Conjugation of caldre | Catalan Grammar

Caldre means “to be necessary” or, with a dative person, “to need”: cal una resposta; em cal una resposta. It is genuinely defective. Contemporary standard Catalan uses only the third-person singular and plural finite forms because the thing required is grammatically its subject. The first- and second-person meanings are supplied by weak dative pronouns—em cal, et cal, ens cal, us cal—not by invented forms such as jo calo or nosaltres calem.

Its principal parts reveal three stems: present cal, velar calgu- (calgui, calgués, calgut), and future/conditional caldr- (caldrà, caldria). The alternative infinitive caler is also standard. (Informal/regional) calguer is established in some speech but should be avoided in formal writing. Unlabelled examples below belong to the common contemporary standard.

For a usage-first treatment of cal + infinitive and cal que + subjunctive, see the guide to the impersonal cal construction. This page supplies the complete reference paradigm and explains why its gaps are grammatical.

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The verb agrees with what is needed, not with the person who needs it: Em cal una hora but Em calen dues hores. The pronoun em remains singular in both; changing cal to calen is controlled by una hora / dues hores.

Nonfinite forms and the defective restriction

Form	Catalan	Use
Infinitive	caldre or caler	to be necessary
Perfect infinitive	haver calgut	to have been necessary
Gerund	calent	being necessary; rare in actual use
Perfect gerund	havent calgut	having been necessary; rare
Participle	calgut	used with haver

The gerund calent is formally identical to the masculine singular adjective meaning “hot,” but context keeps them apart. Because necessity is normally presented with a finite clause, the gerund is uncommon. Compound tenses use invariable calgut: han calgut tres intents. The number contrast is carried by haver because the plural subject is tres intents.

Indicative: the complete simple paradigm

The dashes below are not missing information: those person-number forms are absent from standard use.

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / això	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / aquestes coses
Present	—	—	cal	—	—	calen
Imperfect	—	—	calia	—	—	calien
Periphrastic past	—	—	va caldre	—	—	van caldre
Simple past	—	—	calgué	—	—	calgueren
Future	—	—	caldrà	—	—	caldran
Conditional	—	—	caldria	—	—	caldrien

The periphrastic past is the ordinary narrative option. The simple past is primarily (formal/literary), with greater vitality in some Balearic and Valencian varieties (regional). Do not confuse the future stem caldr- with the velar stem: caldrà, but calgui.

Cal una autorització signada per retirar el paquet.

A signed authorization is required to collect the package.

Per restaurar el mosaic calen eines molt fines.

Very fine tools are needed to restore the mosaic.

Ens calia més informació abans de votar la proposta.

We needed more information before voting on the proposal.

Al final van caldre quatre persones per moure l'armari.

In the end, four people were needed to move the wardrobe.

Caldrà avisar els proveïdors si canviem la data d'entrega.

It will be necessary to notify the suppliers if we change the delivery date.

Indicative: compound tenses

Tense	jo	tu	3rd singular	nosaltres	vosaltres	3rd plural
Present perfect	—	—	ha calgut	—	—	han calgut
Pluperfect	—	—	havia calgut	—	—	havien calgut
Past anterior	—	—	hagué calgut	—	—	hagueren calgut
Future perfect	—	—	haurà calgut	—	—	hauran calgut
Conditional perfect	—	—	hauria calgut	—	—	haurien calgut

The past anterior is (formal/literary); the periphrastic anterior has va haver calgut / van haver calgut. Even when a dative pronoun identifies the person in need, the auxiliary still follows the grammatical subject: M'ha calgut una tarda but M'han calgut tres tardes.

M'han calgut dos cafès per acabar l'informe aquesta nit.

I've needed two coffees to finish the report tonight.

No els havia calgut cap aval fins que van demanar aquell préstec.

They had not needed any guarantor until they applied for that loan.

Subjunctive: simple and compound forms

Tense	jo	tu	3rd singular	nosaltres	vosaltres	3rd plural
Present	—	—	calgui	—	—	calguin
Imperfect	—	—	calgués	—	—	calguessin
Present perfect	—	—	hagi calgut	—	—	hagin calgut
Pluperfect	—	—	hagués calgut	—	—	haguessin calgut

The periphrastic subjunctive past is vagi caldre / vagin caldre, with anterior vagi haver calgut / vagin haver calgut. (Regional: Valencian) the present forms calga / calguen and imperfect calguera / calgueren are standard Valencian alternatives; context distinguishes plural imperfect calgueren from the identically shaped simple-past form.

Pot ser que calgui substituir tota la canonada, no només la junta.

The entire pipe may need replacing, not just the seal.

Dubtava que calguessin tantes comprovacions per a un tràmit tan senzill.

I doubted that so many checks were necessary for such a simple procedure.

Why the imperative is practically absent

Official conjugation tables record only the third-person imperative forms calgui and calguin, with gaps in the other persons, but this is a morphological listing rather than a useful way to issue commands. In actual contemporary usage, those forms normally function as subjunctives, as in calgui el que calgui. Caldre supplies no ordinary second-person command because it predicates the necessity of a thing, infinitive, or clause rather than addressing a person as controller of an action. To give an order, use an ordinary imperative—porta el passaport—or an obligation construction such as has de portar el passaport. Forms such as cal tu or calgueu do not fill this gap.

Three syntactic frames

With a noun phrase, the required entity is the subject and controls number: cal una còpia / calen dues còpies. A dative clitic identifies who needs it: em cal, et cal, li cal, ens cal, us cal, els cal. These six pronouns are not six conjugated persons of the verb.

A la Júlia li calen unes ulleres noves per conduir de nit.

Júlia needs new glasses to drive at night.

With an infinitive, cal + infinitive expresses general or contextually assigned necessity: cal revisar les dades. There is no overt finite subject for cal, and it remains singular. With a finite clause, use cal que + subjunctive: cal que revisis les dades. The subjunctive marks the required event as a desired or pending realization rather than an asserted fact.

Cal que presenteu les al·legacions abans que s'acabi el termini.

You need to submit the objections before the deadline ends.

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Use the infinitive when the responsible person is generic or obvious: Cal tancar bé. Use que + subjunctive when naming or contrasting the actor matters: Cal que tu tanquis bé; jo no hi arribo.

Negation and scope

The position of no creates an essential contrast. No cal + action means that the action is unnecessary, not forbidden. Cal no + action makes nonperformance necessary. English “mustn't” is therefore not normally translated by no cal, which often means “needn't.”

No cal que vinguis demà; ja t'enviarem l'acta per correu.

You don't need to come tomorrow; we'll send you the minutes by email.

Cal que no obriu aquesta porta mentre la màquina estigui en marxa.

You must not open this door while the machine is running.

High-frequency fixed uses include si cal “if necessary,” com cal “properly/as one should,” no cal dir que “needless to say,” and només cal “all one needs to do is.” No caldria sinó! is an emphatic, often ironic reaction (informal) whose force comes from context; it should not be parsed word by word as ordinary conditional necessity.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jo calo una targeta nova per entrar.

Incorrect—caldre has no first-person finite form; the person who needs something is dative.

✅ Em cal una targeta nova per entrar.

I need a new access card.

❌ Em cal dos testimonis per signar l'acta.

Incorrect—the plural subject dos testimonis requires calen.

✅ Em calen dos testimonis per signar l'acta.

I need two witnesses to sign the minutes.

❌ No cal que no portis res, perquè tenim material de sobres.

Incorrect for the intended meaning—the two negatives say it is unnecessary for you to bring nothing.

✅ No cal que portis res, perquè tenim material de sobres.

You don't need to bring anything, because we have more than enough supplies.

❌ Cal que presentes l'original a finestreta.

Incorrect—the required, unrealized action follows que in the subjunctive.

✅ Cal que presentis l'original a finestreta.

You need to present the original at the counter.

❌ Demà calguerà repetir totes les proves.

Incorrect in the standard future—the stem is caldr-, not calguer-.

✅ Demà caldrà repetir totes les proves.

Tomorrow it will be necessary to repeat all the tests.

Key Takeaways

Caldre is defective by syntax, not by accident: only third-person singular and plural finite forms are standard. Its stems are cal, calgu- and caldr-; its participle is calgut. Let the required noun control singular or plural, express the person in need with a dative clitic, choose cal + infinitive or cal que + subjunctive for actions, and distinguish no cal fer-ho “it needn't be done” from cal no fer-ho “it must not be done.”

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