When a Catalan verb, adjective, or noun selects a complement introduced by de, that complement can often be resumed by the weak pronoun en: Parlem del pressupost → En parlem “We are talking about the budget → We are talking about it.” English usually has no pronoun in the same position; it keeps a stressed form after the preposition (about it, of it) or simply omits the complement. Catalan encodes the underlying de-relationship on the verb through en.
This page concerns grammatical de-complements, not quantities (En tinc tres) or spatial sources (En vinc “I come from there”). Unless otherwise labeled, the constructions are neutral contemporary standard Catalan.
The basic derivation: de + complement becomes en
Many verbs conventionally select de. The choice must be learned with the verb because English may use another preposition—or no preposition at all.
| Full construction | Meaning | With en |
|---|---|---|
| parlar de la proposta | talk about the proposal | parlar-ne |
| dependre del temps | depend on the weather | dependre'n |
| recordar-se de la cita | remember the appointment | recordar-se'n |
| dubtar del resultat | doubt the result | dubtar-ne |
| adonar-se de l'error | notice the error | adonar-se'n |
Hem parlat del canvi d'horari. → N'hem parlat aquest matí.
We talked about the schedule change. → We talked about it this morning.
L'èxit depèn de molts factors, però no depèn només dels diners. → L'èxit en depèn, però no només dels diners.
Success depends on many factors, but it doesn't depend only on money. → Success depends on them, but not only on money.
No em vaig adonar del missatge fins al vespre. → No me'n vaig adonar fins al vespre.
I didn't notice the message until the evening. → I didn't notice it until the evening.
The pronoun does more than mean “it.” It packages the preposition de with the recoverable complement. That is why en can translate English “about it,” “of it,” “from it,” or nothing overt at all, depending on the governing expression.
De-complements selected by verbs
Frequent verbs and verbal expressions include parlar de, dubtar de, dependre de, prescindir de, queixar-se de, penedir-se de, recordar-se de, adonar-se de, oblidar-se de, riure's de, and refiar-se de. Some are pronominal verbs, so en joins another weak pronoun.
La Júlia es queixa del soroll cada nit, però els veïns no se'n queixen mai.
Júlia complains about the noise every night, but the neighbors never complain about it.
No et refiïs d'aquesta aplicació si no n'has comprovat l'origen.
Don't trust this app if you haven't checked its origin.
The first en in se'n queixen replaces del soroll. In no et refiïs d'aquesta aplicació, the complement is overt, so there is no ordinary need for en. In the second clause, n' does a different but related job inside the noun phrase l'origen de l'aplicació; noun complements are treated below.
Verb meaning can change with the frame. Recordar una cita uses recordar transitively and replaces the direct object with la: La recordo. Recordar-se d'una cita contains a reflexive pronoun plus a de-complement and becomes Me'n recordo. These are parallel constructions, not interchangeable strings of pronouns.
Recordo perfectament aquella conversa, però no em recordo del dia exacte. → La recordo perfectament, però no me'n recordo.
I remember that conversation perfectly, but I don't remember the exact day. → I remember it perfectly, but I don't remember it.
Complements of adjectives
Adjectives can also license de: segur de, conscient de, orgullós de, satisfet de, responsable de, capaç de, and tip de. When the complement is recoverable, en appears by the copular or support verb.
Estàs segur de l'adreça? —Sí, n'estic segur; hi vaig anar ahir.
Are you sure of the address? —Yes, I'm sure of it; I went there yesterday.
La directora és conscient dels riscos i els inversors també en són conscients.
The director is aware of the risks, and the investors are aware of them too.
Els avis estan molt orgullosos de la Laia; n'estan orgullosos des que era petita.
The grandparents are very proud of Laia; they have been proud of her since she was little.
The adjective agrees with its subject—segur/segura, conscients, orgullosos—but en stays unchanged. Do not try to make en express the gender or number of its antecedent.
Complements inside noun phrases
En can replace a de-complement dependent on a noun when the containing noun phrase occupies an accessible role, especially a direct object, a postverbal subject, or a predicate.
Coneixes el preu del pis? → En coneixes el preu?
Do you know the price of the apartment? → Do you know its price?
Encara falten dues pàgines del segon capítol. → Encara en falten dues pàgines.
Two pages of the second chapter are still missing. → Two of its pages are still missing.
La Berta va impulsar el projecte i ara n'és la directora.
Berta launched the project, and now she is its director.
In all three examples, en corresponds to a relation headed by de: el preu del pis, dues pàgines del capítol, la directora del projecte. English possessives encourage learners to look for a gendered pronoun such as “its” or “his/her”; Catalan instead uses the invariable weak pronoun en.
This use has real syntactic limits. You cannot normally extract with en from a noun phrase that is itself buried inside another prepositional complement. From Parlaven de les causes de l'accident, En parlaven de les causes cannot mean “They were talking about the causes of it.” Say Parlaven de les causes de l'accident or restructure: L'accident: en comentaven les causes.
Things, propositions, and people
An antecedent can be a thing, an event, or an entire proposition. With an infinitival complement, the same derivation applies:
Es penedeix d'haver rebutjat l'oferta. → Se'n penedeix cada vegada que hi pensa.
She regrets having rejected the offer. → She regrets it every time she thinks about it.
Before a finite que-clause, careful formal Catalan often omits the preposition required before a noun: Estic segur que vindrà. The short answer can still be N'estic segur, because segur maintains its lexical de-relation even though de is not pronounced before que.
—Estàs segura que ens tornaran els diners? —No, no n'estic gens segura.
Are you sure they'll refund our money? —No, I'm not at all sure of it.
People are not automatically excluded. Parles de l'Arnau? Sí, en parlo sovint is possible when l'Arnau is a discourse topic. But en is unstressed and cannot itself contrast gender or identity. Keep a strong phrase for focus: Parlo d'ell, no d'ella. A right-dislocated clarification can co-occur with en and a comma: En parlo sovint, de l'Arnau.
—Encara parles de l'Arnau amb la psicòloga? —Sí, en parlo sovint, però avui he parlat d'ella, no d'ell.
Do you still talk about Arnau with the therapist? —Yes, I often talk about him, but today I talked about her, not him.
Placement, elision, and clusters
Use en before a consonant and n' before a vowel or silent h: en parlo, n'estic segur, n'hem dubtat. With an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative imperative, attach it: parlar-ne, parlant-ne, parla'n. It never becomes hi merely because English uses “about.”
When the verb is already pronominal, the personal or reflexive pronoun precedes en: me'n recordo, te'n recordes, se'n recorda, ens en recordem, us en recordeu, se'n recorden. The apostrophe moves as far right as possible.
Recorda-te'n abans de sortir i parla'n amb la responsable tan aviat com puguis.
Remember it before leaving, and talk about it with the person in charge as soon as you can.
No te n'oblidis: hem de lliurar el formulari abans de divendres.
Don't forget it: we have to submit the form before Friday.
The negative imperative keeps the pronouns before the finite verb (no te n'oblidis); the affirmative imperative attaches them (recorda-te'n). For full cluster order, see combining en with other pronouns.
A short dialogue
—Del nou horari, què en pensa la directora? —Encara no n'està convençuda; demà en parlarà amb l'equip.
What does the director think of the new schedule? —She isn't convinced of it yet; tomorrow she'll discuss it with the team.
The antecedent is unambiguous: all three instances of en concern el nou horari. The verbs and adjective select different frames—pensar de, convençut de, and parlar de—but the shared preposition explains the same pronoun.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting en because English has only “talk” or “depend.”
❌ Ja hem comentat el problema i demà parlarem una altra vegada.
Incorrect if the intended meaning is 'we'll talk about it again' — parlar de needs its resumed complement.
✅ Ja hem comentat el problema i demà en parlarem una altra vegada.
We've already discussed the problem, and tomorrow we'll talk about it again.
2. Choosing hi for a complement headed by de.
❌ El resultat depèn del pressupost i hi dependrà fins al final.
Incorrect — dependre selects de, so its weak pronoun is en.
✅ El resultat depèn del pressupost i en dependrà fins al final.
The result depends on the budget and will depend on it until the end.
3. Misordering a reflexive-plus-en cluster.
❌ No en et recordes, del seu nom?
Incorrect — the second-person pronoun precedes en.
✅ No te'n recordes, del seu nom?
Don't you remember his name?
4. Using Spanish-style personal a with transitive recordar.
❌ Recordo a la Laia de l'institut.
Incorrect — direct recordar takes an unprepositionalized direct object in neutral Catalan.
✅ Recordo la Laia de l'institut; me'n recordo perfectament.
I remember Laia from secondary school; I remember her perfectly.
5. Extracting en from too deeply inside a prepositional phrase.
❌ De l'accident, en parlaven de les causes.
Incorrect for 'they discussed its causes' — en cannot extract the noun complement from this nested phrase.
✅ De l'accident, en comentaven les causes.
Regarding the accident, they discussed its causes.
Key Takeaways
Use en when a verb, adjective, or accessible noun selects a recoverable de-complement. The pronoun is invariable and encodes the preposition as well as the antecedent. Use strong d'ell/d'ella for contrast, respect the limits on extraction from nested phrases, and place clusters in the order me'n, te'n, se'n, never en me/en te/en se.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- En as a Partitive PronounB1 — Use partitive en to resume indefinite nouns, mass nouns, and counted sets while keeping quantities and agreement visible.
- Locative EnB1 — Use locative en for places of origin introduced by de, and distinguish this productive source use from lexicalized pronominal verbs.
- Choosing En or HiB1 — Choose en for de-relations, sources, and partitives, and hi for other governed complements, destinations, locations, and paths.
- Combining En with Other PronounsB1 — Form and place me'n, te'n, se'n, ens en, us en, li'n, and els en while preserving the function encoded by en.
- Strong Pronouns after PrepositionsA1 — Use mi, tu, ell, ella, nosaltres, vosaltres, ells, elles, and reflexive si as stressed complements of Catalan prepositions.
- The Preposition DeA1 — Use Catalan de for source, possession, material, content, quantity, and selected complements, with the correct elisions and article contractions.