Conjugation of oferir

Oferir means “to offer, provide, present.” In the Central standard it is an incoative third-conjugation verb: the stressed present cells use ofereix- (ofereixo, ofereixes, ofereix, ofereixen), while oferim and oferiu do not. It has two standard participles, irregular ofert and regular oferit; neither is an error.

The verb usually has three semantic roles: somebody offers a thing to a recipient. Catalan expresses the thing as a direct object and the recipient with a or an indirect-object clitic: ofereixo ajuda a la veïna; li ofereixo ajuda. Pronominal oferir-se a + infinitive shifts the subject into the role of volunteer: m'ofereixo a portar-los a casa.

The distribution of that extension is explained in the guide to incoative -ir verbs, while recipient clitics are treated under indirect objects.

Nonfinite forms

Neither oferint nor either participle contains the incoative extension. Both ofert and oferit are standard in every function; ofert is the shorter inherited form and oferit is the regular alternative. In perfect tenses the chosen participle is normally invariable: han ofert / han oferit dues alternatives. In a passive or adjectival phrase it agrees: dues alternatives ofertes / oferides pel servei. The noun oferta has the same spelling as the feminine of ofert, but context distinguishes “offer” from “offered.”

Oferir is not defective: all six persons are available throughout the productive indicative and subjunctive paradigms, and the usual five addressee forms occur in the imperative.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

The present has the familiar incoative “boot”: singular and third-person plural carry -eix-, but first- and second-person plural do not. The extension disappears from every past, future, and conditional form. In the simple past, first- and third-person singular are both oferí. The periphrastic past is neutral in conversation; the simple past is common in (formal/literary) narration and remains spoken regionally.

Indicative: compound tenses

The past anterior is mainly (formal/literary). Its periphrastic equivalent is vaig haver ofert, vas haver ofert, va haver ofert, vam haver ofert, vau haver ofert, van haver ofert. Clitics go before the finite auxiliary: Li n'han ofert dos means “They have offered him/her two of them.”

Every compound cell in the table also permits the corresponding form with oferit: he oferit, havia oferit, hagué oferit, haurà oferit, haurien oferit. This is genuine standard variation, not a register contrast and not a license to regularize the participles of unrelated verbs.

Subjunctive: simple and compound forms

The present subjunctive repeats the present split: ofereixi... ofereixin, but oferim, oferiu. The periphrastic subjunctive past is vagi oferir, vagis oferir, vagi oferir, vàgim oferir, vàgiu oferir, vagin oferir; its anterior adds haver ofert. This series has restricted (regional/formal) use.

Imperative and attached pronouns

Affirmative commands attach weak pronouns: ofereix-li'n, oferiu-nos-el. Negative commands place them before the verb: no li n'ofereixis. Because the verb naturally combines a direct object and a recipient, two-pronoun clusters are especially common.

Objects, recipients, and volunteering

In oferir X a Y, X is the thing offered and Y is the recipient. X becomes el, la, els, les, ho, or quantitative en; Y becomes indirect-object li/els. Thus ofereixen cafè als convidats can become els n'ofereixen. English word order alone does not reveal these grammatical roles: in “offer the guests coffee,” the guests is still the recipient, not the direct object.

With services, facilities, and abstract benefits, an institutional or inanimate subject is entirely natural: l'hotel ofereix aparcament; la finestra ofereix una bona vista. The characteristic collocations include oferir ajuda, oferir suport, oferir garanties, oferir una oportunitat, and oferir resistència. “Provide” is therefore often a better English translation than literal “offer.”

Pronominal oferir-se a + infinitive means volunteering to do something: es va oferir a revisar el document. Oferir-se per a + noun/role can present oneself as a candidate or resource: s'ha ofert per a la vacant, though presentar-se a la vacant is often more idiomatic. With a beneficiary, per may express “for”: s'ha ofert a cuinar per a tothom. Do not confuse the purpose/beneficiary phrase with the complement licensed by oferir-se a.

(Regional: Valencian) the standard incoative series includes oferisc, oferixes, oferix, oferim, oferiu, oferixen and subjunctive oferisca.... (Regional: Balearic) forms in -esc occur. Keep each regional series internally consistent instead of inserting one regional cell into the Central ofereixo/ofereixi paradigm.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

Central Catalan alternates ofereixo, ofereixes, ofereix, oferim, oferiu, ofereixen. Keep -eix- out of non-present forms and recognize both ofert and oferit. The offered thing is a direct object, the recipient is indirect, and oferir-se a + infinitive is the pronominal construction for volunteering.