Arribar means “to arrive” or “to reach.” It also appears in arribar a + infinitive, which marks an achieved limit: no ho arribo a entendre means “I cannot quite manage to understand it.” Unlike English arrive, Catalan normally uses a before a destination: arribar a Girona, arribar a casa, arribar a l'estació.
Morphologically, arribar is a regular first-conjugation verb. Its principal parts are arribo – arribava – arribí – arribaré – arribi – arribat. The practical challenge is therefore not an irregular stem but selecting the preposition and recognizing that arribem/arribeu can represent indicative, subjunctive, or imperative forms depending on context.
For the wider locative contrast, see a versus en with location; arribar specifically selects a for its endpoint.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | arribar | to arrive; to reach |
| Perfect infinitive | haver arribat | to have arrived |
| Gerund | arribant | arriving; while arriving |
| Perfect gerund | havent arribat | having arrived |
| Participle | arribat; arribada, arribats, arribades | arrived; reached |
All compound tenses use haver + arribat, with an invariable participle: les cartes han arribat, not han arribades. Agreeing forms can occur in adjectival or reduced-relative uses, as in les cartes arribades aquest matí.
Indicative: complete simple paradigm
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | arribo | arribes | arriba | arribem | arribeu | arriben |
| Imperfect | arribava | arribaves | arribava | arribàvem | arribàveu | arribaven |
| Periphrastic past | vaig arribar | vas arribar | va arribar | vam arribar | vau arribar | van arribar |
| Simple past | arribí | arribares | arribà | arribàrem | arribàreu | arribaren |
| Future | arribaré | arribaràs | arribarà | arribarem | arribareu | arribaran |
| Conditional | arribaria | arribaries | arribaria | arribaríem | arribaríeu | arribarien |
The periphrastic past is normal in conversation. The simple past is (formal/literary) across much Central usage, though it remains spoken regionally. The accent differentiates arribà “he/she arrived” from present arriba “he/she arrives.” Likewise, arribàrem is a simple past, whereas unaccented arribarem is future “we will arrive.”
Normalment arribo a l'oficina cap a dos quarts de nou.
I normally arrive at the office at about half past eight.
Quan arribàvem tard, l'àvia ens guardava el sopar.
When we arrived late, Grandma would keep dinner for us.
Vam arribar a Reus just abans que tanquessin la taquilla.
We arrived in Reus just before the ticket office closed.
La comitiva arribà al monestir al capvespre.
The delegation arrived at the monastery at dusk. (formal/literary)
Indicative compound tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he arribat | has arribat | ha arribat | hem arribat | heu arribat | han arribat |
| Pluperfect | havia arribat | havies arribat | havia arribat | havíem arribat | havíeu arribat | havien arribat |
| Past anterior | haguí arribat | hagueres arribat | hagué arribat | haguérem arribat | haguéreu arribat | hagueren arribat |
| Future perfect | hauré arribat | hauràs arribat | haurà arribat | haurem arribat | haureu arribat | hauran arribat |
| Conditional perfect | hauria arribat | hauries arribat | hauria arribat | hauríem arribat | hauríeu arribat | haurien arribat |
The synthetic past anterior is (formal/literary). The periphrastic anterior is vaig haver arribat, vas haver arribat, va haver arribat, vam haver arribat, vau haver arribat, van haver arribat. Its completed-before-another-past meaning is usually expressed in ordinary speech by the pluperfect.
Ja hem arribat; baixa quan vulguis.
We've arrived; come down whenever you like.
Quan obrin les portes, nosaltres ja hi haurem arribat.
When they open the doors, we will already have arrived there.
Subjunctive and imperative
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present subjunctive | arribi | arribis | arribi | arribem | arribeu | arribin |
| Imperfect subjunctive | arribés | arribessis | arribés | arribéssim | arribéssiu | arribessin |
| Perfect subjunctive | hagi arribat | hagis arribat | hagi arribat | hàgim arribat | hàgiu arribat | hagin arribat |
| Pluperfect subjunctive | hagués arribat | haguessis arribat | hagués arribat | haguéssim arribat | haguéssiu arribat | haguessin arribat |
| Restricted periphrastic series | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver arribat | vas haver arribat | va haver arribat | vam haver arribat | vau haver arribat | van haver arribat |
| Subjunctive past | vagi arribar | vagis arribar | vagi arribar | vàgim arribar | vàgiu arribar | vagin arribar |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver arribat | vagis haver arribat | vagi haver arribat | vàgim haver arribat | vàgiu haver arribat | vagin haver arribat |
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | arriba | no arribis |
| vostè | arribi | no arribi |
| nosaltres | arribem | no arribem |
| vosaltres | arribeu | no arribeu |
| vostès | arribin | no arribin |
These periphrastic subjunctive forms are (regional/formal) rather than the conversational default.
Truca'm tan bon punt arribis a casa.
Call me as soon as you get home.
Si arribéssiu deu minuts abans, podríem parlar amb calma.
If you arrived ten minutes earlier, we could talk calmly.
Arriba aviat, que hem de preparar les cadires.
Come early, because we have to set up the chairs.
Destination syntax and achieved limits
Use arribar a with towns, countries, buildings, points in time, quantities, and metaphorical endpoints: arribar a Olot, a la frontera, als cent euros, a un acord. Before casa, no article appears: arribar a casa. Fins a emphasizes the limit reached. With a following infinitive, arribar a means “come to,” “manage to,” or “go so far as to.”
The locative weak pronoun hi replaces an understood destination: Quan hi arribes? “When do you get there?” This is not reflexive. Standard arribar-se a means “go over to / call at” a nearby place, but it is a distinct pronominal construction, not a free reflexive spelling of ordinary arribar.
—Quan arribareu a Vic? —Hi arribarem pels volts de les cinc.
—When will you arrive in Vic? —We'll get there at around five.
Després de tres hores de debat, van arribar a un acord provisional.
After three hours of debate, they reached a provisional agreement.
No arribo a veure la pantalla des d'aquí darrere.
I can't quite manage to see the screen from back here.
La factura pot arribar fins als dos-cents euros si cal canviar la peça.
The bill can reach two hundred euros if the part has to be replaced.
(Regional: Valencian) present subjunctive forms in -e—arribe, arribes, arribe, arribem, arribeu, arriben—and imperfect forms in -ara are standard in the Valencian system. (Regional: Balearic) has present arrib, arribes, arriba, arribam, arribau, arriben and imperfect subjunctive arribàs...; (regional: Northern) first-person present arribi is also recognized. These are systematic paradigms and should not be mixed randomly with the Central one; the core syntax arribar a remains shared.
Common Mistakes
❌ Arribem en Barcelona a les vuit.
Incorrect in the standard construction presented here—a destination after arribar takes a.
✅ Arribem a Barcelona a les vuit.
We arrive in Barcelona at eight.
❌ Jo arribeixo sempre abans que ningú.
Incorrect—arribar is a regular first-conjugation verb, not an incoative verb.
✅ Jo arribo sempre abans que ningú.
I always arrive before everyone else.
❌ Espero que arribo a temps.
Incorrect—the hoped-for arrival requires the subjunctive, not indicative arribo.
✅ Espero que arribis a temps.
I hope you arrive on time.
❌ No ho puc arribar entendre.
Incorrect word order—the governed sequence is arribar a + infinitive.
✅ No ho puc arribar a entendre.
I can't quite manage to understand it.
❌ M'he arribat a les nou.
Incorrect for ordinary arrival—the reflexive pronoun is not part of the citation form arribar.
✅ He arribat a les nou.
I arrived at nine.
Key Takeaways
Arribar is regular: arribo, arribava, vaig arribar, arribaré, arribi, arribat. The destination and achieved endpoint take a, and hi can replace an understood place. The accents in arribà/arribarem distinguish literary past from present or future forms. Most errors come from syntax, not conjugation.
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