Some Catalan verbs, adjectives, and expressions select en or amb before a noun but allow those prepositions to change to a or de before an infinitive. Thus consistir en una revisió corresponds in careful formal prose to consistir a revisar, and estar d'acord amb la proposta can correspond to estar d'acord a/de presentar-la. This traditional “preposition change” is real, but contemporary standard Catalan also accepts many cases with en or amb maintained before the infinitive.
The modern rule is therefore an alternation conditioned by syntax and register, not a blanket ban. This page follows current IEC usage: maintenance and change can both be acceptable, while change remains preferable in formal registers where the governing expression permits it.
The basic contrast
With a noun phrase, keep the preposition selected by the governing word:
La proposta consisteix en una reducció gradual de les tarifes.
The proposal consists of a gradual reduction in prices.
Tothom està d'acord amb la reducció de tarifes.
Everyone agrees with the price reduction.
When the complement is an infinitival clause, en commonly alternates with a, while amb may alternate with a or de, depending on the expression:
La proposta consisteix a reduir gradualment les tarifes.
The proposal consists of gradually reducing prices. (preferred in formal registers)
Tothom està d'acord a reduir les tarifes abans de l'estiu.
Everyone agrees to reduce prices before summer. (formal)
The maintained versions consisteix en reduir and està d'acord amb reduir occur widely and are accepted in current standard usage. In edited formal prose, consisteix a reduir and està d'acord a/de reduir are generally preferred.
A decision table
| Underlying pattern | Before a noun | Before an infinitive | Formal preference |
|---|---|---|---|
| consistir en | consisteix en tres proves | consisteix en/a superar tres proves | a |
| basar-se en | es basa en dades obertes | es basa en/a comparar dades | a |
| insistir en | insisteix en aquest punt | insisteix en/a repetir-ho | a |
| estar d'acord amb | d'acord amb el canvi | d'acord amb/a/de ajornar-ho | a or de |
| conformar-se amb | es conforma amb el resultat | es conforma amb/a/de rebre menys | a or de |
| comptar amb | comptem amb el vostre suport | comptem amb/a/d'acabar aviat | follow the established pattern in the intended register |
Not every speaker selects the same replacement equally naturally, and a and de are not mechanically interchangeable in every expression. A reliable dictionary or usage guide should confirm the lexical option. The table maps well-established possibilities; it is not a license to invent a or de after any word that otherwise takes amb.
Why an infinitive triggers the alternation
A noun phrase and an infinitival clause can fill the same semantic role without having identical syntax. In insisteix en la revisió, la revisió is a noun phrase. In insisteix a revisar el document, revisar el document is a clause whose verb lacks tense and whose subject is understood from context. Traditional formal Catalan marks that change of complement type by replacing selected en with a.
La investigadora s'ha basat en els registres municipals.
The researcher has relied on the municipal records.
La investigadora s'ha basat a comparar els registres municipals amb els padrons parroquials.
The researcher has based her work on comparing municipal records with parish registers. (formal)
The preposition does not alter the understood subject. In the second sentence, the investigator is understood to perform comparar unless context supplies another interpretation.
Change and maintenance in current usage
(Formal) Changing en to a, or amb to an admitted a/de, is the preferred editorial solution. It is frequent in administration, academic prose, and carefully revised journalism.
(Informal) Maintaining en or amb before the infinitive is widespread in spontaneous speech and ordinary writing and is accepted by the current standard in these governed constructions. It should not be “corrected” as though it were automatically ungrammatical.
La formació consisteix en fer quatre sessions pràctiques i preparar un projecte final.
The course consists of doing four practical sessions and preparing a final project. (neutral/informal maintained en)
La formació consisteix a fer quatre sessions pràctiques i preparar un projecte final.
The course consists of doing four practical sessions and preparing a final project. (formal preferred change)
These sentences describe the same structure. The difference is principally stylistic, not a difference in truth conditions or aspect.
Across Central, Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese usage, actual preferences reflect both region and degree of formality. (Formal IEC/AVL) Edited standards favor the changed alternative where established; local speech may maintain en/amb more readily. Do not present a maintained form as belonging exclusively to one territory.
A and de that are already selected do not change
If the governing word already selects a or de, retain it before the infinitive: renunciar a participar, aprendre a conduir, recordar-se de trucar, capaç de resoldre-ho. The change rule concerns governed en and amb, not every preposition before every infinitive.
La Carla ha renunciat a presentar-se perquè no compleix el requisit d'antiguitat.
Carla has decided not to apply because she doesn't meet the seniority requirement.
Recorda't de desconnectar l'alarma quan obris la porta.
Remember to disconnect the alarm when you open the door.
Nor should a direct-object infinitive receive a preposition merely because English has to: vull marxar, puc entrar, he sentit cridar algú. Selection belongs to the Catalan governor, not the translation.
Do not confuse selected en with temporal en
En + infinitive also forms a temporal or causal adjunct meaning approximately “on/when doing”: En arribar, truca'm. This en is not selected by a preceding verb, so preposition change does not apply.
En acabar la reunió, enviarem l'acta a totes les persones assistents.
When the meeting ends, we'll send the minutes to everyone who attended.
Replacing it with a would not create the formal version of the same adjunct. Al + infinitive has some temporal use in contemporary Catalan, especially in certain varieties and contexts, but en + infinitive is a standard construction and must not be “corrected” by this rule.
Fronted temporal adjuncts are normally followed by a comma, as above. A selected complement is not: La tasca consisteix a revisar les dades, with no comma between consisteix and its complement.
Do not confuse selected amb with adjunct amb
An amb phrase can be an independent means or condition rather than a selected complement. In Amb revisar el primer apartat, ja entendràs el procediment, the fronted phrase means roughly “by reviewing the first section”; no governing word selects it. It therefore remains amb.
Amb avisar-nos amb dos dies d'antelació, n'hi ha prou.
Giving us two days' notice is enough.
Amb treballar més hores no resoldrem el problema de fons.
Simply by working longer hours, we won't solve the underlying problem.
The first example belongs to the established haver-n'hi prou amb construction: fronting its infinitival phrase does not sever that dependency, and amb is maintained. In the second, by contrast, amb treballar més hores is an independent means or condition. Negation has scope over the claimed means: more hours are not sufficient to solve the problem. Changing amb to a/de would erase that adjunct relation.
Coordination and parallel structure
One governing word can take coordinated infinitives under a single preposition: consisteix a verificar les dades i redactar l'informe. Do not repeat a different alternative before the second infinitive unless a contrast requires it.
El protocol consisteix a identificar la mostra, registrar-ne l'origen i conservar-la a quatre graus.
The protocol consists of identifying the sample, recording its origin, and storing it at four degrees.
If noun and infinitive complements are coordinated, repeating the appropriate preposition makes the structure clearer: insisteix en la revisió del pressupost i a convocar una altra reunió is awkward because the coordination mixes complement types under different forms. Prefer insisteix a revisar el pressupost i a convocar una altra reunió, or recast both as nouns.
Infinitive versus finite que clause
Do not extend preposition change to a finite clause. Before que, formal Catalan normally drops selected a, de, en, amb, or uses a nominal bridge: insisteix que ho revisem; insisteix en el fet que ho revisem. Forms such as insisteix a que and consisteix en que mix two different patterns.
La coordinadora insisteix que revisem les xifres abans de publicar-les.
The coordinator insists that we check the figures before publishing them.
The subjunctive revisem appears because the clause expresses an insistence directed toward a desired action. For the full system, see preposition drop before que.
A natural dialogue
—En què consisteix exactament la prova?
—What exactly does the test consist of?
—Consisteix a escoltar una conversa i resumir-ne les idees principals.
—It consists of listening to a conversation and summarizing its main ideas.
—I estan d'acord a deixar-nos prendre notes?
—And have they agreed to let us take notes?
—Sí, però insisteixen a recollir els fulls al final.
—Yes, but they insist on collecting the sheets at the end.
The dialogue uses the formal changed pattern consistently. In relaxed conversation, consisteix en escoltar and insisteixen en recollir are also current accepted choices.
Short correction task
Edit these for careful formal prose, but do not change an adjunct that is already correct.
- L'activitat consisteix en ordenar els documents.
- Estem d'acord amb ajornar la reunió.
- En arribar a casa, envia'm un missatge.
- Insisteixen a que repetim la votació.
Suggested answers: L'activitat consisteix a ordenar els documents; Estem d'acord a ajornar la reunió (also d'ajornar la reunió, according to the chosen pattern); sentence 3 is already correct because en arribar is temporal; Insisteixen que repetim la votació. The maintained forms in 1 and 2 are not outside the current standard; the task asks specifically for the formal preference.
Common Mistakes
❌ La proposta consisteix de reduir les despeses.
Incorrect — do not copy English ‘consists of’; selected en alternates with formal a before the infinitive.
✅ La proposta consisteix a reduir les despeses.
The proposal consists of reducing expenses.
❌ La proposta consisteix a una reducció de les despeses.
Incorrect — before a noun, consistir retains en; the formal change is conditioned by an infinitive.
✅ La proposta consisteix en una reducció de les despeses.
The proposal consists of a reduction in expenses.
❌ A arribar al despatx, truca'm.
Incorrect as an automatic application of preposition change — temporal en + infinitive is not a governed complement.
✅ En arribar al despatx, truca'm.
Call me when you get to the office.
❌ La direcció insisteix en que signem avui.
Incorrect in formal standard Catalan — before finite que, omit the selected preposition rather than maintaining or changing it.
✅ La direcció insisteix que signem avui.
Management insists that we sign today.
❌ És capaç a defensar-se sola.
Incorrect — the adjective already selects de, so the en/amb alternation is irrelevant.
✅ És capaç de defensar-se sola.
She's capable of defending herself.
Key Takeaways
Before a noun, preserve selected en or amb. Before an infinitive, current standard Catalan often allows maintenance or a change to established a/de, with the changed form preferred in formal prose. Keep already selected a/de, distinguish governed complements from independent en/amb + infinitive adjuncts, and treat finite que clauses under the separate preposition-drop rule.
Related Topics
- Prepositions Selected by VerbsB1 — Learn high-frequency Catalan verb–preposition patterns, the meaning contrasts they encode, and how to read and remember dictionary government.
- Prepositions Selected by AdjectivesB1 — Build Catalan adjective complements with de, a, en, amb, and per while distinguishing required arguments from optional circumstances.
- 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.
- The Preposition EnA1 — Use Catalan en for selected static locations, transport, time spans, manner phrases, and lexically selected complements, while distinguishing it from a and the clitic en.
- The Preposition AmbA1 — Use Catalan amb for company, instruments, manner, and selected complements, while keeping it distinct from agent, means, and Spanish pronoun patterns.
- Infinitives after PrepositionsA2 — Choose the preposition that expresses or is selected by the relationship, then use an infinitive—not an English-style gerund—when it introduces an event.