When Catalan speakers say segons l'informe, pel que sembla, es veu que, or el ministre hauria dimitit, they do more than grade certainty. They position a source, indicate how the information became available, and negotiate who is answerable if it proves false. Good evidential language distinguishes “I saw it,” “someone reported it,” “I infer it,” and “this remains unconfirmed.”
Catalan does not require every sentence to carry a grammatical evidential marker. That freedom increases the ethical importance of lexical choices: an attribution can transparently identify evidence, or it can merely make a serious allegation sound distant. The pages on evidentiality and the journalistic conditional develop the syntax; this page concentrates on communicative responsibility.
Four questions behind every evidential choice
| Question | Possible answer | Catalan resource |
|---|---|---|
| Who is the source? | a named report or person | segons X; X afirma que |
| What access is claimed? | report, appearance, inference | es veu que; pel que sembla |
| How certain is it? | confirmed, probable, unverified | consta que; sembla que; hauria... |
| Who endorses the claim? | source, writer, institution | explicit attribution and careful verb choice |
These dimensions do not map one-to-one. Segons la policia identifies a source but says nothing by itself about whether the writer believes that source. Pel que sembla lowers commitment but may hide where the inference came from.
Segons: explicit attribution
Segons + noun phrase means “according to” and takes no de: segons l'informe, not segons de l'informe. It can occur initially, parenthetically, or after the proposition. Initial position makes the source the interpretive frame for the whole sentence.
Segons l'informe de la sindicatura, el contracte es va adjudicar sense prou justificació.
According to the audit office's report, the contract was awarded without sufficient justification. (formal)
La incidència ja està resolta, segons el servei tècnic.
The incident has now been resolved, according to technical support.
Attribution is stronger when it is precise. Segons fonts pròximes al cas is conventional journalism, but it leaves readers unable to evaluate independence or access. Confidentiality may justify anonymity; convenience does not.
Pel que sembla, sembla que, and es veu que
These expressions overlap, but their evidential profiles differ.
| Form | Typical access | Register |
|---|---|---|
| sembla que | general appearance or cautious assessment | neutral |
| pel que sembla | conclusion from available indications | neutral/formal |
| es veu que | reported information or inference | common in conversation |
| tot indica que | convergence of evidence | formal/journalistic |
Pel que sembla, la fuita va començar durant la matinada, però encara no se'n sap la causa.
Apparently, the leak began during the night, but its cause is still unknown.
Es veu que la Núria canvia de pis el mes que ve; m'ho ha dit la seva germana.
Apparently, Núria is moving next month; her sister told me. (informal)
Es veu que literally resembles “it is seen that,” but often conveys hearsay rather than visual evidence. If the source matters, add it: m'ho ha dit.... Pel que sembla foregrounds the speaker's synthesis of indications; it is not automatically more reliable.
Tot indica que l'avaria és al quadre elèctric: hi ha olor de cremat i han saltat els fusibles.
Everything indicates that the fault is in the electrical panel: there is a smell of burning and the fuses have tripped. (formal)
The evidence after the colon makes the inference auditable. Without it, tot indica que can overstate a hunch.
Reporting verbs and the stance they import
Attribution verbs characterize both speech and source. Dir is comparatively neutral. Afirmar and sostenir present a maintained claim; assegurar suggests confidence; admetre and reconèixer frame the information as reluctantly conceded; al·legar can signal legal relevance or distance; denunciar presents a public accusation or report of wrongdoing.
La portaveu afirma que totes les factures s'han publicat, però el portal encara en mostra tres de pendents.
The spokesperson states that all invoices have been published, but the portal still shows three as pending.
L'empresa reconeix que va comunicar el canvi amb retard.
The company acknowledges that it communicated the change late.
Calling a neutral statement a confessió or using admetre presupposes reluctance and possible fault. Ethical reporting does not smuggle the writer's verdict into the reporting verb.
La defensa al·lega que la notificació no va arribar dins del termini.
The defense alleges that the notice did not arrive within the deadline. (legal/formal)
Al·legar is appropriate for a party's legally relevant contention, but in ordinary reporting it may make a true statement sound doubtful. Choose the verb for what the source actually did.
The journalistic conditional
The conditional can mark information reported but not independently confirmed: hauria dimitit, s'haurien reunit, hi hauria deu ferits. This evidential conditional is characteristic of journalistic and formal reporting, not ordinary hypothetical meaning.
El conseller hauria presentat la dimissió aquest matí, segons dues fonts del departament.
The minister reportedly submitted his resignation this morning, according to two departmental sources. (journalistic, unconfirmed)
The conditional and the explicit source perform separate jobs: the conditional marks confirmation status; segons... identifies provenance. Used alone, the conditional may create a fog of rumor.
⚠️ L'alcaldessa hauria desviat fons públics.
Ethically inadequate as a standalone allegation — the conditional does not identify evidence or source.
✅ La fiscalia investiga si es van desviar fons públics; l'alcaldessa nega qualsevol irregularitat.
The prosecution service is investigating whether public funds were diverted; the mayor denies any wrongdoing.
The correction reports verifiable institutional actions and includes the affected party's response. It does not promote an allegation to fact or use grammar as legal insulation.
Direct claims and calibrated claims
A direct assertion is appropriate when the speaker has sufficient evidence and takes responsibility:
Les dades publicades contenen dues columnes duplicades.
The published data contain two duplicated columns. (direct, verifiable)
If access is partial, state the limitation rather than vaguely retreating:
Amb la versió del fitxer que hem pogut consultar, sembla que hi ha dues columnes duplicades.
With the version of the file we have been able to inspect, it appears that there are two duplicated columns. (calibrated)
This softened version is actually more informative: it names the evidence set and the inference. Stacking potser sembla que pel que es veu would make the source less, not more, transparent.
Informal and formal exchanges
In conversation, hearsay can be light, but sensitive information still needs care (informal):
—Es veu que tancaran el forn. —Qui t'ho ha dit? —La dependenta m'ha dit que encara ho estan negociant; no és segur.
—Apparently they're going to close the bakery. —Who told you? —The shop assistant told me they're still negotiating it; it isn't certain.
The second speaker requests provenance; the first repairs an overstrong future by naming the source and status.
In a hearing or academic setting, scope and role are explicit (formal/academic):
—Pot afirmar que el tractament és eficaç? —Segons els resultats preliminars, redueix els símptomes a curt termini; encara no disposem de dades sobre l'efecte a llarg termini.
—Can you state that the treatment is effective? —According to the preliminary results, it reduces symptoms in the short term; we do not yet have data on the long-term effect.
This answer avoids both evasion and overclaiming. It defines the source, outcome, period, and remaining uncertainty.
Responsibility, agency, and impersonal wording
Impersonal constructions can focus a process: s'ha comprovat que, es considera que, s'ha informat de.... But they can also erase the responsible actor. Ask who checked, considered, or reported.
S'ha decidit ajornar les proves.
It has been decided to postpone the tests. (agent suppressed)
El comitè de seguretat ha decidit ajornar les proves fins que arribi l'informe pericial.
The safety committee has decided to postpone the tests until the expert report arrives. (agent and basis explicit)
The first may be appropriate when the outcome matters more than the decider. It is inappropriate if institutional accountability is the point. Grammar changes what is foregrounded, not who is ethically responsible.
Regional and multilingual context
The main constructions are standard across Catalan varieties. Lexical frequency and newsroom style vary, but segons, sembla que, and the evidential conditional are not exclusively Central Catalan. Valencian formal usage is regulated by AVL conventions and other territories generally follow IEC codification; neither creates a distinct truth value for these forms.
Multilingual writers should watch false correspondences. English “reportedly” may require an explicit source plus the conditional, not one adverb. Spanish contact does not make Catalan segons de acceptable. French-style journalistic distancing or English passive-heavy prose can likewise obscure agents if transferred mechanically.
Correction practice
- Make hearsay auditable: Es veu que dimitirà. → Segons dues fonts del grup municipal, estaria preparant la dimissió; ella no ho ha confirmat.
- Remove an overclaim: L'estudi demostra que funciona sempre. → En la mostra estudiada, els resultats indiquen una millora a curt termini.
- Restore agency: S'ha decidit apujar les tarifes. → El consell d'administració ha aprovat apujar les tarifes al gener.
Common Mistakes
❌ Segons de l'informe, hi ha tres incidències.
Incorrect — segons takes its source directly, without de.
✅ Segons l'informe, hi ha tres incidències pendents.
According to the report, three incidents remain unresolved.
⚠️ Pel que sembla, es veu que potser hauria marxat.
Overloaded — several distancing devices are stacked without identifying a source.
✅ Una veïna diu que el va veure marxar, però la policia encara no ho ha confirmat.
A neighbor says she saw him leave, but the police have not yet confirmed it.
❌ La doctora assegures que ja està resolt.
Incorrect — doctora is third person, but assegures is second person.
✅ La doctora assegura que el problema ja està resolt.
The doctor assures us that the problem has now been resolved.
❌ Vostè dius que les dades són definitives?
Incorrect — vostè requires third-person verbal agreement.
✅ Vostè diu que les dades són definitives?
Are you saying that the data are final?
⚠️ Al País Valencià es veu que sempre és purament col·loquial.
Misleading generalization — register depends on genre and speaker, not a universal regional rule.
✅ En aquest article formal, l'autora prefereix pel que sembla; en la conversa, fa servir es veu que.
In this formal article, the author prefers pel que sembla; in conversation, she uses es veu que.
Key Takeaways
- Separate source, evidential access, certainty, and endorsement: one marker rarely expresses all four.
- Segons names provenance; pel que sembla signals inference; es veu que often conveys conversational report or inference.
- The journalistic conditional marks unconfirmed status but does not replace sourcing or verification.
- Reporting verbs carry stance: dir, afirmar, reconèixer, and al·legar are not ethically neutral synonyms.
- Impersonal grammar can focus a process or conceal an agent; choose it consciously.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Evidentiality without a Dedicated MoodC1 — How Catalan marks inference, appearance, hearsay, and source attribution without a grammatical evidential mood.
- The Reportive ConditionalB1 — Use and interpret the Catalan conditional of unconfirmed information without confusing grammatical distance with evidence or verified fact.
- Reported SpeechB2 — Report Catalan statements, questions, and commands while managing viewpoint, pronouns, time expressions, and optional tense backshifting.
- Expressing Certainty and DoubtB1 — Calibrate certainty, inference, and doubt in Catalan with segur, potser, deure, em sembla, and mood choice.
- Journalistic StyleB1 — Report events in Catalan with informative headlines, explicit attribution, controlled tense, concise syntax, and accurate neutral terminology.
- Academic StyleB1 — Build Catalan academic arguments through precise definitions, calibrated claims, evidence, impersonal constructions, integrated citations, and coherent paragraphs.