Conjugation of pensar | Catalan Grammar

Pensar means “to think,” “consider,” or, before an infinitive, “intend.” It is a completely regular first-conjugation verb in Catalan: penso, not the Spanish-looking form pienso. Its real difficulty lies in syntax. Pensar en introduces what occupies the mind, pensar que introduces a belief, pensar + infinitive can express an intention, and pronominal pensar-s'hi means to deliberate before acting. In pensar-s'ho, ho represents a proposal or decision under consideration.

The principal parts are penso – pensava – pensí – pensaré – pensi – pensés – pensat. Every form preserves pens-; there is no diphthong, velar extension, or incoative -eix-. It follows the regular -ar present pattern. English “think about it” can become pensar-hi, pensar-s'hi, or pensar-s'ho: hi alone can resume a topic, reflexive s'hi marks deliberation before acting, and ho can stand for the decision itself.

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Learn the syntax together with the form: penso en la proposta → hi penso keeps the proposal in mind; m'hi pensaré abans d'acceptar emphasizes deliberation; and m'ho pensaré makes the proposed decision itself the object represented by ho.

Nonfinite forms

Form	Catalan	English guide
Infinitive	pensar	to think / consider
Perfect infinitive	haver pensat	to have thought
Gerund	pensant	thinking
Perfect gerund	havent pensat	having thought
Participle	pensat; pensada, pensats, pensades	thought / planned

The agreeing participle is adjectival in expressions such as una resposta ben pensada. Compound tenses use invariable pensat: elles hi han pensat. The discourse expression ben pensat or pensant-ho bé means “on second thought.”

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	penso	penses	pensa	pensem	penseu	pensen
Imperfect	pensava	pensaves	pensava	pensàvem	pensàveu	pensaven
Periphrastic past	vaig pensar	vas pensar	va pensar	vam pensar	vau pensar	van pensar
Simple past	pensí	pensares	pensà	pensàrem	pensàreu	pensaren
Future	pensaré	pensaràs	pensarà	pensarem	pensareu	pensaran
Conditional	pensaria	pensaries	pensaria	pensaríem	pensaríeu	pensarien

The present often reports a current belief (penso que tens raó) or a recurring mental focus (sempre penso en els avis). The imperfect presents a prior belief as background and often implies later correction: pensava que tancaven a les vuit. The periphrastic past presents a bounded act of thinking or deciding; the simple past is (formal/literary) in much Central Catalan and is regionally more active elsewhere. Forms pensem and penseu are shared by present indicative, present subjunctive, and plural imperatives; clause structure disambiguates them.

Penso que el segon pressupost és més realista que el primer.

I think the second estimate is more realistic than the first.

Durant el viatge pensava sovint en els amics que havia deixat a casa.

During the trip I often thought about the friends I had left at home.

Quan em van oferir la plaça, m'ho vaig pensar tot el cap de setmana.

When they offered me the position, I thought it over all weekend.

Hi pensarem amb calma abans de canviar el calendari.

We will think about it carefully before changing the schedule.

Compound tenses

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

The compound tenses always use haver. The past anterior is (formal/literary), and the periphrastic past anterior—vaig haver pensat, vas haver pensat, va haver pensat, vam haver pensat, vau haver pensat, van haver pensat—is restricted too. A clitic precedes the finite auxiliary: m'ho he pensat, never he pensat-m'ho.

Ho hem pensat bé i finalment acceptarem la proposta de cooperació.

We have thought it through and will finally accept the cooperation proposal.

No hauria pensat mai que aquell local acabaria sent una biblioteca.

I would never have thought that that space would end up becoming a library.

Subjunctive and imperative

Subjunctive tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	pensi	pensis	pensi	pensem	penseu	pensin
Imperfect	pensés	pensessis	pensés	penséssim	penséssiu	pensessin
Present perfect	hagi pensat	hagis pensat	hagi pensat	hàgim pensat	hàgiu pensat	hagin pensat
Pluperfect	hagués pensat	haguessis pensat	hagués pensat	haguéssim pensat	haguéssiu pensat	haguessin pensat

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

These last rows have (regional/formal) distribution. In the Central conversational baseline, pensés and hagués pensat normally express the relevant past-subjunctive meanings.

Addressee	Affirmative	Negative
tu	pensa	no pensis
vostè	pensi	no pensi
nosaltres	pensem	no pensem
vosaltres	penseu	no penseu
vostès	pensin	no pensin

—Vull renunciar-hi avui mateix. —No corris; pensa-t'ho dues vegades abans d'enviar el correu.

—I want to give it up today. —Do not rush; think twice before sending the email.

Affirmative pensa-t'ho attaches both clitics; negative no t'ho pensis places them before the verb. The expression no t'ho pensis can mean “don't think that” in context, while ni t'ho pensis! is an emphatic (informal) “don't even think about it.”

Meaning, governed forms, and regional standards

Pensar en introduces a person, issue, or possibility kept in mind: penso en tu; pensa en les conseqüències. That complement becomes hi: hi penso sovint. Pensar que introduces propositional content. An affirmative belief ordinarily takes the indicative; negation or doubt can make the proposition nonasserted and select the subjunctive, though the full discourse meaning—not the word no by itself—controls mood.

Pensar + infinitive expresses an intention: penso acabar-ho avui. Pensar a + infinitive can instead mean “remember / think to do something,” as in pensa a tancar la porta, and is especially natural in parts of the language area; the meanings should not be collapsed. Pronominal pensar-s'hi means to deliberate before acting: m'hi pensaré. In pensar-s'ho, ho represents the proposal or decision: m'ho pensaré; pensa-t'ho dues vegades. Pensar-se is also lexical in què et penses? “what do you think / imagine?” and es pensa que... “he/she believes, often wrongly, that...” Removing the reflexive pronoun changes the nuance or construction.

To ask for an opinion, Catalan very naturally uses què en penses, de...?, with en resuming the de-phrase. A bare calque of English “what do you think about...?” is not always the idiomatic choice.

Characteristic expressions include pensar en veu alta, pensar malament d'algú, donar-hi voltes, tenir-ho pensat, ben pensat, and no pensar-s'hi gaire. (Regional: Valencian) pense is the standard first-person present, with present subjunctive pense... and imperfect pensara.... (Regional: Balearic) has pens, pensam, pensau and imperfect subjunctive pensàs.... Central forms remain the baseline here.

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“Think about” splits three ways: use pensar en / pensar-hi for a topic, pensar-s'hi for deliberating before acting, and pensar-s'ho when ho stands for a proposal or decision. English often uses the same phrase for all three.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jo pienso que arribarem abans de les nou.

Incorrect—Catalan pensar has no e-to-ie diphthong.

✅ Jo penso que arribarem abans de les nou.

I think we will arrive before nine.

❌ Sempre penso amb la meva àvia quan cuino aquest plat.

Incorrect for the object of thought—the governed preposition is en.

✅ Sempre penso en la meva àvia quan cuino aquest plat.

I always think of my grandmother when I cook this dish.

❌ Què hi penses, de la nova ordenança?

Incorrect in the idiomatic opinion pattern—de is resumed by en, not hi.

✅ Què en penses, de la nova ordenança?

What do you think of the new bylaw?

❌ He pensat-m'ho millor i no hi aniré.

Incorrect clitic placement in a finite compound tense.

✅ M'ho he pensat millor i no hi aniré.

I have thought better of it and will not go.

❌ Espero que penses també en la gent que hi treballa.

Incorrect in the Central baseline—the hoped-for thought is nonasserted, so the subjunctive in -i is required.

✅ Espero que pensis també en la gent que hi treballa.

I hope you also think about the people who work there.

Key Takeaways

Keep the regular stem pens- throughout. Use pensar en / pensar-hi for a topic, pensar que for a belief, direct pensar + infinitive for an intention, and pensar-s'ho for considering a decision. Never import Spanish pienso or attach clitics to the participle of a finite compound tense.

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