Formal and older Catalan preserves several pronouns that are rare in everyday conversation. Hom presents an unspecified human subject, altri means “another person or other people,” ço points to an abstract matter in older texts, llur encodes possession by more than one possessor, and respectful vós addresses one person with plural verb morphology.
These forms do not all belong to the same period or register. Vós and llur still have deliberate modern uses; hom remains available in formal exposition; altri is restricted and elevated; ço is chiefly literary or archaic. Accurate reading depends as much on those register labels as on the literal meaning.
Hom: an unspecified human subject
(formal, academic, or literary) hom means roughly “one,” “people,” or generic “you.” It is a subject and takes a third-person singular finite verb regardless of how many people the statement may cover.
Hom pot consultar els originals amb cita prèvia.
The original documents may be consulted by appointment.
En llegir aquesta clàusula, hom podria pensar que el termini és improrrogable.
On reading this clause, one might think that the deadline cannot be extended.
The second sentence combines hom with the nonfinite llegir. The finite verb podria carries third-person singular agreement; the infinitive has no person ending. English formal one is a useful comparison, but English institutions more often use a passive. Modern Catalan likewise often prefers an impersonal es construction: Es poden consultar els originals.
A full human subject can be generalized with hom:
Els investigadors prudents contrasten les dades. → Hom contrasta les dades abans de publicar-les.
Prudent researchers verify the data. → One verifies the data before publishing it.
The derivation changes reference from a specific group to an arbitrary human agent; hom is not a gender-neutral replacement for one named individual. It can carry weak pronouns like any other third-person subject:
Quan hom parla d'aquesta reforma, no sempre en coneix els antecedents.
When one discusses this reform, one does not always know its background.
Here en represents the de-related topic associated with antecedents; it is not part of hom. A negative sentence does not alter agreement or pronoun placement: hom no en coneix.
Altri: another person or other people
(formal or literary) altri is an invariable human pronoun meaning “another person,” “someone else,” or “others.” It is especially common after prepositions in ethical, legal, and proverbial language: el bé d'altri, treballar per a altri, no apropiar-se d'allò d'altri.
Ningú no pot disposar dels béns d'altri sense autorització.
No one may dispose of another person's property without authorization. (formal/legal)
Qui escriu per a altri ha de respectar-ne la veu.
Anyone who writes for others must respect their voice. (formal)
In the second example, altri is governed by per a. The following -ne resumes d'altri in la veu d'altri. Catalan preserves the prepositional relationship through en even though English uses a possessive.
Do not confuse the pronoun altri with the ordinary adjective/pronoun altre: un altre informe, una altra persona, els altres. Everyday Catalan normally says els altres or una altra persona where elevated prose might use altri. There is no feminine *altra when the intended item is the fixed pronoun *altri.
Ço: abstract reference in older texts
(archaic or literary) ço is an invariant neuter demonstrative. The most recognizable construction is ço que, “that which/what.” Modern neutral Catalan uses allò que or el que instead.
Hom creu fàcilment ço que desitja.
One readily believes what one desires. (archaic/literary)
El testimoni es mantingué fidel a ço que havia declarat.
The witness remained faithful to what he had declared. (literary, deliberately archaizing)
In contemporary administrative prose, allò que s'ha exposat or el que s'ha exposat is clearer than ço que s'ha exposat. Recognition matters because ço is frequent in medieval and early modern texts and can be revived for a solemn or archaizing voice. It does not inflect for gender or number, and it does not function as a modern article before an ordinary noun.
Llur and llurs: possession by plural possessors
(formal or literary) llur is a possessive determiner used when the possessor is plural. It agrees in number with the possessed noun, not with the possessors: llur proposta but llurs propostes. It has no gender contrast.
| Possessors | Possessed item | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| plural | singular | llur | Els autors defensen llur hipòtesi. |
| plural | plural | llurs | Els autors defensen llurs hipòtesis. |
Les entitats hauran d'identificar llurs representants abans de la votació.
The organizations must identify their representatives before the vote. (formal)
Ordinary Catalan uses el seu representant / els seus representants. Llur can remove one ambiguity: Els directors van rebre els seus assessors may mean their own advisers or someone else's salient advisers, whereas llurs assessors explicitly assigns the advisers to the plural directors. That precision explains its survival in certain formal texts, though excessive use can sound stiff.
Strictly speaking, modern llur is primarily a determiner, not a freely independent pronoun. Standalone combinations such as els llurs belong to (archaic or strongly literary) usage. In modern prose, write els seus if the noun is omitted.
Vós: respectful singular with plural verb forms
(formal; administrative, religious, and some regional use) vós addresses one person but takes second-person plural verb forms and the weak pronouns us/vos. Adjectives and participles describing the addressee, however, agree with that person's singular gender.
Vós podeu presentar el recurs fins divendres; si necessiteu ajuda, us atendrem aquí mateix.
You may lodge the appeal until Friday; if you need help, we will assist you right here. (formal respectful singular)
Senyora Riera, vós heu estat nomenada representant de l'entitat.
Ms. Riera, you have been appointed the organization's representative. (formal respectful singular)
Podeu, necessiteu, and heu are second-person plural. Nomenada is feminine singular because it describes Ms. Riera. English you hides both facts.
After the verb, the weak form is -vos: presenteu-vos, adreceu-vos-hi. Before it, formal general and Central usage favors us: us atendrem, no us hi adreceu encara; standard Valencian normally keeps vos preverbally. The strong form keeps its accent: vós. The weak form never has one: vos.
Adreceu-vos a la secretaria. → Adreceu-vos-hi abans de les dues.
Contact the administrative office. → Contact it before two o'clock. (formal vós instruction)
This is a replacement derivation from a la secretaria to hi. The affirmative imperative attaches -vos-hi; the negative places the cluster before the verb:
No us hi adreceu avui, perquè l'oficina està tancada.
Do not contact it today, because the office is closed. (formal vós instruction)
Vostè is a different respectful system: it takes third-person singular (vostè pot, li enviarem), while vós takes second-person plural (vós podeu, us enviarem). Historically vós could feel less distant than vostè; today many speakers encounter it chiefly in administration, liturgy, historical fiction, and certain local relationships. See Vostè, Vostès, Tu, and Vosaltres.
A formal exchange
—Senyora alcaldessa, vós vau signar aquesta resolució? —Sí, la vaig signar jo mateixa i n'assumeixo la responsabilitat. —Aleshores us en lliurarem una còpia certificada.
—Mayor, did you sign this resolution? —Yes, I signed it myself and accept responsibility for it. —Then we will give you a certified copy of it. (formal dialogue)
The vocative makes the singular addressee unambiguous. Vau signar and us belong to the vós system; mateixa is feminine singular. In us en lliurarem una còpia, us marks the recipient and en supplies “of the resolution.”
Elevated register does not change ordinary object syntax. Write Hem consultat l'assessora → L'hem consultada, not the Spanish-influenced Hem consultat a l'assessora → Li hem consultat. In a vós cluster, derive the Catalan roles rather than copying English order, keep the cluster together, and change its shape with its host: us en lliurarem una but volem lliurar-vos-en una, never lliurar-us-en.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving hom plural agreement.
❌ Hom poden consultar l'expedient en línia.
Incorrect—hom requires third-person singular agreement.
✅ Hom pot consultar l'expedient en línia.
One can consult the file online. (formal)
2. Inflecting altri like ordinary altre.
❌ No disposeu dels béns d'altris.
Incorrect—the formal pronoun altri is invariable.
✅ No disposeu dels béns d'altri.
Do not dispose of another person's property. (formal)
3. Using llurs because there are several possessors, although the possessed noun is singular.
❌ Els sindicats han publicat llurs comunicat conjunt.
Incorrect—llur agrees with singular comunicat.
✅ Els sindicats han publicat llur comunicat conjunt.
The unions have published their joint statement. (formal)
4. Giving vós a singular verb or a plural adjective for one woman.
❌ Senyora Riera, vós pot entrar i ja esteu preparada.
Incorrect—vós takes second-person plural podeu, while the adjective is feminine singular.
✅ Senyora Riera, vós podeu entrar i ja esteu preparada.
Ms. Riera, you may enter and you are already prepared. (formal)
5. Treating ço as an ordinary determiner before a noun.
❌ No entenc ço diu el cronista.
Incorrect—ço requires the relative que in this construction.
✅ No entenc ço que diu el cronista.
I do not understand what the chronicler says. (literary/archaic)
Key Takeaways
Read register before translating. Hom is a third-person singular indefinite human subject; altri is an invariable elevated human pronoun; ço is mostly archaic; llur/llurs marks possession by plural possessors but agrees with what is possessed; and respectful singular vós takes second-person plural verbs and us/vos while descriptive agreement remains singular.
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