Adjectives can open a grammatical slot for the person, thing, or action to which the quality applies: content de la notícia, capaç de reaccionar, favorable a l'acord, compatible amb el sistema. The preposition introducing that slot is selected by the adjective and may differ from English and Spanish. It is therefore part of the adjective's lexical pattern, not decoration added by general meaning.
This page concentrates on predicative and attributive adjective complements. Unlabelled uses are neutral contemporary standard Catalan; register labels are added where the construction itself is marked.
Argument or adjunct?
An argument completes the relation expressed by the adjective. In orgullosa de la filla, the daughter is the source or object of the pride. An adjunct adds an independent circumstance: orgullosa durant l'acte says when she was proud, but does not identify what she was proud of.
La Berta està orgullosa del projecte després de tants mesos de feina.
Berta is proud of the project after so many months of work.
Here del projecte is the selected complement of orgullosa; després de tants mesos de feina is a temporal adjunct. Both are prepositional, but only the first belongs in a dictionary entry for the adjective.
Decision table for frequent patterns
| Adjective pattern | Core meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| content de / amb | glad about; satisfied with | content de veure't; content amb el resultat |
| capaç de | having the ability or disposition to | capaç de resoldre-ho |
| orgullós de | proud of | orgullosa dels alumnes |
difícil de
| difficult to perform or experience | difícil d'explicar |
| favorable a | supportive of, conducive to | favorable a l'acord |
| interessat en / per | interested in; showing interest in | interessat en lingüística; interessat per la proposta |
| compatible amb | able to coexist or work together | compatible amb el programa |
| útil per a | useful for a recipient or function | útil per als tècnics |
The table gives common pairings, not a method for deriving every preposition. Learn each adjective with a natural example.
Content de and content amb
Content de introduces the cause, news, person, or action that gives rise to happiness: content de la visita, content de tornar, content de tu. Content amb readily presents something as the object of satisfaction or acceptance: content amb el servei, content amb el resultat. The areas overlap, especially with nouns, but the infinitive normally follows de.
Estem molt contents que hagis acceptat la plaça i contents de poder treballar plegats.
We're very happy that you've accepted the position and glad to be able to work together.
La clienta no està contenta amb la reparació perquè la porta encara no tanca bé.
The customer isn't satisfied with the repair because the door still doesn't close properly.
Before a finite clause with que, formal standard Catalan normally omits the selected preposition: contents que hagis acceptat, not contents de que hagis acceptat. A bridge construction, contents del fet que…, retains de because it directly introduces the noun fet. See preposition drop before que.
Capaç de and orgullós de
Capaç de can describe actual ability or, depending on context and intonation, a person's likely behavior: és capaç de reparar-ho may mean “can repair it” or “is the sort of person who might repair it.” Negation has scope over the ability, not automatically over the embedded event.
La nova bateria és capaç d'alimentar l'equip durant vuit hores seguides.
The new battery can power the equipment for eight hours straight.
No és capaç de mentir-te a la cara; si ho sap, t'ho dirà.
He isn't capable of lying to your face; if he knows, he'll tell you.
Orgullós de identifies the person, achievement, or property that causes pride. In a predicative sentence, a de-complement can often be resumed by en: N'estan orgullosos “They are proud of it.”
Els avis estan orgullosos que la neta hagi acabat els estudis, i ella també n'està molt orgullosa.
The grandparents are proud that their granddaughter has finished her studies, and she is very proud of it too.
Again, the finite que clause appears without de. The clitic en in the second clause resumes the understood source of pride.
Difícil de: the understood object of the infinitive
In un problema difícil de resoldre, the noun problema is understood as the object of resoldre: someone resolves the problem. English has the same “difficult to solve” pattern, but Catalan requires de before the infinitive. The construction works predicatively too: Aquest problema és difícil de resoldre.
És una adreça fàcil de recordar però difícil de trobar al mapa.
It's an address that's easy to remember but difficult to find on the map.
Aquest formulari, per a una persona que no conegui el procediment, és gairebé impossible d'emplenar sola.
For someone unfamiliar with the procedure, this form is almost impossible to fill out alone.
The fronted phrase per a una persona que no conegui el procediment identifies the experiencer and contains an embedded relative clause. It is an adjunct to the difficulty judgment; d'emplenar is the complement that defines what is difficult.
Do not insert an object clitic inside the infinitive when the head noun already supplies that role: un formulari difícil d'emplenar, not difícil d'emplenar-lo in the same reading. The clitic would create a second object.
Favorable a and other a-complements
Favorable a expresses support or an effect that benefits something. With a definite masculine article, contract a + el/els to al/als. Related patterns include contrari a, fidel a, sensible a, resistent a, acostumat a and disposat a.
La majoria del consell és favorable a ajornar la votació fins dilluns.
Most of the council is in favor of postponing the vote until Monday.
Aquest material és resistent a la humitat però sensible als canvis bruscos de temperatura.
This material is resistant to humidity but sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.
An a-complement of an adjective can often be replaced by hi: El comitè hi és favorable. This pattern belongs especially to careful or written style when ser separates the adjective from the clitic; ordinary speech may instead repeat the noun phrase.
Amb, en, and per: compatibility and fields of interest
Compatible amb, coherent amb, generós amb, estricte amb and solidari amb introduce a counterpart or target of behavior. Expert en, interessat en, implicat en and especialitzat en locate knowledge or involvement in a domain. Preocupat per, conegut per, responsable de/per require closer attention to meaning: responsable de l'arxiu means in charge of it, while responsable del retard assigns responsibility for causing it.
La versió nova no és compatible amb els ordinadors que encara fan servir el sistema antic.
The new version isn't compatible with the computers that still use the old system.
Busquen una tècnica experta en restauració i interessada en projectes comunitaris.
They're looking for a technician who is an expert in restoration and interested in community projects.
(Formal/technical) Adjectives such as inherent a, relatiu a, susceptible de and consubstancial amb are common in academic, legal, or administrative prose. Their register does not license a different preposition in conversation; speakers usually choose a less formal adjective instead.
Position, agreement, and scope
The adjective agrees with its noun, but its prepositional complement does not: una decisió favorable als treballadors / unes decisions favorables als treballadors. The complement normally follows the adjective. Fronting it creates a marked topic and often requires clitic resumption: D'aquest resultat, no n'estic gens orgullós.
Negation may create a scope contrast. No estem contents amb tots els canvis can mean “we are satisfied with not all of them,” not necessarily “we are dissatisfied with every change.” Make the intended reading explicit:
No estem contents amb tots els canvis: el nou horari ens sembla bé, però les tarifes no.
We're not happy with all the changes: the new timetable seems fine, but the prices don't.
No estem contents amb cap dels canvis.
We're not happy with any of the changes.
A natural dialogue
—Estàs contenta amb el pis nou?
—Are you happy with the new apartment?
—Sí, tot i que és difícil d'escalfar i encara no estic acostumada al soroll del carrer.
—Yes, although it's difficult to heat and I'm not yet used to the street noise.
—I és compatible amb el teletreball?
—And is it suitable for working from home?
—Força. Estic molt contenta de tenir una habitació només per treballar.
—Quite. I'm very glad to have a room just for work.
Short correction task
Correct the preposition or clause structure.
- És capaç a gestionar l'equip.
- Estem orgullosos de que hagis guanyat.
- Una aplicació difícil d'utilitzar-la.
- La direcció és favorable amb la proposta.
Answers: És capaç de gestionar l'equip; Estem orgullosos que hagis guanyat (or del fet que hagis guanyat); Una aplicació difícil d'utilitzar; La direcció és favorable a la proposta.
Common Mistakes
❌ Soc capaç a fer-ho sense ajuda.
Incorrect — capaç selects de before a noun or infinitive.
✅ Soc capaç de fer-ho sense ajuda.
I'm capable of doing it without help.
❌ Està orgullosa amb els seus alumnes.
Incorrect in the neutral standard pattern — the source of pride follows orgullós de.
✅ Està orgullosa dels seus alumnes.
She's proud of her students.
❌ És un codi difícil a entendre.
Incorrect — the adjective pattern is difícil de + infinitive.
✅ És un codi difícil d'entendre.
It's code that's difficult to understand.
❌ Són favorables amb ampliar l'horari.
Incorrect — favorable selects a, also before this infinitive.
✅ Són favorables a ampliar l'horari.
They're in favor of extending the opening hours.
❌ Estic content de que vinguis.
Incorrect in formal standard Catalan — omit de before a finite que clause or insert del fet.
✅ Estic content que vinguis.
I'm glad you're coming.
Key Takeaways
Learn the adjective together with its preposition: capaç de, orgullós de, favorable a, compatible amb. Separate selected arguments from free circumstances, preserve de in difícil de + infinitive, and remember that a finite que clause changes the surface pattern. Agreement belongs to the adjective; the prepositional complement identifies the relation that the adjective describes.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Adjective ComplementsB1 — Build adjective phrases with selected prepositions, infinitives, finite que-clauses, and the resuming pronouns en and hi.
- Prepositions Selected by VerbsB1 — Learn high-frequency Catalan verb–preposition patterns, the meaning contrasts they encode, and how to read and remember dictionary government.
- The Preposition DeA1 — Use Catalan de for source, possession, material, content, quantity, and selected complements, with the correct elisions and article contractions.
- The Preposition AA1 — Use Catalan a for destinations, many locations, recipients, clock time, manner, and selected complements, with the contractions al and als.
- Preposition Change before an InfinitiveB2 — Understand why selected en and amb may change to a or de before Catalan infinitives, and when current standard usage permits them to remain.
- Preposition Drop before QueB2 — Learn when Catalan drops a governed preposition before a finite que-clause, how formal and informal usage differ, and how to avoid dequeisme and queisme.