A Catalan directive can be a brisk command, a public instruction, a friendly request, or a carefully softened proposal. The sentence type is therefore defined not only by an imperative verb but also by who is expected to act, where weak pronouns appear, and how intonation and politeness reshape the social force.
English uses the bare infinitive for “Come,” “Don't touch,” and “Please sit down.” Catalan distinguishes affirmative imperative forms from negative subjunctive forms and marks the addressee's number and degree of formality on the verb.
Affirmative imperatives
An affirmative command normally begins with an imperative verb. The subject pronoun is absent because the verb and context identify the addressee.
Tanca la finestra abans de sortir, sisplau.
Close the window before leaving, please.
Passeu per recepció i recolliu-hi les acreditacions.
Stop by reception and collect your badges there.
Segui, senyora Puig; ara mateix l'atendran.
Have a seat, Ms Puig; they'll see you right away. (formal)
The familiar singular tu, familiar plural vosaltres, and formal vostè/vostès select different verb forms. In much of the Valencian area, vosté is the AVL spelling, with a closed é; Central Catalan uses IEC vostè. The choice is orthographic and regional, not a difference in politeness.
| Addressee | Example with parlar | Typical setting |
|---|---|---|
| tu | Parla més a poc a poc. | one familiar person |
| vosaltres | Parleu més a poc a poc. | several familiar people |
| vostè | Parli més a poc a poc. | one formally addressed person |
| vostès | Parlin més a poc a poc. | several formally addressed people |
The formal forms coincide with present-subjunctive forms, but in an independent affirmative directive their function is imperative. Full paradigms belong on affirmative imperatives.
Negative commands use the subjunctive
Catalan does not make a negative command by adding no to an affirmative imperative. It uses no plus the present subjunctive for every addressee.
No obris el forn fins que soni el temporitzador.
Don't open the oven until the timer goes off.
No deixeu les bicicletes davant de la sortida d'emergència.
Don't leave bicycles in front of the emergency exit.
No s'amoïni, que encara tenim temps de sobres.
Don't worry; we still have plenty of time. (formal)
This is a genuine structural split: affirmative obre! but negative no obris!; affirmative vine! but negative no vinguis!. English hides that difference because “open” and “come” retain the same form after don't.
Negation can change more than polarity. No cal que esperis means waiting is unnecessary; No esperis tells the addressee not to wait. No pots aparcar aquí may report lack of permission, while No aparquis aquí directly issues the prohibition.
Weak pronouns change sides
With affirmative imperatives, weak pronouns follow the verb and attach with the required hyphens and apostrophes. With negative commands, they precede the verb.
Porta'm la factura quan puguis.
Bring me the invoice when you can.
Deixa'l damunt la taula de la cuina.
Leave it on the kitchen table.
No me la portis encara; primer comprovaré les dades.
Don't bring it to me yet; I'll check the details first.
No els ho expliqueu fins que hàgim parlat amb l'advocada.
Don't explain it to them until we've spoken to the lawyer.
Compare the same proposition:
[Imperative porta] [Clitic cluster me + la] → Porta-me-la.
[Negation no] [Clitic cluster me + la] [Subjunctive portis] → No me la portis.
The hyphens are spelling, but the side of the verb is syntax. See imperatives with pronouns for changes such as digues + me + ho → digue-m'ho.
Topics, focus, and expressed subjects
The neutral order Deixa aquest paquet a consergeria presents the whole instruction without a special topic. An object can be moved left when it is already active in the conversation, but it must then be resumed by a clitic:
Aquest paquet, deixa'l a consergeria; l'altre, puja'l al tercer pis.
This parcel, leave it at reception; the other one, take it up to the third floor.
The comma marks left dislocation: [Topic aquest paquet], [Command deixa'l a consergeria]. Calling aquest paquet the subject would wrongly predict verb agreement and would miss the resumptive l'. It is the direct-object topic.
An expressed addressee often adds contrast, insistence, or correction: Tu espera aquí; la Núria que vingui amb mi. That is not the neutral equivalent of English obligatory “you.” In a sharp tone, initial tu can sound confrontational.
Tu acaba el correu i jo revisaré les xifres.
You finish the email, and I'll check the figures.
Coordination allows one command to share its understood addressee: Entra, tanca la porta i seu. Repeating tu would be unnatural unless each occurrence contrasts different people.
Infinitives on signs and in general instructions
Public notices, labels, recipes, and terse written instructions often use an infinitive. Its addressee is generic rather than a particular conversational tu.
No fumar dins del recinte.
No smoking inside the premises. (public notice)
Afegir l'arròs i coure'l durant divuit minuts.
Add the rice and cook it for eighteen minutes. (recipe style)
This use is (instructional/formal) and elliptical: a fuller version would be No fumeu dins del recinte or Cal afegir l'arròs. Do not use the infinitive as the default spoken command to one friend: Tancar la porta! can occur (informal) as a brusque, marked order, but Tanca la porta! is the neutral personal command.
Turning commands into requests
Grammar cannot by itself make a request courteous. Sisplau (also si us plau) helps, but modal questions and conditional forms give the listener more room to accept or refuse.
Em podries enviar la versió definitiva abans de dinar?
Could you send me the final version before lunch?
Quan puguis, mira't el document i digues-me si hi falta res.
When you can, look over the document and tell me whether anything is missing.
Li faria res deixar-me passar un moment, senyor Roca?
Would you mind letting me pass for a moment, Mr Roca? (formal)
The last two are grammatically a time clause plus imperatives and an interrogative, respectively, but pragmatically they are requests. Rising question intonation invites an answer; falling imperative intonation presents compliance as expected. (Informal) Vols tancar la porta? can be friendly, but in an annoyed tone it may be more forceful than Tanca la porta, sisplau.
A natural dialogue
—M'ajudes amb aquestes caixes? —Sí. Deixa les petites aquí i porta'm la grossa. —Aquesta? —Sí, però no la giris: hi ha copes a dins.
—Can you help me with these boxes? —Yes. Leave the small ones here and bring me the big one. —This one? —Yes, but don't turn it over: there are glasses inside.
The request opens with a question, then shared activity licenses direct imperatives. The final negative command places la before subjunctive giris.
Ambiguous modifier placement
Digues-li demà que presenti la sol·licitud.
Tell him/her tomorrow to submit the application.
Here demà most naturally modifies digues: the telling should happen tomorrow. To make the embedded action tomorrow's event, say Digues-li que presenti la sol·licitud demà. Spoken intonation can help, but written order is the reliable repair. The directive is not ambiguous because Catalan word order is arbitrary; it is ambiguous because the adverb can attach to either of two verbs.
Short correction task
Correct No obre la finestra and the English-ordered clitic in Em porta el menú, sisplau when speaking to one familiar person.
✅ No obris la finestra.
Don't open the window.
✅ Porta'm el menú, sisplau.
Bring me the menu, please.
Common Mistakes
❌ No toca aquesta palanca.
Incorrect negative command — the affirmative imperative cannot follow 'no'.
✅ No toquis aquesta palanca.
Don't touch this lever.
❌ Ho explica'm després de la reunió.
Incorrect English-style placement — an affirmative imperative takes attached postverbal clitics.
✅ Explica-m'ho després de la reunió.
Explain it to me after the meeting.
❌ No digues-m'ho davant dels nens.
Incorrect form and clitic position — use the subjunctive and put the clitics before it.
✅ No m'ho diguis davant dels nens.
Don't tell me in front of the children.
❌ Aquestes caixes, deixa al passadís.
Incorrect — a left-dislocated direct object requires clitic resumption.
✅ Aquestes caixes, deixa-les al passadís.
These boxes, leave them in the corridor.
Key Takeaways
- Affirmative commands use imperative forms; negative commands use no plus the present subjunctive.
- Weak pronouns follow and attach to affirmative imperatives but precede negative commands.
- A fronted object is a topic, not a subject, and must be resumed: Aquest informe, envia'l avui.
- Infinitives suit signs and impersonal written instructions, not ordinary one-to-one commands.
- Questions, conditionals, sisplau, and time phrases soften a directive according to context and relationship.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Affirmative ImperativesA2 — Form affirmative Catalan commands for tu, vostè, nosaltres, vosaltres, and vostès, with correct agreement and weak-pronoun placement.
- Negative ImperativesA2 — Build Catalan prohibitions with no plus the present subjunctive, placing weak pronouns correctly for every command person.
- Weak Pronouns with Affirmative CommandsA2 — Learn where Catalan weak pronouns go in affirmative commands and how hyphens, apostrophes, stress, and pronoun clusters work.
- Commands, Requests, and Pragmatic ForceA2 — Choose among Catalan imperatives, polite questions, conditional requests, and impersonal instructions without sounding abrupt or unnatural.
- Basic Clause OrderA1 — Build neutral Catalan clauses and understand when omitted or postverbal subjects change the information structure.