Coordination joins clauses of equal syntactic status: neither clause fills a grammatical slot inside the other. Catalan coordinators express addition (i, ni), alternatives (o, o bé), contrast or correction (però, sinó, sinó que), and explanatory reformulation (és a dir, o sigui, això és).
English translations make many of these words look easy, but clause linkage is not word-for-word. Catalan keeps i and o before identical vowels, distinguishes però from corrective sinó, and uses punctuation to show whether material is shared, omitted, or reformulated.
Additive coordination with i and ni
I joins propositions that the speaker presents as jointly valid. When both verbs share a subject, Catalan normally states that subject only once.
La Joana va entrar al despatx, va deixar l'abric i va encendre l'ordinador.
Joana entered the office, put down her coat, and turned on the computer.
Hem revisat el contracte i demà enviarem els comentaris a l'advocada.
We've reviewed the contract, and tomorrow we'll send the comments to the lawyer.
The absent subjects after i are not impersonal: they refer back to the same discourse participant. An overt subject after the coordinator normally signals a switch or contrast.
La Joana prepararà les diapositives i en Miquel comprovarà les dades.
Joana will prepare the slides, and Miquel will check the data.
Unlike Spanish y, Catalan i does not change before an /i/ sound: pares i fills, geografia i història. Likewise, o does not become another form before /o/: set o onze. Copying Spanish alternations produces forms that are not Catalan.
Negative addition uses ni. The scope of no extends across the coordinated predicates in No fuma ni beu. When ni... ni... frames full alternatives, the structure is emphatic.
No ha trucat ni ha respost cap dels missatges que li vam enviar.
He/she hasn't called or answered any of the messages we sent.
Ni l'ascensor ni l'escala mecànica no funcionen avui.
Neither the lift nor the escalator is working today.
The preverbal pattern with reinforcing no is traditional Catalan negative concord. The current standard also accepts omission (Ni l'ascensor ni l'escala mecànica funcionen) in every register, although the reinforced pattern has a strong history in (formal) prose.
Alternatives with o and o bé
O can offer an open alternative, an exclusive choice, or two labels for the same referent. Context supplies much of the difference.
Podem quedar dissabte al matí o podem parlar per videotrucada diumenge.
We can meet on Saturday morning, or we can talk by video call on Sunday.
Truca'm avui o envia'm un missatge quan tinguis la resposta.
Call me today or send me a message when you have the answer.
O bé makes the alternatives more deliberate and often clarifies the boundary between longer clauses. Correlative o... o... emphasizes that a choice must be made: O presentes el recurs avui o perds el termini.
O bé ajornem la reunió, o bé hi participa la directora per videoconferència.
Either we postpone the meeting, or the director joins it by video conference.
Coordination has scope consequences. No vindrà en Pau o la Laia can mean that at least one of them will not come, or—less carefully—that neither will. Write No vindrà ni en Pau ni la Laia for “neither,” and En Pau no vindrà, o potser no vindrà la Laia when the uncertainty concerns which negative proposition is true.
Contrast with però; correction with sinó
Però coordinates two propositions that remain true despite a contrast. Corrective sinó rejects one constituent and replaces it with another after negation. The corresponding phrase-level patterns are developed further under però and sinó.
Volíem sopar a la terrassa, però s'ha posat a ploure de cop.
We wanted to have dinner on the terrace, but it suddenly started raining.
El pis és petit, però hi entra molta llum al matí.
The flat is small, but it gets a lot of light in the morning.
No ens reunirem dimarts, sinó dimecres a primera hora.
We're not meeting on Tuesday, but rather first thing on Wednesday.
When the correction is a finite clause, use sinó que:
No han cancel·lat el tren, sinó que l'han fet sortir d'una altra via.
They haven't cancelled the train; rather, they've made it leave from another platform.
The semantic test is exact: però adds a second true assertion; sinó substitutes a corrected value for a rejected one. In No és barat, però és resistent, “not cheap” and “durable” are both asserted. In No és car, sinó barat, barat replaces the denied description car.
| Relation | Structure | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| contrast | X, però Y | X and Y are both true |
| phrase correction | no X, sinó Y | reject X; replace it with Y |
| clause correction | no X, sinó que Y | reject one proposition; assert another |
Explanatory and reformulating links
És a dir, o sigui, and això és introduce a reformulation at discourse level. The second segment explains, specifies, or restates the first rather than adding an independent event.
La convocatòria queda deserta; és a dir, cap candidatura compleix els requisits.
The call has produced no successful candidate; that is, no application meets the requirements. (formal)
Demà teletreballem, o sigui, no cal que vinguis a l'oficina.
We're working from home tomorrow, so you don't need to come to the office. (informal)
És a dir is neutral and common in careful explanation; això és is (formal); o sigui is extremely common (informal), though it also appears in less formal writing. These markers are set off with commas or, between independent clauses, a semicolon or full stop. They do not behave like bare i inserted silently between two small phrases.
Punctuation shows the relation
A comma is not normally placed before i or o when they simply join short parallel elements or clauses: Va tancar la finestra i va apagar el llum. A comma can be justified when subjects change, clauses are long, or the second clause is a parenthetical afterthought.
Però and corrective sinó (que) are normally preceded by a comma. A semicolon helps when either side already contains commas or when an explanatory marker joins substantial clauses.
La primera proposta reduïa els costos, però exigia acomiadaments; la segona, en canvi, mantenia tota la plantilla.
The first proposal cut costs but required layoffs; the second, by contrast, kept the entire workforce.
Do not join two complete independent sentences with a comma alone merely because English sometimes tolerates an informal comma splice. Use a coordinator, a semicolon, or a full stop.
Ellipsis: leaving shared material unspoken
Coordination permits material recoverable from the first clause to be omitted in the second. This is ellipsis, not free deletion.
La Carla portarà les postres i en Pau, el vi.
Carla will bring dessert, and Pau the wine.
The comma after en Pau marks the position of elided portarà. Bracketed: [La Carla portarà les postres] i [en Pau Ø el vi]. Each remnant contrasts with a counterpart: Carla/Pau and dessert/wine.
Jo he reservat dues habitacions i la Núria, només una.
I've booked two rooms, and Núria only one.
Weak pronouns cannot simply be dropped when the second clause needs a different grammatical relation. La Marta hi anirà i en Pol també works because també recovers the whole predicate. But when the second clause contains a new verb requiring hi, say La Marta hi anirà i en Pol hi arribarà més tard.
Neutral order, reordering, and agreement
Neutral coordination often repeats subject–verb order: La directora obrirà l'acte i els ponents presentaran els resultats. Fronting a shared setting makes it the topic of both clauses:
Després de dinar, la directora obrirà l'acte i els ponents presentaran els resultats.
After lunch, the director will open the event, and the speakers will present the results.
The initial time phrase is not the subject of either verb. With a coordinated subject, the plural verb exposes the relation: La directora i el degà obriran l'acte. Treating every initial phrase as subject would miss both topic scope and agreement.
A natural dialogue and an ambiguity
—Agafem el tren de les sis o esperem el de les set? —El de les sis és més ràpid, però haurem de sortir ara. —Doncs agafem-lo; jo compro els bitllets i tu prepara les motxilles.
—Shall we take the six o'clock train or wait for the seven o'clock one? —The six o'clock one is faster, but we'll have to leave now. —Then let's take it; I'll buy the tickets and you pack the rucksacks.
Now compare La directora va parlar amb els tècnics i els administradors nous. The final adjective nous can have narrow scope, describing only the administrators, or wide scope, describing both coordinated groups. Agreement cannot resolve the ambiguity because both nouns are masculine plural. Repeat the adjective for the wide reading—amb els tècnics nous i els administradors nous—or move it inside the second noun phrase for the narrow reading: amb els tècnics i amb els nous administradors.
Short correction task
Correct Pares e infants van entrar and No l'ha ignorat, però no l'ha sentit if the intended meaning is “not ignored, but rather not heard.”
✅ Pares i infants van entrar plegats.
Parents and children entered together.
✅ No l'ha ignorat, sinó que no l'ha sentit.
He/she didn't ignore them; rather, he/she didn't hear them.
Common Mistakes
❌ Cultura e identitat van centrar el debat.
Incorrect Spanish transfer — Catalan 'i' does not change before an i-sound.
✅ Cultura i identitat van centrar el debat.
Culture and identity were the focus of the debate.
❌ No treballa a Lleida, però a Balaguer.
Incorrect correction — after rejecting one location and replacing it, use 'sinó'.
✅ No treballa a Lleida, sinó a Balaguer.
He/she doesn't work in Lleida, but rather in Balaguer.
❌ No va marxar, sinó es va quedar fins al final.
Incorrect — a correcting finite clause requires 'sinó que'.
✅ No va marxar, sinó que es va quedar fins al final.
He/she didn't leave, but instead stayed until the end.
❌ La Berta farà l'amanida, i en Roc tallarà el pa.
Unnecessary comma in short neutral coordination.
✅ La Berta farà l'amanida i en Roc tallarà el pa.
Berta will make the salad, and Roc will slice the bread.
Key Takeaways
- I/ni add, o/o bé offer alternatives, però contrasts, and sinó (que) corrects after negation.
- Catalan keeps i before i-sounds and o before o-sounds; Spanish-style alternations do not apply.
- Use a comma before però and sinó (que), but not mechanically before simple i or o.
- Ellipsis is licensed by parallel structure and recoverability, not by unrestricted omission.
- Reordering establishes topic, focus, or the scope of a shared phrase; it does not erase argument relations.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- I, O, and Basic CoordinationA1 — Join Catalan words, phrases, and clauses with i and o while preserving parallel structure, agreement, punctuation, and the intended kind of alternative.
- Però, Sinó, and Sinó QueA1 — Choose però for a contrast that leaves both claims standing, and sinó or sinó que to replace a negated constituent or clause.
- Correlative ConjunctionsB2 — How paired Catalan linkers coordinate alternatives, negatives, additions, and alternating situations while preserving parallel structure.
- Ellipsis and SubstitutionB2 — Omit recoverable subjects, verbs, and complements safely, and use clitics or fer-ho when Catalan requires an overt substitute.
- Punctuation with Discourse MarkersC1 — Punctuate initial, medial, integrated, and parenthetical Catalan discourse markers according to their scope and prosodic detachment.