Catalan weak pronouns have a shared grammatical system but more than one standard regional realization. A Valencian Li'l donaré demà and a Central L'hi donaré demà can express the same roles through different clusters; Balearic speech may preserve full forms such as me, te, and se where Central Catalan favors em, et, and es.
These are not random variants to combine at will. Each regional norm coordinates pronoun shape, order, placement, and spelling. The goal of this page is to recognize Valencian and Balearic patterns and to produce one coherent system at a time.
Function stays stable while form varies
First identify the pronoun's function. In all varieties, en can replace a de-complement or the omitted noun after a quantity, while hi can replace many locative and other prepositional complements:
Parlam del pressupost. → En parlam.
We are talking about the budget. → We are talking about it. (Balearic)
Penseu en la proposta. → Penseu-hi.
Think about the proposal. → Think about it. (Valencian or general standard)
The first derivation preserves de through en. The second preserves the relation selected by pensar en through hi. English omits any equivalent in many contexts, but that does not license Catalan to omit a governed complement.
The same stable functions underlie different surface forms for first- and second-person clitics:
| Function | Widespread reinforced form before a consonant | Regional full form | Register note |
|---|---|---|---|
| first singular | em | me | full form alive in Balearic, Valencian, Northern, and other speech |
| second singular | et | te | same regional distribution |
| reflexive | es | se | same regional distribution |
| first plural | ens | mos in speech | mos is non-formal; use ens/nos formally |
| second plural | us | vos | vos is standard Valencian and Balearic; Central Catalan normally uses preverbal us |
(regional: Balearic and Valencian) Me pareix bé, te telefonaré, and se coneixen use full forms before a consonant. They are genuine inherited forms, not missing initial vowels. General formal prose—and Valencian institutional style for these three persons—normally selects em, et, and es; full me, te, and se are especially characteristic of spontaneous regional speech and represented dialogue. Before a vowel or h, standard spelling uses the elided forms m', t', and s' even in those regional systems: m'avisa, t'espera, s'ha llevat, not me avisa, te espera, se ha llevat.
The basic spelling environments are mapped on Elision and Apostrophes; regional choice does not suspend those attachment rules.
Me pareix que te telefonaran demà, però no se sap a quina hora.
I think they will phone you tomorrow, but nobody knows at what time. (regional: Valencian)
Em sembla que et telefonaran demà, però no se sap a quina hora.
I think they will phone you tomorrow, but nobody knows at what time. (general formal standard)
Mos, nos, ens, vos, and us
(informal; regional: Balearic and Valencian) mos is widespread before and after verbs: mos han avisat, contar-mos-ho. It is valuable for understanding speech and dialogue, but current formal norms use ens before the verb and -nos after it:
Mos ho varen contar quan vàrem arribar.
They told us about it when we arrived. (informal; regional: Balearic)
Ens ho van contar quan vam arribar.
They told us about it when we arrived. (general formal standard)
The second-person pair is different. Vos has a secure postverbal role throughout the language after an infinitive or imperative: explicar-vos-ho, emporteu-vos-en. Preverbal vos—vos ho explicaré—is the standard Valencian choice and is also established in Balearic; Central Catalan normally uses us ho explicaré. A text should follow its regional norm rather than treating us as inherently more formal than Valencian vos.
Vos duré els documents demà; si no hi sou, vos els deixaré a recepció.
I'll bring you the documents tomorrow; if you're not there, I'll leave them for you at reception. (regional: Valencian)
Us duré els documents demà; si no hi sou, us els deixaré a recepció.
I'll bring you the documents tomorrow; if you're not there, I'll leave them for you at reception. (formal, general standard)
After the verb, use the full postverbal spelling required by the host and cluster: No podem quedar-nos-el “We cannot keep it,” Vull explicar-vos-ho “I want to explain it to you.” Do not transplant a preverbal reinforced form after an infinitive: explicar-us-ho is not the general postconsonantal pattern.
Valencian third-person clusters
Valencian maintains a transparent dative-first series in combinations of singular li with a third-person direct object. The first pronoun marks the recipient; the second marks what is transferred:
| Roles | Valencian standard | Common Central realization | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| li + el | li'l | l'hi | it (masc.) to him/her |
| li + la | li la | la hi | it (fem.) to him/her |
| li + els | li'ls | els hi | them (masc.) to him/her |
| li + les | li les | les hi | them (fem.) to him/her |
| li + ho | li ho | li ho; informal Central l'hi | that to him/her |
| li + en | li'n | li'n; informal Central n'hi | some/of it to him/her |
Thus Donaré el llibre a Neus can become (regional: Valencian) Li'l donaré or postverbally Vull donar-li'l. The full phrase establishes that el llibre is direct and a Neus indirect; English order cannot determine the Catalan cluster.
Dona el rebut a la clienta. → Dona-li'l abans que se'n vaja.
Give the receipt to the customer. → Give it to her before she leaves. (regional: Valencian)
No li ho digues encara; vol comprovar les dades ella mateixa.
Don't tell her yet; she wants to check the data herself. (regional: Valencian; also formal general standard)
The negative command places the cluster before the verb: no li ho digues. The affirmative command attaches it: digues-li-ho. Order is retained while position and punctuation change.
Ho, en, and hi across the regions
The invariable ho replaces a neuter demonstrative, a predicative complement in many contexts, or an entire proposition: Això és cert → Ho és; Diu que vindrà → Ho diu. Its spelling does not become lo in Valencian or Balearic standard Catalan.
Diuen que tancaran la carretera, però jo no m'ho crec.
They say they will close the road, but I don't believe it. (general standard)
En remains highly productive throughout the language. Hi is less frequent in some spontaneous Valencian speech, particularly where a full complement or another construction is preferred, but formal Valencian still uses it in standard governed and locative contexts: No hi estic d'acord; pensa-hi; ves-hi. Do not simply delete hi under Spanish influence.
Balearic also uses both pronouns productively, often beside distinctive verb forms:
No en tenim més, però demà anirem a cercar-ne.
We don't have any more, but tomorrow we will go and get some. (regional: Balearic)
A regional dialogue
—Has vist els plànols que necessita na Margalida? —Sí. Ara els hi duré i també li'n donaré una còpia en paper.
—Have you seen the plans Margalida needs? —Yes. I'll take them to her now, and I'll also give her a paper copy. (regional: Balearic; antecedent na Margalida is unambiguous)
The Balearic personal article na identifies the recipient. Els hi combines the plans with that recipient in a Balearic/Central-type order; formal li'n then marks “one copy to her.” This is a coherent regional passage, not a license to alternate randomly with Valencian li'ls.
Common Mistakes
1. Doubling the first-person plural with both ens and mos.
❌ Ens mos enviaran la resposta demà.
Incorrect—ens and mos express the same first-person plural role and cannot be stacked.
✅ Ens enviaran la resposta demà.
They will send us the answer tomorrow. (formal)
2. Mixing Valencian and Central order within one cluster.
❌ Li l'hi donaré demà.
Incorrect mixture—li'l and l'hi are alternative systems, not parts of one three-pronoun cluster.
✅ Li'l donaré demà. / L'hi donaré demà.
I will give it to him/her tomorrow. (Valencian / Central)
3. Omitting en because English says only a number.
❌ Necessites còpies? Sí, vull dos.
Incorrect—the omitted count noun requires partitive en.
✅ Necessites còpies? Sí, en vull dues.
Do you need copies? Yes, I want two.
4. Using Spanish-style personal a for a neutral direct object.
❌ He saludat a Mireia i li he convidat a entrar.
Incorrect—Mireia is a direct object here, and the clitic must be la, not dative li.
✅ He saludat Mireia i l'he convidada a entrar.
I greeted Mireia and invited her in.
5. Mixing a full form with the wrong postverbal spelling.
❌ Vull vos explicar-ho ara.
Incorrect mixed placement—the preverbal full form cannot simply be inserted before an infinitive.
✅ Vos ho vull explicar ara. / Vull explicar-vos-ho ara.
I want to explain it to you now. (regional preverbal / general postverbal)
Key Takeaways
Valencian and Balearic pronouns differ most visibly in full versus reinforced forms and in third-person clusters, not in the underlying need to mark grammatical relations. Recognize informal mos, regional vos, standard postverbal -nos/-vos, Valencian li'l/li la/li'ls/li les, and productive ho, en, and hi. Above all, choose a regional norm deliberately and keep its order and spelling consistent.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Elided Weak-Pronoun FormsA2 — Choose m', t', l', s', and n' before vowel-initial verbs, including the feminine la exception before unstressed i and u.
- Postverbal Pronouns with Infinitives, Gerunds, and ImperativesA2 — Attach weak pronouns after infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives with the correct full or reduced form.
- Ordering Two Weak PronounsB1 — Build two-pronoun clusters by grammatical role, with the standard Central order, spelling, and placement before and after the verb.
- Li Plus El, La, Els, or LesB1 — Combine a singular third-person recipient with a definite direct object in Central and Valencian standard Catalan.
- Apostrophes and Hyphens in Pronoun ClustersB2 — Spell preverbal and postverbal pronoun clusters by choosing full, reinforced, elided, and reduced forms in the right order.
- Weak Pronouns in Edited ProseC1 — Edit Catalan weak pronouns for clear antecedents, readable clusters, correct resumption, and consistent regional style.