Conjugation of demanar | Catalan Grammar

Demanar means “to ask for,” “request,” or “order.” It follows the regular first-conjugation pattern: demano, demanes, demana, demanem, demaneu, demanen. Its forms are easy; its argument structure deserves close attention because English “ask” covers both requesting something and asking a question, while Catalan normally distinguishes demanar from preguntar.

The principal parts are demano – demanava – demaní – demanaré – demani – demanés – demanat. There is no stem change, no incoative extension, and no defective cell. Learn the verb with its participants: demanar una cosa a algú “ask someone for something” and demanar a algú que faci una cosa “ask someone to do something.”

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The requested thing is the direct object; the person asked is normally indirect: Demano ajuda a la veïna → Li demano ajuda. English word order hides that distinction.

Nonfinite forms

Form	Catalan	English guide
Infinitive	demanar	to ask for; request; order
Perfect infinitive	haver demanat	to have requested
Gerund	demanant	requesting; asking for
Perfect gerund	havent demanat	having requested
Participle	demanat; demanada, demanats, demanades	requested; ordered

Compound tenses use haver + demanat, with the participle normally invariable: hem demanat dues habitacions. Agreement belongs to adjectival or passive uses: la documentació demanada; els plats més demanats. Pronominal forms also retain haver: m'he demanat si valia la pena.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	demano	demanes	demana	demanem	demaneu	demanen
Imperfect	demanava	demanaves	demanava	demanàvem	demanàveu	demanaven
Periphrastic past	vaig demanar	vas demanar	va demanar	vam demanar	vau demanar	van demanar
Simple past	demaní	demanares	demanà	demanàrem	demanàreu	demanaren
Future	demanaré	demanaràs	demanarà	demanarem	demanareu	demanaran
Conditional	demanaria	demanaries	demanaria	demanaríem	demanaríeu	demanarien

The periphrastic past is neutral in Central conversation. The synthetic simple past is usually (formal/literary) there, though it remains a spoken tense in some Valencian and Balearic varieties (regional). Written accents distinguish present demana, simple past demanà, and future demanarà.

Sempre demano hora per internet perquè per telèfon em fan esperar massa.

I always book an appointment online because they keep me waiting too long on the phone.

Quan érem petits, demanàvem permís abans d'anar a jugar al carrer.

When we were children, we used to ask permission before going out to play in the street.

Ahir vaig demanar un certificat a secretaria i me'l van enviar al vespre.

Yesterday I requested a certificate from the office and they sent it to me in the evening.

Demà demanarem pressupost a tres tallers abans de triar-ne un.

Tomorrow we'll ask three workshops for quotes before choosing one.

Compound tenses

Indicative tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present perfect	he demanat	has demanat	ha demanat	hem demanat	heu demanat	han demanat
Pluperfect	havia demanat	havies demanat	havia demanat	havíem demanat	havíeu demanat	havien demanat
Past anterior	haguí demanat	hagueres demanat	hagué demanat	haguérem demanat	haguéreu demanat	hagueren demanat
Future perfect	hauré demanat	hauràs demanat	haurà demanat	haurem demanat	haureu demanat	hauran demanat
Conditional perfect	hauria demanat	hauries demanat	hauria demanat	hauríem demanat	hauríeu demanat	haurien demanat

The past anterior is chiefly (formal/literary). Its periphrastic counterpart is vaig haver demanat, vas haver demanat, va haver demanat, vam haver demanat, vau haver demanat, van haver demanat. With two objects, the requested item is accusative and the addressee dative: L'he demanat a la directora “I asked the director for it”; Li he demanat el document “I asked her for the document.”

Ja li he demanat les claus, però diu que encara les necessita.

I've already asked her for the keys, but she says she still needs them.

Si ho haguéssim sabut abans, hauríem demanat una taula a la terrassa.

If we'd known earlier, we would have asked for a table on the terrace.

Subjunctive and imperative

Subjunctive tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	demani	demanis	demani	demanem	demaneu	demanin
Imperfect	demanés	demanessis	demanés	demanéssim	demanéssiu	demanessin
Present perfect	hagi demanat	hagis demanat	hagi demanat	hàgim demanat	hàgiu demanat	hagin demanat
Pluperfect	hagués demanat	haguessis demanat	hagués demanat	haguéssim demanat	haguéssiu demanat	haguessin demanat

Restricted periphrastic series	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Subjunctive past	vagi demanar	vagis demanar	vagi demanar	vàgim demanar	vàgiu demanar	vagin demanar
Subjunctive past anterior	vagi haver demanat	vagis haver demanat	vagi haver demanat	vàgim haver demanat	vàgiu haver demanat	vagin haver demanat

These periphrastic subjunctive forms have restricted (regional/formal) distribution. Ordinary Central usage prefers demanés and hagués demanat.

Addressee	Affirmative	Negative
tu	demana	no demanis
vostè	demani	no demani
nosaltres	demanem	no demanem
vosaltres	demaneu	no demaneu
vostès	demanin	no demanin

La coordinadora demana que arribem deu minuts abans de començar.

The coordinator asks us to arrive ten minutes before the start.

Demana-li si ens pot guardar les maletes fins al vespre.

Ask her whether she can keep our bags until the evening.

Affirmative commands attach pronouns (demana-li, demaneu-ne), and negative commands place them first (no li demanis, no en demaneu). Present indicative and familiar imperative share demana.

What is requested, who is asked, and what is asked

In demanar una cosa a algú, the requested thing is direct and the person is indirect: demanar ajuda als veïns; demanar-los ajuda. If the thing is indefinite or quantified, en can replace it: Vols pa? Demana'n. A request addressed to another person's action uses demanar a algú que + subjunctive.

Els hem demanat que abaixin la música perquè demà ens llevem d'hora.

We've asked them to turn the music down because we're getting up early tomorrow.

English uses “ask” both for requesting and inquiring. Catalan normally uses preguntar for seeking information or posing a question: preguntar l'hora; fer una pregunta. Demanar is natural when asking for the information as an item or service—demanar informació—but demanar una pregunta does not mean “ask a question.”

Vaig preguntar a quina hora tancaven i després vaig demanar una còpia de l'horari.

I asked what time they closed and then requested a copy of the schedule.

Demanar per algú means asking to speak to that person, asking whether they are present, or inquiring after them, depending on context: Truco per demanar per la doctora Puig. It is not the ordinary way to mark the addressee of a request. Demanar perdó, demanar hora, demanar tanda, demanar la paraula, and demanar comptes are frequent collocations.

Quan truquis al despatx, demana per la senyora Rius i digues que vens de part meva.

When you call the office, ask for Ms. Rius and say that I referred you.

Pronominal demanar-se can introduce an inward question, especially in reflective prose: Em demano si vam prendre la decisió correcta. Preguntar-se is also widespread. This use is distinct from plain transitive demanar and requires the reflexive pronoun.

De vegades em demano com hauria canviat el barri si no hi haguessin fet la ronda.

Sometimes I wonder how the neighborhood would have changed if they hadn't built the ring road there.

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Translate English “ask” only after identifying the goal: request something with demanar, seek an answer with preguntar, and pose a question with fer una pregunta.

(Regional: Valencian) first-person present demane and a corresponding present-subjunctive system are standard; the imperfect subjunctive may use demanara.... (Regional: Balearic) forms such as deman, demanam, and demanau occur. The Central baseline is demano/demani; do not mix regional endings at random.

Common Mistakes

❌ Demano una pregunta sobre el termini de matrícula.

Incorrect for posing a question—Catalan uses fer una pregunta.

✅ Faig una pregunta sobre el termini de matrícula.

I'm asking a question about the enrollment deadline.

❌ He demanat al director una informació.

Awkward article use—the mass noun informació is normally uncountable in this request.

✅ He demanat informació al director.

I asked the director for information.

❌ La cap ens ha demanat arribaríem més d'hora.

Incorrect—the requested action requires que plus the subjunctive.

✅ La cap ens ha demanat que arribéssim més d'hora.

The manager asked us to arrive earlier.

❌ Hem demanades dues habitacions comunicades.

Incorrect—the participle after haver is normally invariable.

✅ Hem demanat dues habitacions comunicades.

We requested two connecting rooms.

❌ No demana-li diners fins que sàpigues què ha passat.

Incorrect—negative commands place the clitic before a subjunctive form.

✅ No li demanis diners fins que sàpigues què ha passat.

Don't ask her for money until you know what happened.

Key Takeaways

Demanar is regular: demano, demanava, demanaré, demani, demanés, and demanat. In demanar una cosa a algú, the thing is direct and the person indirect. Use demanar que + subjunctive for a requested action, but preguntar or fer una pregunta when the goal is an answer.

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