Conjugation of atrevir-se | Catalan Grammar

Atrevir-se a means “to dare to” or “to venture to”: no m'atreveixo a contradir-la. It combines three systems that English leaves largely invisible. The verb is an incoative third-conjugation verb, so selected present forms contain -eix-; the meaning is inherently pronominal, so the reflexive-series clitic changes with the subject; and the action or challenge is selected by a, which can be represented by hi.

The everyday Central Catalan principal parts are m'atreveixo – m'atreví – m'atreveixi – m'atreviré – atrevit. Unlabelled forms below are neutral contemporary standard Catalan. (Regional: Valencian) the corresponding incoative material is commonly -isc/-ix-—m'atrevisc, t'atrevixes, s'atrevix—not a different infinitive.

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The present is the only intimidating part. Memorize its “inside/outside” distribution: atreveixo, atreveixes, atreveix, atrevim, atreviu, atreveixen. The first- and second-person plural forms lack the incoative extension because their endings already carry the stress.

Nonfinite forms and stem family

Form	Pronominal form	Perfect form
Infinitive	atrevir-se	haver-se atrevit
Gerund	atrevint-se	havent-se atrevit
Participle	atrevit; atrevida, atrevits, atrevides	—

The agreeing forms of atrevit are common adjectives meaning “bold” or “daring”: una proposta atrevida. In compound tenses, however, the participle is invariant: elles s'han atrevit. The clitic follows the infinitive and gerund—atrevir-m'hi, atrevint-s'hi—but precedes the auxiliary in a finite perfect—m'hi he atrevit.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	m'atreveixo	t'atreveixes	s'atreveix	ens atrevim	us atreviu	s'atreveixen
Imperfect	m'atrevia	t'atrevies	s'atrevia	ens atrevíem	us atrevíeu	s'atrevien
Periphrastic past	em vaig atrevir	et vas atrevir	es va atrevir	ens vam atrevir	us vau atrevir	es van atrevir
Simple past	m'atreví	t'atrevires	s'atreví	ens atrevírem	us atrevíreu	s'atreviren
Future	m'atreviré	t'atreviràs	s'atrevirà	ens atrevirem	us atrevireu	s'atreviran
Conditional	m'atreviria	t'atreviries	s'atreviria	ens atreviríem	us atreviríeu	s'atrevirien

Only the present displays the -eix- family; the remaining simple tenses return to atrev-. The periphrastic past is the usual narrative past, with either preverbal or infinitival clitic placement: em vaig atrevir or vaig atrevir-me. The synthetic past is chiefly (formal/literary) and is also retained in some Balearic and Valencian speech (regional).

No m'atreveixo a tastar aquest bitxo sense tenir aigua a prop.

I don't dare taste this chili without having water nearby.

Us atreviu a defensar aquesta xifra davant de tot el consell?

Do you dare defend this figure before the entire council?

Finalment ens vam atrevir a obrir el sobre que havíem trobat a les golfes.

We finally dared to open the envelope we had found in the attic.

Amb una mica més de temps, s'atrevirien a presentar una proposta pròpia.

With a little more time, they would dare submit a proposal of their own.

Indicative: compound tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present perfect	m'he atrevit	t'has atrevit	s'ha atrevit	ens hem atrevit	us heu atrevit	s'han atrevit
Pluperfect	m'havia atrevit	t'havies atrevit	s'havia atrevit	ens havíem atrevit	us havíeu atrevit	s'havien atrevit
Past anterior	m'haguí atrevit	t'hagueres atrevit	s'hagué atrevit	ens haguérem atrevit	us haguéreu atrevit	s'hagueren atrevit
Future perfect	m'hauré atrevit	t'hauràs atrevit	s'haurà atrevit	ens haurem atrevit	us haureu atrevit	s'hauran atrevit
Conditional perfect	m'hauria atrevit	t'hauries atrevit	s'hauria atrevit	ens hauríem atrevit	us hauríeu atrevit	s'haurien atrevit

The past anterior is (formal/literary); the possible periphrastic anterior (em vaig haver atrevit...) is rare outside careful narrative sequencing. With hi, both pronouns precede haver: m'hi he atrevit, s'hi havien atrevit.

M'hi he atrevit perquè la Laia m'ha promès que vindria amb mi.

I dared do it because Laia promised she would come with me.

Ningú no s'havia atrevit a qüestionar públicament aquell criteri.

Nobody had dared publicly question that criterion.

Subjunctive: simple and compound forms

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	m'atreveixi	t'atreveixis	s'atreveixi	ens atrevim	us atreviu	s'atreveixin
Imperfect	m'atrevís	t'atrevissis	s'atrevís	ens atrevíssim	us atrevíssiu	s'atrevissin
Present perfect	m'hagi atrevit	t'hagis atrevit	s'hagi atrevit	ens hàgim atrevit	us hàgiu atrevit	s'hagin atrevit
Pluperfect	m'hagués atrevit	t'haguessis atrevit	s'hagués atrevit	ens haguéssim atrevit	us haguéssiu atrevit	s'haguessin atrevit

The periphrastic subjunctive past is em vagi atrevir, et vagis atrevir, es vagi atrevir, ens vàgim atrevir, us vàgiu atrevir, es vagin atrevir. Its anterior inserts haver. (Regional: Valencian) the present subjunctive series m'atrevisca, t'atrevisques, s'atrevisca, ens atrevim, vos atreviu, s'atrevisquen belongs to the Valencian standard.

M'agrada que t'atreveixis a posar en dubte una explicació tan còmoda.

I like that you dare call such a convenient explanation into question.

Si ens atrevíssim a reduir el trànsit, la plaça canviaria completament.

If we dared reduce traffic, the square would change completely.

Imperative and clitic clusters

Addressee	Affirmative	Negative
tu	atreveix-te	no t'atreveixis
vostè	atreveixi's	no s'atreveixi
nosaltres	atrevim-nos	no ens atrevim
vosaltres	atreviu-vos	no us atreviu
vostès	atreveixin-se	no s'atreveixin

Affirmative commands attach the reflexive clitic; negative commands place it before the verb. When hi replaces the a-complement, it joins that cluster: atreveix-t'hi but no t'hi atreveixis. The vostè/vostès forms are (formal) when used for polite address.

Atreveix-t'hi ara que tens l'equip disposat a escoltar-te.

Dare to do it now that you have the team willing to listen to you.

No s'atreveixin a travessar la passarel·la fins que s'apagui el llum vermell.

Do not dare cross the footbridge until the red light goes out.

The selected a-complement and hi

The ordinary pattern is atrevir-se a + infinitive: the subject accepts the social, emotional, or practical risk of an action. A nominal challenge is also possible: atrevir-se a tot. The preposition belongs to the Catalan construction even though English “dare” is followed directly by an infinitive.

Once the action is recoverable, hi can replace the whole a-complement: T'atreveixes a parlar-hi? — Sí, m'hi atreveixo. In a finite clause, speakers normally choose a recast such as atrevir-se a afirmar que... rather than attaching a directly to que. See the general account of verb complements with prepositions.

There is no freely interchangeable nonpronominal atrevir meaning “dare.” The adjective atrevit may describe a person or proposal, but that lexical use does not license forms such as jo atreveixo. A close neutral synonym is gosar + infinitive, often useful in concise (formal/literary) prose.

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The clitic hi reveals the grammar: No m'hi atreveixo does not mean “I don't dare there.” Here hi stands for an action introduced by a. Catalan uses the same small pronoun for many nonhuman a-complements.

Common Mistakes

❌ No atreveixo a interrompre la ponent.

Incorrect—the ‘dare’ sense is inherently pronominal.

✅ No m'atreveixo a interrompre la ponent.

I don't dare interrupt the speaker.

❌ S'atreveix dir-ho davant de tothom.

Incorrect—atrevir-se selects a before its infinitive.

✅ S'atreveix a dir-ho davant de tothom.

She dares say it in front of everyone.

❌ Nos atrevim a creuar el riu a peu.

Incorrect—the standard first-person plural clitic is ens.

✅ Ens atrevim a creuar el riu a peu.

We dare cross the river on foot.

❌ Jo m'atrevo a negociar sense advocat.

Incorrect—this copies Spanish atrevo; Central Catalan uses the incoative atreveixo.

✅ Jo m'atreveixo a negociar sense advocat.

I dare negotiate without a lawyer.

❌ M'hi atreveixo a parlar amb la directora.

Incorrect in the intended reading—hi already represents a parlar amb la directora.

✅ M'atreveixo a parlar amb la directora.

I dare speak to the head teacher.

Key Takeaways

The verb is built from a compact family: present m'atreveixo with its incoative extension, nonpresent atrev-, future atrevir-, and participle atrevit. Keep the reflexive clitic in every finite form, keep a before an explicit infinitive, and use hi only when that a-complement is understood. Compound forms take haver, imperatives attach their clitics only when affirmative, and Valencian -isc/-ix- forms are standard regional counterparts rather than errors.

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