Seguir means “to follow” a person, route, rule, or account and “to continue” an activity or state. It is an incoative third-conjugation verb in the present system: Central Catalan has segueixo, segueixes, segueix..., but seguim, seguiu. Outside that present family, it is mostly regular, with gerund seguint and participle seguit.
Its principal parts make the alternation manageable: segueixo – seguia – seguí – seguiré – segueixi – seguís – seguit. The spelling gu preserves the hard /g/ before i in seguir, seguint, seguit, while present segueix- has the productive incoative extension. This is a real stem family, not free variation between segu- and segueix- in every cell.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | seguir | to follow; to continue |
| Perfect infinitive | haver seguit | to have followed / continued |
| Gerund | seguint | following; continuing |
| Perfect gerund | havent seguit | having followed / continued |
| Participle | seguit; seguida, seguits, seguides | followed; continued |
Compound tenses use haver + seguit, normally without agreement: les instruccions que hem seguit. Adjectival seguit does agree: tres dies seguits; una sèrie molt seguida. The gerund is seguint, not segueixent; the incoative extension does not spread into nonfinite forms.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | segueixo | segueixes | segueix | seguim | seguiu | segueixen |
| Imperfect | seguia | seguies | seguia | seguíem | seguíeu | seguien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig seguir | vas seguir | va seguir | vam seguir | vau seguir | van seguir |
| Simple past | seguí | seguires | seguí | seguírem | seguíreu | seguiren |
| Future | seguiré | seguiràs | seguirà | seguirem | seguireu | seguiran |
| Conditional | seguiria | seguiries | seguiria | seguiríem | seguiríeu | seguirien |
The present contains the incoative pattern described in the guide to incoative third-conjugation verbs. In seguim and seguiu, stress falls on the ending, and the extension is absent. First- and third-person simple past seguí are homographs; context supplies the subject. The periphrastic past is neutral conversational Catalan, whereas the simple past is commonly (formal/literary) in Central Catalan and remains spoken regionally.
Segueixo aquesta periodista perquè explica l'economia amb molta claredat.
I follow this journalist because she explains economics very clearly.
Encara seguim el camí de la costa o girem cap al poble?
Are we still following the coastal path, or are we turning toward the village?
Tot i la pluja, van seguir el partit fins al final.
Despite the rain, they followed the match through to the end.
Si seguiu aquestes indicacions, arribareu a l'aparcament sense problemes.
If you follow these directions, you'll reach the car park without difficulty.
Indicative compound tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he seguit | has seguit | ha seguit | hem seguit | heu seguit | han seguit |
| Pluperfect | havia seguit | havies seguit | havia seguit | havíem seguit | havíeu seguit | havien seguit |
| Past anterior | haguí seguit | hagueres seguit | hagué seguit | haguérem seguit | haguéreu seguit | hagueren seguit |
| Future perfect | hauré seguit | hauràs seguit | haurà seguit | haurem seguit | haureu seguit | hauran seguit |
| Conditional perfect | hauria seguit | hauries seguit | hauria seguit | hauríem seguit | hauríeu seguit | haurien seguit |
The past anterior is mainly (formal/literary). Its periphrastic counterpart is vaig haver seguit, vas haver seguit, va haver seguit, vam haver seguit, vau haver seguit, van haver seguit. An object pronoun precedes the auxiliary: He seguit la ruta → L'he seguida is possible with traditional direct-object participle agreement, but the broadly neutral modern pattern is L'he seguit. The general agreement system is treated separately on participle agreement.
He seguit les instruccions fil per randa i l'aparell encara no funciona.
I followed the instructions to the letter, and the device still doesn't work.
Sense el teu consell, hauria seguit una estratègia molt menys segura.
Without your advice, I would have followed a much less safe strategy.
Subjunctive: simple and compound
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | segueixi | segueixis | segueixi | seguim | seguiu | segueixin |
| Imperfect | seguís | seguissis | seguís | seguíssim | seguíssiu | seguissin |
| Present perfect | hagi seguit | hagis seguit | hagi seguit | hàgim seguit | hàgiu seguit | hagin seguit |
| Pluperfect | hagués seguit | haguessis seguit | hagués seguit | haguéssim seguit | haguéssiu seguit | haguessin seguit |
The present subjunctive repeats the incoative distribution: segueixi, segueixis, segueixi, seguim, seguiu, segueixin. Thus seguim and seguiu can be indicative, subjunctive, or imperative; clause structure and intonation disambiguate them.
| Restricted periphrastic series | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjunctive past | vagi seguir | vagis seguir | vagi seguir | vàgim seguir | vàgiu seguir | vagin seguir |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver seguit | vagis haver seguit | vagi haver seguit | vàgim haver seguit | vàgiu haver seguit | vagin haver seguit |
These periphrastic subjunctive forms have restricted (regional/formal) distribution.
La fisioterapeuta recomana que segueixis fent els exercicis cada dia.
The physiotherapist recommends that you keep doing the exercises every day.
Dubto que hagin seguit tot el debat sense fer cap pausa.
I doubt they followed the whole debate without taking a break.
Imperative
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | segueix | no segueixis |
| vostè | segueixi | no segueixi |
| nosaltres | seguim | no seguim |
| vosaltres | seguiu | no seguiu |
| vostès | segueixin | no segueixin |
Affirmative commands attach pronouns (segueix-lo, seguiu-me); negative commands put them first (no el segueixis, no em seguiu). Indicative segueix and familiar imperative segueix are identical on the page.
Segueix-me fins al replà i després agafa l'escala de l'esquerra.
Follow me to the landing and then take the staircase on the left.
Following, continuing, and governed complements
In its literal and figurative “follow” senses, seguir is transitive: seguir una persona, una ruta, un consell, una sèrie. The object normally has no preposition. In particular, English speakers influenced by Spanish should not automatically add personal a: segueixo la metgessa a les xarxes, not segueixo a la metgessa, in the neutral pattern. A definite object becomes a direct-object clitic: segueixo el debat → el segueixo.
To mean “continue doing,” Catalan commonly uses seguir + gerund: seguir treballant, seguir plovent. Continuar + gerund is also standard. With a noun, seguir amb introduces the activity or topic: seguim amb la reunió. Plain seguir el projecte instead means following, monitoring, or tracking the project, so the preposition changes the interpretation.
Després de dinar, seguirem treballant en la proposta fins que quedi enllestida.
After lunch, we'll keep working on the proposal until it is finished.
Ara seguim amb el segon punt de l'ordre del dia.
Now we'll continue with the second item on the agenda.
The high-frequency expression seguir endavant means “carry on / move forward.” Tot seguit means “immediately afterward,” while adjectival or adverbial seguit also appears in tres nits seguides and parlar seguit. These uses are related to the participle but are not compound verb forms.
Malgrat els entrebancs, l'equip va decidir seguir endavant amb el projecte.
Despite the setbacks, the team decided to move forward with the project.
Pronominal seguir-se is limited. In d'això se segueix que... it means “it follows from this that...” (formal/academic). It is also found in reciprocal or successive contexts, but it is not a free alternative to transitive seguir. One says segueixo la sèrie, not em segueixo la sèrie.
(Regional: Valencian) first-person present seguisc, variants seguixes/seguix, subjunctive seguisca..., and imperfect seguira... are standard. (Regional: Balearic) seguesc and alternative present-subjunctive forms occur. (Regional: Northwestern) variants such as seguixo occur alongside general forms. Central segueixo / segueixi is the baseline; these alternatives belong to complete regional systems and should not be mixed at random.
Common Mistakes
❌ Nosaltres segueixim el mateix horari durant l'agost.
Incorrect—the incoative extension is absent from first- and second-person plural.
✅ Nosaltres seguim el mateix horari durant l'agost.
We follow the same schedule during August.
❌ Estan segueixent les marques blaves del sender.
Incorrect—the gerund is seguint, without the incoative extension.
✅ Estan seguint les marques blaves del sender.
They are following the blue trail markers.
❌ Segueixo a la nova directora del museu a les xarxes.
Incorrect in the neutral pattern—the person followed is a direct object, without an automatic personal a.
✅ Segueixo la nova directora del museu a les xarxes.
I follow the museum's new director on social media.
❌ Després de la pausa, seguirem de la presentació.
Incorrect—an activity noun after seguir normally takes amb, not de.
✅ Després de la pausa, seguirem amb la presentació.
After the break, we'll continue with the presentation.
❌ Em segueixo aquesta sèrie des de la primera temporada.
Incorrect—the ordinary meaning 'follow a series' is nonpronominal.
✅ Segueixo aquesta sèrie des de la primera temporada.
I've followed this series since the first season.
Key Takeaways
The core family is segueixo, seguim, seguint, seguiré, segueixi, seguís, and seguit. Keep -eix- in the stressed present cells but not in seguim, seguiu, or nonfinite forms. Use a direct object for what is followed, a gerund for a continuing action, and amb before an activity noun. Pronominal seguir-se is limited, especially to formal d'això se segueix que.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Incoative -ir Verbs in the PresentA1 — Learn where Central Catalan inserts -eix- in verbs such as servir and how Valencian -isc/-ix forms correspond.
- Present-Tense Vowel AlternationsA2 — Recognize the stress-conditioned and lexical vowel alternations in Catalan presents such as surto/sortim, cullo/collim, and treu/traiem.
- Progressive Periphrases with the GerundA2 — Choose among estar, anar, continuar, and seguir plus a gerund, and avoid nonstandard aspectual venir plus gerund.
- Weak Pronouns with Affirmative CommandsA2 — Learn where Catalan weak pronouns go in affirmative commands and how hyphens, apostrophes, stress, and pronoun clusters work.
- Pronoun Placement Across Verb FormsB1 — Place weak pronouns before finite verbs, after infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives, and correctly across verb phrases.
- Conjugation of aconseguirB1 — Complete contemporary conjugation of aconseguir for obtaining something, achieving a result, and managing to act.