Conjugation of obrir

Obrir means “to open”: a door, a file, a business, an account, a meeting, or a path. It is a pure third-conjugation verb whose finite forms are highly regular in Central Catalan, but its past participle is irregular: obert, not obrit. Pronominal obrir-se expresses something opening, a person opening up, or a possibility becoming available.

The most useful principal parts are obro – obria – obrí – obriré – obri – obrís – obert. Nearly every form comes from obr- plus a normal ending; obert is the element that must be memorized separately. The verb is not incoative, so an extension such as obreixo never appears. Compare its finite endings with the pure third-conjugation pattern.

Nonfinite forms

After haver, the participle is normally invariable: he obert dues finestres; les finestres que he obert. It agrees when adjectival or passive: la finestra és oberta; les botigues estan obertes. This distinction matters because English uses “opened” or “open” where Catalan contrasts a perfect event with a resulting state.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Present obrim/obriu and future obrirem/obrireu are distinguished by the extra syllable and the future r. First- and third-person obrí are homographs in the simple past; an expressed subject or context disambiguates them. That tense is usually (formal/literary) in Central Catalan, while the periphrastic past is neutral in speech; the synthetic past remains more alive in some Valencian and Balearic areas (regional).

Indicative compound tenses

The past anterior is predominantly (formal/literary). The corresponding periphrastic anterior is vaig haver obert, vas haver obert, va haver obert, vam haver obert, vau haver obert, van haver obert. Direct-object clitics precede the finite auxiliary: He obert el paquet → L'he obert.

Subjunctive: simple and compound

Present subjunctive obri is both first- and third-person singular. It does not carry the incoative sequence -eix- and should not be confused with indicative obre. English “I need you to open it” takes an object plus infinitive; Catalan normally uses que plus subjunctive: Necessito que l'obris.

The two periphrastic subjunctive rows are (regional/formal) and uncommon in everyday Central Catalan.

Imperative and pronouns

Affirmative commands attach pronouns (obre-la, obriu-ho, obre't); negative commands place them before the verb (no l'obris, no ho obriu, no t'obris). The form obre is also third-person present indicative, so sentence type distinguishes “he/she opens” from “open!”

Transitive, inchoative, and figurative uses

Transitive obrir takes what is opened directly: obrir la porta, un fitxer, un compte bancari, una reunió. A person who is admitted is commonly expressed with a dative: obre'm “open [the door] for me.” With a direct object, use el/la/els/les or neuter ho: No puc obrir la capsa → No la puc obrir.

Pronominal obrir-se often removes the external opener and presents the change of state: la porta s'obre cap enfora. It also means “open up” emotionally, and obrir-se a means becoming receptive to an idea or possibility. The preposition a is governed in that figurative construction; it is not freely added to ordinary physical objects.

Characteristic collocations include obrir la porta, obrir pas, obrir els ulls, obrir una investigació, obrir un compte, and obrir-se camí. A business can be the subject without se: La farmàcia obre a les vuit. Catalan normally uses encendre for lights and devices; obrir el llum is not standard for “turn on the light.”

(Regional: Valencian) òbric is standard in the first-person present; present subjunctive òbriga, òbrigues, òbriga, obrim/obriguem, obriu/obrigueu, òbriguen and imperfect obrira... are standard options. (Regional: Balearic) first-person obr and some velar subjunctive forms occur. Central obro / obri / obrís is the baseline. The verb has no defective cells.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

The finite system is the compact family obro, obri, obrís, obriré; the major irregularity is obert. Use plain obrir with a direct object, obrir-se for opening or opening up, and obrir-se a for receptiveness. Pronouns attach to affirmative commands but precede negative commands and finite auxiliaries.