A movement event can have a source, a path, and a goal. Catalan normally marks them differently: de/des de for the source, per for the route, and a/cap a/fins a for different kinds of goal. English often uses a single vague particle or lets the verb do most of the work; Catalan prepositions make the geometry more explicit.
The distinctions are semantic, not merely lists attached to verbs. Anem a Banyoles names a destination, anem cap a Banyoles gives a direction, and anem fins a Banyoles treats Banyoles as the outer endpoint of the journey. The same destination can be viewed in three ways.
Decision table
| Part of the movement | Choose | What it highlights | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| goal | a | destination | anar a Vic |
| goal | cap a | direction, destination not asserted | caminar cap al port |
| goal | fins a | furthest or final limit | arribar fins al refugi |
| source | de | origin or extraction | venir de Reus |
| source | des de | starting boundary viewed explicitly | caminar des de l'estació |
| path | per | route, passage, or opening crossed | passar pel túnel |
A: the destination
With verbs such as anar, arribar, tornar, pujar, baixar, acostar-se and dirigir-se, a identifies the destination or target. It contracts to al/als, but not before la, les, or l'.
Demà anirem a Manresa amb el primer tren.
Tomorrow we'll go to Manresa on the first train.
Quan arribis al pont, truca'm i sortiré a buscar-te.
When you reach the bridge, call me and I'll come out to meet you.
The destination can be a point reached after a very short movement: acosta la cadira a la taula. A does not specify the route and does not, by itself, guarantee that the plan succeeds. Anàvem a la platja, però el cotxe es va espatllar states the intended destination even though the travelers never arrived.
Static location also uses a in many Catalan environments, so the verb is essential: anem al mercat is movement; som al mercat is location. See a versus en for location.
Cap a: orientation without commitment to arrival
Cap a presents a direction: “toward,” “in the direction of.” The moving entity may stop, turn away, or have a more distant final destination. Before masculine articles, use cap al/cap als. Before demonstrative and directional adverbs, the a is absent: cap aquí, cap allà, cap amunt, cap avall. With interrogative or relative on, both cap on and cap a on are standard.
Vam veure que els núvols avançaven cap a la costa.
We saw that the clouds were moving toward the coast.
No vinguis cap aquí: el camí està tallat més amunt.
Don't come this way: the path is closed farther up.
Compare the minimal pair:
La Núria va al port.
Núria is going to the port; it is her destination.
La Núria va cap al port.
Núria is heading toward the port; only her direction is asserted.
Vers is a formal or literary alternative meaning “toward”: avançar vers la frontera. (Regional: Balearic) devers can express direction and approximation. For neutral everyday communication throughout the language, cap a is the clearest choice.
Fins a: the outer endpoint
Fins a focuses on the limit reached by a trajectory. It answers “how far?” rather than merely “where to?” This makes it especially natural with distances, stages, and routes composed of several segments.
Seguirem el camí de ronda fins al far i allà farem una pausa.
We'll follow the coastal path as far as the lighthouse and take a break there.
L'aigua va arribar fins a l'últim esglaó de l'entrada.
The water reached as far as the last step at the entrance.
Before demonstrative adverbs, use fins without a: fins aquí, fins allà. With on, both fins on and fins a on are standard. Before ordinary noun phrases, keep a and make the contraction: fins al riu, fins als afores. The dedicated page on fins and fins a develops the syntactic environments.
The contrast with plain a is one of perspective:
L'autobús va a l'aeroport.
The bus goes to the airport; the airport is its destination.
L'autobús només arriba fins a la terminal antiga.
The bus only goes as far as the old terminal; that is its service limit.
De: origin, emergence, and extraction
De identifies where a person or thing originates or the interior/surface from which it moves away. It is selected by frequent verbs such as venir de, sortir de, marxar de, baixar de, treure de and caure de.
Acabo de sortir de la feina i encara he de passar pel supermercat.
I've just left work and I still have to stop by the supermarket.
Treu els iogurts de la bossa i posa'ls a la nevera.
Take the yogurts out of the bag and put them in the fridge.
The sentence contains two occurrences of de: the first belongs to the verbal periphrasis acabar de + infinitive, while the second marks the spatial source after sortir. Structure decides the relation. English may omit an overt source marker after verbs like leave; Catalan sortir normally requires de before the place left.
When a source phrase is already established, the clitic en can replace it: Vens de la biblioteca? —Sí, ara en vinc. A goal or ordinary location is generally replaced by hi: Vas a la biblioteca? —Sí, ara hi vaig. This en/hi contrast makes source versus goal grammatically visible.
Des de: the starting boundary in a whole route
Des de makes the initial limit explicit and often invites a corresponding endpoint: des de X fins a Y. Plain de... a... is compact and neutral for paired endpoints; des de gives the starting point more independent discourse weight.
Hem vingut a peu des de l'estació fins al centre històric.
We've walked from the station to the historic center.
Des del mirador, el sender baixa suaument cap al poble.
From the viewpoint, the path slopes gently down toward the village.
The second example uses three perspectives at once: des del mirador establishes the starting viewpoint, baixa gives downward motion, and cap al poble supplies direction without asserting arrival.
Compare El tren va de Figueres a Portbou with Des de Figueres, el tren va gairebé buit. The first packages two endpoints as a route; the second makes Figueres the frame from which the following statement is evaluated.
Per: route, passage, and opening
Use per for the space traversed and for an opening or channel used to enter or leave: pel carrer Major, per la vall, pel túnel, per la porta del darrere. The destination may appear elsewhere or remain unstated.
Per arribar al refugi, passeu pel bosc i travesseu el rierol pel pont de fusta.
To reach the shelter, go through the woods and cross the stream by the wooden bridge.
Els lladres van entrar per una finestra que dona al pati interior.
The thieves got in through a window that looks onto the inner courtyard.
With masculine articles, per + el/els contracts to pel/pels. Do not confuse this route marker with destination per a: un autobús per a Olot labels a bus intended for Olot, while un autobús que passa per Olot says its route traverses Olot.
Questions and relatives: keep the preposition in front
Movement questions select the preposition that encodes the missing relation: D'on vens? Cap on aneu? Fins on arriba? Per quin carrer passa? A quin refugi pugeu? Catalan does not normally leave it at the end as English does.
Per quina porta hem d'entrar si la principal és tancada?
Which door should we go in through if the main one is closed?
Aquest és el camí pel qual vam tornar quan es va fer fosc.
This is the path by which we came back when it got dark. (formal)
In ordinary speech, a relative with per on is often lighter: el camí per on vam tornar. Both forms keep the preposition attached to the relative expression.
Scope and reordered constituents
Fronting a route can establish it as a contrastive topic. A comma is useful after a long fronted phrase; a locative clitic may resume a dislocated place, but it should not be added mechanically.
Pel sender que voreja els camps, no hi passarem avui perquè ha plogut massa.
We won't go along the path that borders the fields today because it has rained too much.
Here pel sender... is left-dislocated and hi resumes the route. The negation has scope over using that route, not necessarily over the whole trip: another route remains possible. Neutral order would be Avui no passarem pel sender que voreja els camps.
A natural dialogue
—D'on veniu? —De l'estació. Hem passat pel carrer Major i ara anem cap al museu. —Si continueu fins a la plaça, el veureu a mà dreta. —Perfecte; després tornarem a l'hotel pel passeig.
—Where have you come from? —From the station. We came along Carrer Major and now we're heading toward the museum. —If you continue as far as the square, you'll see it on the right. —Perfect; afterward we'll return to the hotel along the promenade.
The dialogue distinguishes source de, route per, direction cap a, limit fins a, and destination a. No English translation preserves all five contrasts with one consistent set of words.
Common Mistakes
❌ Demà anirem Girona amb cotxe.
Incorrect—a destination after anar requires a.
✅ Demà anirem a Girona amb cotxe.
Tomorrow we'll go to Girona by car.
❌ Els excursionistes caminen cap el refugi.
Incorrect—cap a + el contracts to cap al.
✅ Els excursionistes caminen cap al refugi.
The hikers are walking toward the shelter.
❌ El carril bici arriba fins el riu.
Incorrect before this noun phrase—use fins a and contract it to fins al.
✅ El carril bici arriba fins al riu.
The cycle lane goes as far as the river.
❌ Hem sortit l'edifici per la porta lateral.
Incorrect—sortir requires de before the source.
✅ Hem sortit de l'edifici per la porta lateral.
We left the building through the side door.
❌ Quina carretera heu vingut per?
Incorrect—this strands the route preposition after the verb.
✅ Per quina carretera heu vingut?
Which road did you come by?
Short correction task
Complete the route: Hem sortit l'alberg, hem caminat la vall i hem arribat _ poble. A neutral answer is de l'alberg, per la vall, al poble. If the village is only the direction, use cap al poble; if it is the furthest limit reached, use fins al poble. The choice changes the event structure, not just the style.
Key Takeaways
- A names a destination; cap a a direction; fins a the outer limit reached.
- De marks origin or extraction; des de foregrounds a starting boundary.
- Per marks the route, passage, opening, or channel traversed.
- Use en to replace an established de source and hi for many goals and locations.
- Keep movement prepositions before interrogatives and relatives rather than copying English stranding.
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- The Preposition AA1 — Use Catalan a for destinations, many locations, recipients, clock time, manner, and selected complements, with the contractions al and als.
- De, Des De, and D’ençà DeA2 — Distinguish general origin and source with de, an explicit spatial or temporal starting point with des de, and a past onset whose effects continue with d’ençà de.
- Fins versus Fins AA2 — Use fins or fins a for spatial, temporal, and quantitative endpoints by checking the form the endpoint expression would have on its own.
- Cap versus Cap AA2 — Use cap a for approximate direction and time, reduce it to cap in defined environments, and keep directional cap distinct from the negative determiner meaning ‘any/no.’
- Prepositions and Locutions of PlaceA2 — Locate people and things with davant de, darrere de, al costat de, prop de, lluny de, dins de, fora de, and orientation phrases.
- 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.