Alternative and Echo Questions | Catalan Grammar

Catalan uses o “or” both to offer alternatives and to coordinate possibilities inside a yes–no question. Intonation and context decide whether Vols te o cafè? asks the listener to choose one drink or asks whether either drink is wanted. Echo questions are different again: they repeat all or part of a previous utterance to repair hearing, identify a referent, or react with surprise. These structures share question punctuation, but their information structure and expected answers are not the same.

Genuine alternative questions request a choice

An alternative question presents two or more candidates as the answer set. In careful speech, each nonfinal option commonly has continuing or rising intonation and the final option closes the list. A natural answer names an alternative rather than saying only sí or no.

Vols seure a dins o a la terrassa?

Do you want to sit inside or on the terrace?

Hi anirem divendres, dissabte o diumenge?

Are we going on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

Prefereixes que t'ho enviï per correu o que t'ho porti demà?

Would you prefer me to email it to you or bring it tomorrow?

In the last example, o coordinates two finite que-clauses with the same function. The repeated que makes the alternatives easier to process, especially in a longer question.

Question type	Expected answer	Typical contour
yes–no with an o-phrase	sí/no	whole question often ends with a rise
closed alternative	one named option	continuation before o, closure on the last option
open-ended alternatives	listed option or another proposal	final rise can keep the set open
echo question	confirmation, correction, or repetition	strong focus on the echoed material

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Test the intended answer. If sí would be complete, you probably have a yes–no question; if the listener must say a dins or a la terrassa, you have an alternative question.

The same words can have two scopes

Consider Tens passaport o document d'identitat? In one context it means “Do you have a passport or identity document?” A simple sí confirms possession of at least one. At a check-in desk, with focused intonation on both nouns, it may mean “Which do you have: a passport or an identity document?” The coordinator o does not alone settle the scope.

Portaràs el cotxe o la furgoneta?

Which will you bring, the car or the van?

Pots portar el cotxe o la furgoneta?

Can you bring either the car or the van?

The first most naturally requests a choice. The modal poder in the second makes a yes–no ability reading salient, though context can still turn it into a choice. Use o bé in careful speech or writing when a stronger boundary helps:

Podem ajornar la votació o bé podem reunir-nos aquesta tarda.

We can postpone the vote, or alternatively we can meet this afternoon.

As a direct alternative question, a repeated frame removes ambiguity:

Què preferiu: ajornar la votació o reunir-vos aquesta tarda?

Which would you prefer: postponing the vote or meeting this afternoon?

The colon is appropriate because the first clause announces the explicit list. A comma may suffice in a short question, and no punctuation is needed inside a compact phrase such as te o cafè.

Negative alternatives are not all equivalent

The placement of no changes what is offered. Vens o no? contrasts coming with not coming and can sound impatient (informal). No vens amb cotxe o amb tren? is potentially unclear: does no negate the entire proposition, or only the first alternative? Repeat enough structure to show the intended scope.

Vindràs a la reunió o no podràs escapar-te de la feina?

Will you come to the meeting, or will you be unable to get away from work?

No vols sopa o és que no tens gana?

Do you not want soup, or is it that you aren't hungry?

Here each alternative is a full proposition. Catalan small words—no, o, and que—make the dependency clearer than a literal English word-for-word mapping would.

Echo questions repair or challenge prior speech

An echo question repeats a surprising or unclear constituent in its ordinary position, often with a sharp rise. This (informal) in-situ interrogative is not the neutral pattern taught for an information-seeking wh-question; it depends on a previous utterance.

—La reparació costarà tres mil euros. —Costarà quant?

—The repair will cost three thousand euros. —It will cost how much?

—Demà dinaré amb el director general. —Dinaràs amb qui?

—Tomorrow I'm having lunch with the chief executive. —You're having lunch with whom?

The preposition remains before qui even though the phrase stays in situ: amb qui, never qui amb. The echo can express genuine failure to hear or incredulity. Voice quality and context decide between those readings.

A whole clause can also be echoed:

Has dit que deixes la feina la setmana que ve?

Did you say you're leaving your job next week?

This may neutrally confirm hearing, or it may challenge the plausibility of the news. Catalan often uses que or és que to make the reaction more explicit, but those focus patterns deserve separate treatment on que and és que in questions.

Clarification echoes isolate the uncertain piece

For polite clarification, repeat only the part that needs repair or use a full frame such as Has dit...? A bare Què? is (informal) and can sound abrupt; Perdona? or Com dius? is gentler in many interactions.

—La visita és dijous a dos quarts de cinc. —Dijous o divendres?

—The appointment is on Thursday at half past four. —Thursday or Friday?

—Envia-ho a la Mariona. —A la Mariona de comptabilitat o a la de vendes?

—Send it to Mariona. —To Mariona in accounts or the one in sales?

The second question fronts the relevant prepositional alternatives and omits recoverable material: the full version would be Ho envio a la Mariona de comptabilitat o a la de vendes? Ellipsis keeps the focus on the contrast.

An embedded echo-like repair can appear after a reporting frame:

No he entès si has dit quinze o cinquanta persones.

I didn't understand whether you said fifteen or fifty people.

This is not itself a direct question, so it ends with a full stop. The embedded si presents two possible analyses of what was heard.

A natural dialogue

—Per sopar fem arròs o demanem una pizza? —Una pizza; avui no tinc ganes de cuinar.

—For dinner, shall we make rice or order a pizza? —A pizza; I don't feel like cooking today.

—Perfecte. La vols de verdures o de formatge? —Has dit de verdures? Sí, aquesta.

—Perfect. Do you want a vegetable one or a cheese one? —Did you say vegetable? Yes, that one.

The first question coordinates two possible plans, so the answer chooses one. The second offers two noun-phrase alternatives; the answer contains an echo check before confirming the selection.

With a reordered topic, make the comparison set explicit:

Aquest informe, el revisarà l'Anna o el revisaràs tu?

As for this report, will Anna review it, or will you?

The left-dislocated object aquest informe is resumed by el in both alternatives. English relies more heavily on position and auxiliary ellipsis; Catalan keeps the clitic link visible.

Decision table

Your goal	Recommended shape	Model
offer a closed choice	X o Y?	Matí o tarda?
avoid a scope ambiguity	repeat the verb or announce the set	Què prefereixes: X o Y?
ask whether either option is possible	modal yes–no question + X o Y	Pots venir dilluns o dimarts?
repair one unheard constituent	focused echo in situ (informal)	Arribarà quan?
clarify gently	full Has dit...? frame	Has dit que arriba dilluns?

Common Mistakes

Answering a genuine choice with an uninformative sí:

❌ —Vols l'habitació gran o la petita? —Sí.

Incorrect in the intended choice reading — yes does not identify an option.

✅ —Vols l'habitació gran o la petita? —La petita, si pot ser.

—Do you want the large room or the small one? —The small one, if possible.

Copying English preposition stranding in an echo:

❌ Has anat al teatre qui amb?

Incorrect — even an echo keeps amb before qui.

✅ Has anat al teatre amb qui?

You went to the theatre with whom?

Making the scope of no impossible to recover:

❌ No vindrà la Carla o la Berta?

Incorrect for the intended scope — the placement of no leaves it unclear which alternative is negated.

✅ Quina de les dues no vindrà, la Carla o la Berta?

Which of the two isn't coming, Carla or Berta?

Treating an embedded clarification as a direct question:

❌ No recordo si vas dir dimarts o dimecres?

Incorrect as a statement — its matrix clause is declarative.

✅ No recordo si vas dir dimarts o dimecres.

I don't remember whether you said Tuesday or Wednesday.

Correction task

Clarify the intended readings in Pots venir dilluns o dimarts? For ability, answer Sí, em van bé tots dos dies. For a choice, ask Quin dia et va millor, dilluns o dimarts? Also correct the echo Treballes qui amb? to Treballes amb qui? The words o and amb do not merely translate English function words; they mark the structure and scope of the missing answer.

Key Takeaways

A genuine alternative question asks the listener to name an option; a yes–no question containing o can be answered with sí or no.
Intonation helps distinguish those readings, but repeating the verb or explicitly announcing the choice set removes ambiguity more reliably.
Echo questions depend on a previous utterance and may leave the focused interrogative in situ, especially in informal clarification or incredulity.
Even in an echo, keep a required preposition before its interrogative, and make the scope of no explicit.

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Alternative questions define an answer set; echo questions point back to speech that already occurred. Intonation helps, but repeating enough syntax is the most reliable way to make the intended scope clear.

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