially for appointments or scheduled events. To cancel without sounding abrupt, combine an apology, the impossibility, and—if sincere—a new proposal.
Em sap molt greu, però m'ha sortit un imprevist i no podré venir.
I'm very sorry, but something unexpected has come up and I won't be able to come. (neutral)
Ho deixem per dimarts que ve i així no anem amb presses?
Shall we leave it until next Tuesday so we aren't rushed? (neutral)
—Al final avui no puc. —Cap problema; ja quedarem un altre dia.
—In the end I can't make it today. —No problem; we'll arrange another day. (informal mini-dialogue)
The clitics do different jobs. Ens veiem is reciprocal “we see each other.” T'ho confirmo combines et “to you” and ho “it.” Ho deixem per dimarts uses ho for the whole plan. These are not interchangeable fillers.
Literal image, idiomatic function, and social setting
| Catalan expression | Literal image | Idiomatic function |
|---|---|---|
| Et ve de gust? | Does it come to you from pleasure? | Do you feel like it? |
| Et va bé? | Does it go well for you? | Does it suit you? |
| Ho deixem per demà? | Do we leave it for tomorrow? | Shall we postpone it until tomorrow? |
| Ja quedarem | We will arrange [a meeting] later | We'll make plans another time |
Register matters. Quan vulguis: qui dia passa, any empeny uses a proverb (“every passing day pushes the year along”) where a simple scheduling reply is needed; it can sound theatrical or evasive. Proverbs are not interchangeable with practical answers. In professional email, prefer a complete formula such as Em podríeu confirmar si us va bé dijous a les deu? (formal) rather than a bare Et va bé? (informal/neutral).
Common Mistakes
❌ Ens quedem a les set davant del museu?
Incorrect for arranging a meeting: quedar-se means to stay; the reflexive pronoun changes the meaning.
✅ Quedem a les set davant del museu?
Shall we meet at seven in front of the museum?
❌ Et ve gust fer una excursió dissabte?
Incorrect: the fixed expression venir de gust requires de.
✅ Et ve de gust fer una excursió dissabte?
Do you feel like going on a hike on Saturday?
❌ Tu va bé a les nou?
Incorrect: with anar bé, the person is expressed by a dative clitic, not a subject pronoun.
✅ Et va bé a les nou, després de sopar?
Does nine, after dinner, work for you?
❌ Ho deixem a divendres?
Incorrect for postponing a plan: the stored scheduling frame uses per before the new date.
✅ Ho deixem per divendres al vespre?
Shall we leave it until Friday evening?
❌ Donem a les vuit al cafè?
Invented light-verb combination: Catalan uses quedar to arrange a meeting.
✅ Quedem a les vuit al cafè de la cantonada?
Shall we meet at eight at the café on the corner?
Key Takeaways
- Use quedar amb algú, quedar per + infinitive, and Quedem a...? without a reflexive pronoun.
- Store venir de gust as a unit: dative person + ve/venen de gust
- desired thing.
- Pots venir? asks about ability or availability; Et va bé? asks whether an option suits someone.
- Accept naturally with d'acord, perfecte, fet, or em va bé; reserve som-hi for enthusiastic action.
- Reschedule with Ho deixem per...? and cancel politely with Em sap greu, però no podré....
- In planning phrases, clitics encode who is affected and what plan is already known; changing or omitting them changes the grammar.
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