Direct-Object Weak Pronouns | Catalan Grammar

Catalan normally avoids repeating a direct object that is already identifiable. Instead, it places an unstressed—or weak—pronoun next to the verb: Coneixes la Júlia? Sí, la conec. English also uses object pronouns, but Catalan marks more distinctions and puts the pronoun before an ordinary finite verb.

This page covers the basic direct-object series em, et, el, la, ens, us, els, and les. The separate pages on elision and postverbal pronouns explain how their written form changes beside vowels and nonfinite verbs.

What a direct object is

A direct object is the participant directly selected by a transitive verb: what someone sees, buys, invites, or repairs. In neutral Catalan, it usually has no preposition. Replace the whole object phrase, not just its noun:

Demà recolliré les claus noves. → Demà les recolliré.

Tomorrow I'll pick up the new keys. → Tomorrow I'll pick them up.

The derivation has three steps: les claus noves is the direct object; it is definite, feminine, and plural; therefore its weak pronoun is les. The pronoun then goes before the finite verb recolliré.

Coneixes en Pau? Sí, el conec de la universitat.

Do you know Pau? Yes, I know him from university.

No trobo la targeta; l'he deixada a casa?

I can't find the card; did I leave it at home?

The person or thing named by the pronoun is its antecedent. A dialogue must make that antecedent recoverable: el clearly means en Pau, and l' means la targeta. Without shared context, el, la, els, and les do not introduce a new referent.

The basic forms

Object	Before a consonant	Example
me	em	em coneix
you, singular	et	et veig
him / it, masculine singular	el	el compro
her / it, feminine singular	la	la compro
us	ens	ens esperen
you, plural	us	us esperen
them, masculine plural	els	els compro
them, feminine plural	les	les compro

First- and second-person forms identify a speech participant and do not mark gender. Third-person forms agree with the antecedent in gender and number. That agreement follows the Catalan noun, not the English translation: el problema → el resoldrem because problema is masculine; la màquina → la repararem because màquina is feminine.

Si arribo abans que vosaltres, us esperaré al bar de la cantonada.

If I arrive before you, I'll wait for you at the bar on the corner.

Els informes ja són públics, però encara no els he llegit.

The reports are public now, but I haven't read them yet.

Les factures són al correu; les imprimiré després de dinar.

The invoices are in the email; I'll print them after lunch.

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For third person, identify the Catalan noun first and only then choose the pronoun: el missatge → el, la foto → la, els missatges → els, les fotos → les. English it/them does not carry enough information.

Position before a finite verb

With an ordinary indicative or subjunctive form, the weak pronoun precedes the verb. Negation does not move it: the order is no + pronoun + verb.

La veig cada matí, però avui no la veig enlloc.

I see her every morning, but today I can't see her anywhere.

Aquest ordinador funciona bé; no el canviïs encara.

This computer works well; don't replace it yet.

English puts him, her, it, and them after the verb. Copying that order produces the wrong neutral Catalan pattern with a finite verb. Forms such as comprar-la are correct after an infinitive, and compra-la is correct after an affirmative imperative, but ordinary I buy it is la compro.

Vull comprar la jaqueta avui. → La vull comprar avui. / Vull comprar-la avui.

I want to buy the jacket today. → I want to buy it today.

This nonfinite example shows the two available edges of a verb phrase: the pronoun can precede the finite verb vull or attach to the infinitive comprar. It cannot be inserted freely according to English word order. More complex placement belongs on the pronoun-placement page.

Definite objects—and the limits of this series

Third-person el, la, els, and les normally replace definite, specific objects: a phrase with el/la/els/les, a demonstrative, a possessive, or a proper name already active in the conversation. They do not replace every English it or them.

An indefinite or quantified object generally calls for en: Tens pomes? En tinc dues. A clause, an idea, or neutral això generally calls for ho: Saps que pleguen? Sí, ho sé. A locative or many a/en/amb complements call for hi, while many de complements call for en. The governing structure matters, not just the English translation.

—Has vist les meves ulleres? —Sí, les he deixades al costat del portàtil.

Have you seen my glasses? —Yes, I left them beside the laptop.

—Tens ulleres de sol? —Sí, en tinc unes a la motxilla.

Do you have sunglasses? —Yes, I have a pair in my backpack.

In the first exchange, les meves ulleres is a definite set, so les replaces it. In the second, the speaker introduces an indefinite pair and keeps the quantity unes, so Catalan uses en. English uses them or leaves the noun implicit in both situations; Catalan does not.

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Weak pronouns encode grammatical function and discourse status. Do not build a one-word dictionary such as “it = el.” First ask whether the missing phrase is definite, indefinite, neutral, locative, or governed by a preposition.

People and the limited personal a

Unlike Spanish, Catalan does not normally put a before every specific human direct object. In the Central standard baseline, say He vist la Marta and replace it with L'he vista. The preposition appears in restricted environments—especially before strong personal pronouns and where it prevents ambiguity—which are covered on Animate Objects and the Limited Personal A.

Demà convidarem els veïns i els avisarem aquest vespre.

Tomorrow we'll invite the neighbors, and we'll let them know this evening.

Here both els veïns and its pronoun els are direct objects. No Spanish-style personal a is needed.

Form and regional perspective

Before a vowel or silent h, em, et, el, and feminine la in most contexts take apostrophized forms such as m', t', and l'; the feminine has an important exception before unstressed i/u. After infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives, full or reduced forms attach with a hyphen or apostrophe: veure'l, esperant-los, truca'm. These are changes of shape and position, not changes of syntactic function.

The baseline here—em, et, el, ens, us, els before consonant-initial verbs—is standard across formal Catalan. (regional: Northwestern and northern Valencian) preverbal lo/los remain alive in speech: lo compro, los veig. (regional: Valencian, Balearic, and some other areas) preverbal full forms such as me/te also occur. They are legitimate regional forms where native, but (formal) edited cross-regional prose normally prefers em/et/el/els.

Common Mistakes

1. Copying English postverbal order with a finite verb.

❌ Veig-la cada dia al tren.

Incorrect for the neutral finite construction—la must precede veig.

✅ La veig cada dia al tren.

I see her every day on the train.

2. Adding Spanish-style a before an ordinary human direct object.

❌ Avui visitaré a la meva àvia.

Incorrect in the neutral Central standard pattern—the human direct object does not automatically take a.

✅ Avui visitaré la meva àvia i la portaré a dinar.

Today I'll visit my grandmother and take her out for lunch.

3. Choosing the pronoun from English instead of Catalan gender.

❌ La problema? La resoldrem demà.

Incorrect—problema is masculine, so both the article and pronoun must be masculine.

✅ El problema? El resoldrem demà.

The problem? We'll solve it tomorrow.

4. Using a definite pronoun for an indefinite quantity.

❌ —Tens entrades? —Sí, les tinc dues.

Incorrect—the quantity two leaves an indefinite noun implicit, so use en.

✅ —Tens entrades? —Sí, en tinc dues.

Do you have tickets? —Yes, I have two.

5. Dropping en or hi because English has no overt equivalent.

❌ Parles del projecte sovint? Sí, parlo cada dia.

Incorrect if the intended answer is ‘I talk about it every day’—the de-complement needs en.

✅ Parles del projecte sovint? Sí, en parlo cada dia.

Do you talk about the project often? Yes, I talk about it every day.

Key Takeaways

Use em, et, ens, and us for first- and second-person direct objects. Use el, la, els, and les for definite third-person objects, agreeing with the Catalan antecedent. Put the pronoun before an ordinary finite verb, including after no. Do not extend this series to indefinite quantities, clauses, or prepositional complements: those distinctions are exactly why Catalan also needs en, ho, and hi.

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