Catalan subject placement in questions is guided by information structure: is the subject already the topic, is it the new information being requested, or does it need contrast? A pronoun subject is often omitted, a new noun subject often follows the verb, and an established or contrastive subject can precede it. English auxiliary inversion—she is → is she?, you work → do you work?—does not provide the model.
First decide whether the subject needs to be spoken
Catalan finite verbs usually identify first- and second-person subjects, and context often identifies a third-person subject. An unstressed jo, tu, ell, or ella adds little and is normally omitted.
Arribes abans de les set?
Will you arrive before seven?
Ja ha enviat la factura?
Has he or she sent the invoice already?
The second question needs context to identify the person. If context does not make the subject clear, name it: Ja ha enviat la factura la gestora? An overt pronoun is useful for contrast, correction, or disambiguation.
Vindràs tu a buscar els nens o hi anirà l'avi?
Will you pick up the children, or will Grandpa go?
Here postverbal tu contrasts with l'avi. English requires you grammatically; Catalan pronounces tu because it matters communicatively.
New noun subjects commonly follow the verb
When a yes–no question asks whether an event involving a not-yet-established subject has occurred, verb–subject order is very natural.
Ha arribat el paquet de la farmàcia?
Has the parcel from the pharmacy arrived?
Vindrà la teva cosina a la calçotada?
Will your cousin come to the calçotada?
Funciona bé, la calefacció nova?
Is the new heating system working well?
The last pattern is (informal) right dislocation: la calefacció nova is added after an intonational break to clarify the referent. The comma represents that break. Without the pause, ordinary Funciona bé la calefacció nova? is a neutral verb–subject question.
In a wh-question where the wh-phrase is not the subject, the lexical subject also commonly follows the verb:
Quan arribarà la nova professora?
When will the new teacher arrive?
Què ha decidit el consell rector?
What has the governing council decided?
A qui ha escrit la directora aquest matí?
Who did the director write to this morning?
English places the subject between the auxiliary and main verb; Catalan has no such template. The interrogative phrase comes first, clitics stay with the finite verb, and a new lexical subject can follow that verb.
A preverbal subject is usually a topic or contrast
A subject can precede the verb when it is already active in the conversation or when the speaker contrasts it with someone else. In a yes–no question, this order is often heard as a confirmation or echo.
La teva cosina vindrà a la calçotada?
Your cousin is coming to the calçotada?
Compare the minimal pair:
Ha reservat l'hotel l'agència?
Has the agency booked the hotel?
L'agència ha reservat l'hotel?
The agency has booked the hotel?
Both are grammatical. The first presents l'agència as the subject whose participation is being checked. The second starts from the agency as an established topic and asks for confirmation of what it did. Intonation and context can narrow or blur the difference, so this is a strong tendency, not a mechanical transformation.
With a wh-word, a preverbal subject is especially natural as a left topic or contrast:
I la Berta, quan tornarà de Brussel·les?
And Berta, when will she return from Brussels?
Tu què en penses, de treballar quatre dies a la setmana?
What do you think about working four days a week?
In the first sentence, the comma separates the topical phrase i la Berta from the question proper. In the second, tu is contrastive and the clitic en links the verb to the right-dislocated topic de treballar.... Copying English word order alone cannot build this dependency.
When the question word itself is the subject
If qui or quin + noun is the subject, it normally occupies the subject position at the front and directly controls agreement. Do not add another subject pronoun or use English do.
Qui ha trencat el vidre de la cuina?
Who broke the kitchen window?
Quins autobusos passen pel campus els diumenges?
Which buses go through the campus on Sundays?
Compare object qui with subject qui:
Qui ha convidat la Jana a la cerimònia?
Who invited Jana to the ceremony?
A qui ha convidat la Jana a la cerimònia?
Who has Jana invited to the ceremony?
This pair shows a real structural difficulty: third-person forms do not by themselves identify every role. In the first question, qui is the subject and la Jana the object. In the second, a qui is explicitly marked as the human object and postverbal la Jana is the subject. In careful speech or writing, do not rely on context when a simple structural cue or rephrasing removes ambiguity. The exact distribution of personal a is treated on questions with prepositions.
Clitics do not move around the subject
Weak pronouns belong to the verb complex. Changing subject position does not let a noun subject split a preverbal clitic from its finite verb.
Quan te'l portarà la Berta, el projector?
When will Berta bring you the projector?
La Berta, quan te'l portarà?
As for Berta, when will she bring it to you?
In both sentences, te'l portarà stays together. The right-dislocated el projector in the first is resumed by l'; the topical subject in the second stands outside the core question. A form such as Quan te la Berta el portarà? is not an alternative Catalan inversion rule.
Scope changes when focus changes position
Small focus words interact with subject position. Compare:
Només la Mireia presentarà l'informe?
Is Mireia the only person who will present the report?
La Mireia només presentarà l'informe?
Will Mireia only present the report (and do nothing else with it)?
In the first sentence, només scopes over the subject. In the second, its most accessible reading limits the action. Intonation can create other readings, but neutral word order guides the listener. Do not move the subject for English-style inversion and assume the scope remains unchanged.
Embedded questions keep Catalan order
An embedded question is part of a larger clause and has no direct-question intonation of its own. Its subject placement still reflects the same information structure.
No sabem quan arribarà el tècnic ni si portarà la peça nova.
We don't know when the technician will arrive or whether he will bring the new part.
English says “when the technician will arrive,” with the subject before the auxiliary. Catalan naturally has quan arribarà el tècnic here. A topical subject can instead stand to the left of the embedded question—El tècnic, no sabem quan arribarà—but this marked pattern should not become an automatic translation template. The complete contrast is on embedded questions.
Decision table
| Status of the subject | Likely choice | Model |
|---|---|---|
| recoverable pronoun, no contrast | omit it | Vens demà? |
| new lexical subject | often postverbal | Vindrà la Joana? |
| established topic or echo | often preverbal | La Joana vindrà? |
| explicit contrast | pronounce and stress it | Vindràs tu o vindrà ell? |
| question word is the subject | wh-subject + verb | Qui vindrà? |
| potential third-person ambiguity | rephrase or mark roles | A qui ha convidat la Joana? |
These principles apply throughout the standard language. (regional) spontaneous speech in Central, Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese Catalan differs in prosody and in how freely speakers use dislocation, but no variety forms ordinary questions by copying English auxiliary inversion. In (formal) prose, avoid unnecessary right-dislocations and choose the least ambiguous order.
A natural dialogue
—Ha trucat la propietària? —Sí. El lampista ve avui. —I ella quan vindrà a mirar la fuita? —Demà al matí. Hi seràs tu o hi haurà el teu company? —Hi seré jo.
‘Has the landlady called?’ ‘Yes. The plumber is coming today.’ ‘And when will she come to look at the leak?’ ‘Tomorrow morning. Will you be there, or will your colleague be there?’ ‘I'll be there.’
La propietària first appears postverbally as new information. Once both she and the plumber are active in the conversation, ella is pronounced before quan to contrast her schedule with his. The final tu / el teu company contrast likewise requires overt subjects.
Common Mistakes
❌ Fa la Joana treballa avui?
Incorrect English do-support translated with fer; Catalan asks with the finite main verb.
✅ Treballa avui la Joana?
Is Joana working today?
❌ Quan la metgessa arribarà?
Unnatural as a neutral information question copied from English; a new lexical subject normally follows the verb here.
✅ Quan arribarà la metgessa?
When will the doctor arrive?
❌ Quan te la Berta el tornarà?
Incorrect: the lexical subject cannot split the preverbal clitic cluster from the finite verb.
✅ Quan te'l tornarà la Berta?
When will Berta return it to you?
❌ Con qui ha somiat en Marc aquesta nit?
Incorrect Spanish government: Catalan somiar selects amb, not Spanish con.
✅ Amb qui ha somiat en Marc aquesta nit?
Who did Marc dream about last night?
Short correction task
Make each question natural for the context given.
- Neutral question, new subject: Quan el nou vigilant començarà?
- No contrast on “you”: Tu ja has rebut el missatge?
- Keep the clitics together: On te la Júlia el deixarà?
Quan començarà el nou vigilant?
When will the new security guard start?
Ja has rebut el missatge?
Have you received the message yet?
On te'l deixarà la Júlia?
Where will Júlia leave it for you?
Key Takeaways
- Omit a recoverable subject pronoun unless it is contrastive or needed for clarity.
- A new lexical subject often follows the verb; an established or contrastive topic can precede it.
- When the interrogative itself is the subject, it controls agreement directly: Qui ha vingut?
- Moving a subject never licenses splitting preverbal clitics from their finite verb, and ambiguous third-person questions should be rephrased.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
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- Questions with PrepositionsA2 — How Catalan keeps required prepositions before qui, què, quin, and on in questions, including purpose, destination, source, and verb government.
- Embedded QuestionsA2 — How Catalan places questions inside statements and larger questions with si or an interrogative phrase, declarative punctuation, and non-inverted word order.
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