The Catalan preposition a most often points toward a destination, recipient, time, or target: anem a Girona, dona-ho a la Berta, quedem a les sis, aprèn a conduir. It also marks many static locations and appears in fixed expressions of manner. English distributes these jobs among “to,” “at,” “in,” no preposition at all, and word order, so a word-for-word translation is unreliable.
Unlabelled patterns on this page are neutral contemporary standard Catalan. The important question is not “What English word equals a?” but “What relation does this Catalan phrase express?”
Forms and obligatory contractions
Before the masculine definite articles el and els, a contracts. Before a vowel, the article elides instead.
| Combination | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a + el | al | al mercat |
| a + els | als | als afores |
| a + la | a la | a la plaça |
| a + les | a les | a les oficines |
| a + l' | a l' | a l'estació |
The contractions are compulsory: al, never a el; als, never a els. They are not apostrophized: al, not a'l. Article use with personal names varies by region. In Central and other Principat varieties, al Marc alternates with a en Marc, while a la Núria is usual; the personal article en does not contract with a. (Regional: Balearic) en/na is systematic, giving a en Joan and a na Margalida. (Regional: Valencian) personal names generally appear without an article, as in a Marc and a Núria.
Deixa les caixes al passadís, però porta aquesta a l'arxiu.
Leave the boxes in the corridor, but take this one to the archive.
A quick decision table
| If the phrase expresses... | Core pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| destination | motion + a + place | arribar a Lleida |
| static location in many common settings | state + a + place | ser a casa |
| recipient or addressee | verb + thing + a + person | donar el rebut a l'Èric |
| clock time or conventional period | a + time phrase | a les nou; al vespre |
| manner or rate | fixed a-expression | a peu; a mà; a deu euros |
| a complement selected by a word | verb/adjective/noun + a | aprendre a nedar; accés a la sala |
Direction, destination, and location
With movement, a marks the endpoint: anar a, arribar a, tornar a, pujar a, acostar-se a. It is retained whether the destination is a city, a building, or an event.
Demà anirem a Olot i dinarem al mercat cobert.
Tomorrow we'll go to Olot and have lunch at the covered market.
Quan arribis a la rotonda, gira a l'esquerra.
When you reach the roundabout, turn left.
Catalan also uses a for many static locations, especially towns, countries, home, work, school, and recognizable points: visc a Tortosa; soc a casa; treballa a l'hospital. That means “motion = a, location = en” is not a Catalan rule. The choice between locative a and en depends on the type of place, determiner, and variety; see a versus en for location.
These minimal pairs show that the verb, not a alone, establishes movement or location:
La Bruna va a l'institut amb bicicleta.
Bruna goes to secondary school by bicycle. (destination)
La Bruna és a l'institut fins a les cinc.
Bruna is at secondary school until five. (location)
Hem pujat al terrat per estendre la roba.
We went up to the roof terrace to hang out the laundry. (movement)
Les cadires plegables són al terrat.
The folding chairs are on the roof terrace. (location)
Locative preferences vary. (Regional: Valencian) and (regional: Northwestern) usage often gives en a wider role with indefinite or demonstrative noun phrases; Central speech also alternates in certain environments. This variation does not affect directional a or the contractions al/als.
Recipients, addressees, and indirect-object clitics
With verbs of transfer or communication, a introduces the recipient: donar una clau a algú, explicar el problema a la tècnica, escriure al propietari. When that recipient becomes a weak pronoun, use li in the singular and els in the plural—not hi.
He enviat les fotografies a la restauradora perquè en comprovi els colors.
I sent the photographs to the restorer so she can check their colors.
Li he enviat les fotografies aquest matí.
I sent her the photographs this morning.
A left-dislocated recipient is resumed by the clitic and followed by a comma. This is a natural way to reestablish the person as the topic:
A la responsable que ens va atendre ahir, ja li he enviat tota la documentació.
I've already sent all the documents to the person in charge who helped us yesterday.
The fronted phrase contains an embedded relative clause, but a still heads the whole recipient phrase. In the neutral order—Ja he enviat tota la documentació a la responsable—there is no comma and clitic doubling is not required.
Clock time, periods, manner, and rate
Use a for a precise clock time and many conventional time periods: a les vuit, al migdia, a la tarda, al vespre, a l'estiu. Duration uses other constructions: durant dues hores, d'aquí a dues hores. Context distinguishes a les set “at seven” from a set euros “at seven euros.”
La visita comença a un quart d'onze i s'acaba al migdia.
The tour starts at a quarter past ten and ends at noon.
Fixed manner expressions include a peu, a mà, a poc a poc, a corre-cuita, a cegues. Rates and prices can use the same preposition: taronges a dos euros el quilo; circular a vuitanta quilòmetres per hora.
Aquestes etiquetes estan escrites a mà i s'han de netejar a poc a poc.
These labels are handwritten and must be cleaned little by little.
Complements selected by verbs, adjectives, and nouns
Some words govern a as part of their lexical pattern. Frequent verbs include aprendre a, començar a, acostumar-se a, dedicar-se a, renunciar a and contribuir a. Frequent adjectives include disposat a, contrari a and fidel a; nouns include accés a, dret a and resposta a. There is no universal semantic shortcut: learn the preposition with the governing word.
La Jana s'ha acostumat a llevar-se abans que surti el sol.
Jana has got used to getting up before sunrise.
La reforma contribuirà a reduir el consum d'aigua de l'edifici.
The renovation will help reduce the building's water consumption.
An understood nonhuman a-complement is often replaced by hi: T'has acostumat al soroll? — Sí, m'hi he acostumat. This differs from recipient li/els. Before a finite clause, formal prose often uses a nominal bridge such as al fet que: La reforma contribuirà al fet que el consum baixi. The subjunctive baixi presents the reduction as an intended result, not yet an established fact.
Word order, questions, and scope
Catalan does not normally strand a at the end of a question or relative clause. Put it before its dependent: A qui ho has explicat?; la persona a qui ho he explicat. Final stranding modeled on English is outside the formal standard and is also unnatural in most ordinary Catalan.
A quin departament hem d'adreçar aquesta reclamació?
Which department should we address this complaint to?
Negation can leave its scope ambiguous unless context or contrast clarifies it. No vaig enviar l'esborrany a l'editora may deny the sending event or contrast the recipient. Spoken stress helps; writing often adds an explicit correction:
No vaig enviar l'esborrany a l'editora, sinó al corrector.
I didn't send the draft to the editor, but to the proofreader.
A natural dialogue
—A quina hora arribes a l'estació?
—What time do you arrive at the station?
—A les sis i deu, si el tren va a l'hora.
—At ten past six, if the train is on time.
—Perfecte. Escriuré a la Núria perquè també vingui a buscar-te.
—Perfect. I'll write to Núria so she comes to pick you up too.
—Digues-li que soc al bar de davant, no a l'andana.
—Tell her I'm in the bar opposite, not on the platform.
The dialogue moves through clock time, destination, recipient, selected venir a + infinitive, and static location. Notice li for a la Núria and the contractions al and a l'.
Short correction task
Correct the choice, form, or position of a in these sentences:
- Arribarem el museu a les deu.
- He deixat la nota a el conserge.
- Qui has enviat el pressupost a?
- Ajudo a la meva germana amb la mudança.
Answers: Arribarem al museu a les deu; He deixat la nota al conserge; A qui has enviat el pressupost?; Ajudo la meva germana amb la mudança. The first adds destination a and contracts it; the second makes the obligatory contraction; the third fronts the preposition; the fourth removes a Spanish-influenced personal a from a direct object.
Common Mistakes
❌ Demà vaig el dentista abans de treballar.
Incorrect—the destination of anar requires a.
✅ Demà vaig al dentista abans de treballar.
Tomorrow I'm going to the dentist before work.
❌ Ens trobem a les vuit a el vestíbul.
Incorrect—a + el must contract to al.
✅ Ens trobem a les vuit al vestíbul.
We'll meet at eight in the lobby.
❌ He vist a l'Ona davant de la biblioteca.
Incorrect in the neutral standard pattern—Ona is the direct object of veure, not a recipient.
✅ He vist l'Ona davant de la biblioteca.
I saw Ona in front of the library.
❌ Qui has deixat les claus a?
Incorrect—Catalan does not normally strand the preposition.
✅ A qui has deixat les claus?
Who did you leave the keys with?
❌ M'hi han explicat el canvi aquest matí.
Incorrect for a human recipient—use li, not locative/complement hi.
✅ Li han explicat el canvi aquest matí.
They explained the change to him or her this morning.
Key Takeaways
Use a for destinations, many locations, recipients, clock time, fixed manners, rates, and complements selected by particular words. Contract it to al/als, but write a la/a les/a l'. Replace a recipient with li/els and many nonhuman selected a-complements with hi. Keep a before its phrase in questions and relatives, and do not import Spanish personal a into ordinary Catalan direct objects.
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- A versus En for LocationA2 — Choose between Catalan a and en by separating destination from position and then considering the determiner, place type, discourse context, and regional standard.
- Prepositions of TimeA2 — Use Catalan temporal prepositions for clock times, dates, starting points, spans, deadlines, approximate moments, and future intervals.
- Indirect-Object Weak PronounsA2 — Use em, et, li, ens, us, and els for recipients, addressees, experiencers, and other indirect objects.
- Animate Objects and the Limited Personal AB1 — Learn when Catalan direct objects take no preposition and when a is licensed or required for pronouns, disambiguation, and marked word order.
- Prepositions Selected by VerbsB1 — Learn high-frequency Catalan verb–preposition patterns, the meaning contrasts they encode, and how to read and remember dictionary government.
- Why Catalan Does Not Normally Strand PrepositionsC1 — Learn why Catalan moves a preposition together with an interrogative or relative phrase, and how natural colloquial repairs avoid English-style stranding.