In No crec que vingui, the word no belongs grammatically to the main clause: “I do not think that she will come.” In ordinary conversation, however, the likely message is that the speaker thinks she will not come. This mismatch between the surface position of negation and its usual interpretation is called negative raising. Catalan shares the conversational pattern with English, but Catalan additionally marks the embedded proposition as nonasserted through the subjunctive.
The core contrast: withheld belief versus embedded denial
Negative raising is especially natural with predicates of belief, expectation, and appearance: creure “believe/think,” pensar “think,” semblar “seem,” and conditional diria “I would say.” The main-clause negation sounds less blunt because it presents the speaker as withholding commitment.
No crec que l'Èlia arribi abans de les vuit.
I don't think Èlia will arrive before eight.
Crec que l'Èlia no arribarà abans de les vuit.
I think Èlia won't arrive before eight.
This minimal pair often describes the same expected outcome, but not with the same force. No crec que... leaves open a wider zone of uncertainty: the speaker does not endorse an early arrival. Crec que... no... positively commits the speaker to the later-arrival prediction.
Mood makes the packaging visible
In the standard baseline, a genuinely negated opinion normally selects the subjunctive because the embedded proposition is not presented as established fact.
| Packaging | Typical form | Speaker commitment |
|---|---|---|
| positive belief | Crec que arribarà. | the arrival is asserted as the speaker's belief |
| raised negation | No crec que arribi. | belief in the arrival is withheld; nonarrival is inferred |
| embedded negation | Crec que no arribarà. | nonarrival is asserted as the speaker's belief |
| explicit uncertainty | Dubto que arribi. | the arrival is directly placed in doubt |
Em sembla que la còpia és autèntica.
It seems to me that the copy is authentic.
No em sembla que la còpia sigui autèntica.
It doesn't seem to me that the copy is authentic.
Em sembla que la còpia no és autèntica.
It seems to me that the copy is not authentic.
The second example is a cautious rejection; the third treats inauthenticity as the conclusion. This is why an English translation may hide an important Catalan contrast: English often uses “I don't think...” for both politeness and uncertainty, whereas Catalan mood and word order jointly show how the content is packaged.
For the broader contrast between asserted and nonasserted complements, see choosing the indicative or subjunctive.
A decision table
| Communicative goal | Recommended Catalan pattern | Why |
|---|---|---|
| give a cautious negative opinion | No crec que + subjunctive | withholds endorsement and lets nontruth be inferred |
| make a firm negative prediction | Crec que no + future/indicative | puts the denial inside the proposition believed |
| reject the reporting act itself | No dic que...; dic que... | contrast or metalinguistic negation blocks the usual inference |
| express doubt directly | Dubto que + subjunctive | dubtar already supplies the uncertainty |
| report another person's belief | No creu que + subjunctive | the attitude holder, not automatically the current speaker, withholds belief |
The inference can be cancelled
Negative raising is a strong conversational tendency, not a rule of logical equivalence. A person may genuinely lack a belief either way.
No crec que el Biel sigui a casa, però tampoc no crec que sigui a la feina.
I don't think Biel is at home, but I don't think he's at work either.
This sentence cannot mean that the speaker confidently believes both negatives; it says that neither location has enough support. The continuation cancels the usual negative-raised inference.
Contrastive focus can also target the main verb rather than the embedded content:
No dic que el projecte sigui inviable; dic que ens falta temps per avaluar-lo.
I'm not saying the project is unworkable; I'm saying we lack time to assess it.
Here no rejects the act of saying. It does not imply “I say that the project is viable.” Punctuation matters: there is no comma between an ordinary attitude verb and its que-clause, but the semicolon cleanly separates the explicit correction.
Tense and viewpoint
The mood relation remains when the attitude is moved into the past. The subordinate tense then follows the usual sequence of tenses.
No em pensava que la reunió durés tanta estona.
I didn't think the meeting would last so long.
No havíem cregut que calgués reservar amb tanta antelació.
We hadn't thought it would be necessary to book so far in advance.
No diria que l'acord hagi resolt el problema de fons.
I wouldn't say the agreement has solved the underlying problem.
In the last example, conditional diria is already a distancing device and no strengthens the caution. (formal) This combination is frequent in analytical, political, and academic prose because it criticizes without presenting the judgment as categorical. In ordinary conversation, no crec que... is more common.
The inference belongs to the relevant attitude holder. In La directora no creu que funcioni, it is the director who withholds belief; the speaker may disagree.
Segons els tècnics, la directora no creu que, amb el pressupost actual, el sistema funcioni més d'un any.
According to the technicians, the director does not believe that, on the current budget, the system will work for more than a year.
The embedded, reordered constituent amb el pressupost actual does not change the dependency: creu selects the que-clause, and the subjunctive funcioni marks its nonasserted status.
Clitics, pas, and scope
Object and experiencer clitics remain next to their verb. The negator precedes the clitic cluster: no m'ho crec, no em sembla. Do not pull a clitic toward the clause whose content it summarizes.
Això que el local reobrirà dilluns, no m'ho crec pas.
That claim that the premises will reopen on Monday—I certainly don't believe it.
This sentence is not the canonical no crec que... construction: ho refers back to an already stated claim, and pas rejects it strongly. Compare the softer version:
No crec pas que el local reobri dilluns, si encara no hi ha llicència.
I really don't think the premises will reopen on Monday if there is still no licence.
The spelling and government matter. Catalan has creure que and pensar que in these complement clauses, with no inserted de. Spanish-influenced de que is not standard here.
A natural dialogue
—Creus que acceptaran l'oferta? —No crec que l'acceptin tal com està. —Vols dir que la rebutjaran? —No necessàriament; potser ens demanaran que canviem els terminis.
‘Do you think they'll accept the offer?’ ‘I don't think they'll accept it as it stands.’ ‘Do you mean they'll reject it?’ ‘Not necessarily; perhaps they'll ask us to change the deadlines.’
The final turn exposes the logic of negative raising. The second speaker withholds belief in acceptance, but can still deny having made a firm prediction of rejection.
Common Mistakes
❌ No crec que arribarà abans de les nou.
In the intended neutral meaning ‘I don't think...,’ the negated opinion normally makes the embedded proposition nonasserted, so standard Catalan uses the subjunctive.
✅ No crec que arribi abans de les nou.
I don't think he will arrive before nine.
❌ No crec de que sigui una coincidència.
Incorrect government influenced by Spanish dequeísmo: creure takes que directly.
✅ No crec que sigui una coincidència.
I don't think it is a coincidence.
❌ Crec no que aprovaran el canvi.
Incorrect scope and word order: no either negates crec or belongs inside the que-clause.
✅ Crec que no aprovaran el canvi.
I think they will not approve the change.
❌ No penso que no vindrà, és segur.
The sentence mixes a raised-negation frame, an embedded negative, and an indicative future without making the intended scope clear.
✅ Penso que no vindrà; n'estic segur.
I think he won't come; I'm sure of it.
Short correction task
Choose the version that matches the meaning, then compare the solutions.
- A cautious doubt: No em sembla que la xifra és / sigui correcta.
- A firm negative belief: No crec que obrin / Crec que no obriran demà.
- Correct the government: No penso de que ens hagin enganyat.
No em sembla que la xifra sigui correcta.
It doesn't seem to me that the figure is correct.
Crec que no obriran demà.
I think they won't open tomorrow.
No penso que ens hagin enganyat.
I don't think they have deceived us.
Key Takeaways
- No crec que + subjunctive withholds belief and commonly suggests, without logically asserting, the corresponding negative proposition.
- Crec que no + indicative places the negation inside what the speaker positively believes and is therefore usually firmer.
- Contrast, continuation, or genuine uncertainty can cancel the negative-raised inference; always read the scope in context.
- Catalan mood makes the assertion status visible, and creure que never needs an inserted Spanish-influenced de.
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Negation Scope and AmbiguityB2 — Identify what Catalan no negates around constituents, quantifiers, modals, subordinate clauses, and spoken focus, then disambiguate by paraphrasing.
- Basic Negation with NoA1 — How Catalan no negates finite and nonfinite predicates, combines with clitics, and answers questions without English-style auxiliary verbs.
- The Reinforcing Particle PasA2 — How Catalan pas reinforces negation by rejecting an expectation, contradicting an assumption, or marking the disfavored side of a comparison.
- Indicative or Subjunctive?B1 — Choose Catalan indicative or subjunctive by deciding whether a clause is asserted or placed inside desire, evaluation, nonidentification, or another nonassertive frame.
- Subjunctive after Doubt, Denial, and RejectionB1 — Choose the subjunctive when a speaker withholds commitment to a proposition through doubt, denial, or rejection.
- Embedded QuestionsA2 — How Catalan places questions inside statements and larger questions with si or an interrogative phrase, declarative punctuation, and non-inverted word order.