Servir means “to serve,” “to be useful,” or “to be fit for a purpose.” It follows the incoative third-conjugation pattern in the Central standard: serveixo, serveixes, serveix, servim, serviu, serveixen. The extension -eix- appears in the stem-stressed present cells but disappears where the ending is stressed and from every nonpresent stem.
The principal parts are serveixo – servia – serví – serviré – serveixi – servís – servit. Once those are separated into the present family and the plain serv- family, the paradigm is regular. The harder part is selecting among servir una cosa, servir per a, servir de, and pronominal servir-se de.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | servir | to serve; be useful |
| Perfect infinitive | haver servit | to have served |
| Gerund | servint | serving |
| Perfect gerund | havent servit | having served |
| Participle | servit; servida, servits, servides | served |
Compound tenses use haver + servit, normally with an invariable participle: hem servit les postres. Agreement belongs to adjectival or passive uses: una taula ben servida. The gerund is servint, not serveixent; incoative verbs shed the extension outside the relevant present-tense cells.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | serveixo | serveixes | serveix | servim | serviu | serveixen |
| Imperfect | servia | servies | servia | servíem | servíeu | servien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig servir | vas servir | va servir | vam servir | vau servir | van servir |
| Simple past | serví | servires | serví | servírem | servíreu | serviren |
| Future | serviré | serviràs | servirà | servirem | servireu | serviran |
| Conditional | serviria | serviries | serviria | serviríem | serviríeu | servirien |
The periphrastic past is neutral in everyday Central Catalan. The synthetic simple past is predominantly (formal/literary) there, with continuing spoken use in several Valencian and Balearic varieties (regional). Notice that servim and serviu carry stress on the ending and therefore lack -eix-.
Aquest carregador serveix per a tots dos ordinadors, però no carrega el telèfon.
This charger works for both computers, but it doesn't charge the phone.
Quan treballava al restaurant, servia els dinars i després preparava les taules del vespre.
When I worked at the restaurant, I served lunches and then prepared the evening tables.
La capsa ens va servir de seient mentre esperàvem que obrissin les portes.
The box served as a seat while we waited for the doors to open.
Aquesta experiència et servirà molt quan comencis la nova feina.
This experience will be very useful to you when you start the new job.
Compound tenses
| Indicative tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he servit | has servit | ha servit | hem servit | heu servit | han servit |
| Pluperfect | havia servit | havies servit | havia servit | havíem servit | havíeu servit | havien servit |
| Past anterior | haguí servit | hagueres servit | hagué servit | haguérem servit | haguéreu servit | hagueren servit |
| Future perfect | hauré servit | hauràs servit | haurà servit | haurem servit | haureu servit | hauran servit |
| Conditional perfect | hauria servit | hauries servit | hauria servit | hauríem servit | hauríeu servit | haurien servit |
The past anterior is (formal/literary). The corresponding periphrastic anterior is vaig haver servit, vas haver servit, va haver servit, vam haver servit, vau haver servit, van haver servit. Weak pronouns come before the auxiliary: Els hem servit cafè “We served them coffee.”
Ja hem servit el primer plat; el segon sortirà d'aquí a deu minuts.
We've already served the first course; the second will be out in ten minutes.
La teva explicació m'hauria servit molt més abans de començar el muntatge.
Your explanation would have been much more useful to me before I started the assembly.
Subjunctive and imperative
| Subjunctive tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | serveixi | serveixis | serveixi | servim | serviu | serveixin |
| Imperfect | servís | servissis | servís | servíssim | servíssiu | servissin |
| Present perfect | hagi servit | hagis servit | hagi servit | hàgim servit | hàgiu servit | hagin servit |
| Pluperfect | hagués servit | haguessis servit | hagués servit | haguéssim servit | haguéssiu servit | haguessin servit |
| Restricted periphrastic series | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjunctive past | vagi servir | vagis servir | vagi servir | vàgim servir | vàgiu servir | vagin servir |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver servit | vagis haver servit | vagi haver servit | vàgim haver servit | vàgiu haver servit | vagin haver servit |
These periphrastic subjunctive forms are restricted (regional/formal). In the ordinary Central baseline, use servís and hagués servit.
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | serveix | no serveixis |
| vostè | serveixi | no serveixi |
| nosaltres | servim | no servim |
| vosaltres | serviu | no serviu |
| vostès | serveixin | no serveixin |
Necessitem una sala que serveixi per a reunions petites i videotrucades.
We need a room that works for small meetings and video calls.
Serviu-vos amanida abans no es refredi la resta del menjar.
Help yourselves to some salad before the rest of the food gets cold.
Affirmative commands attach pronouns (serveix-lo, serviu-vos-en), whereas negative commands place them before the verb (no el serveixis, no us en serviu). The familiar affirmative serveix is identical to the third-person present.
Four core constructions
Transitive servir + direct object means presenting food or attending to someone: servir el sopar, servir els clients. The recipient may be dative: Els cambrers ens van servir una sopa. In “be useful to someone,” that person is also dative: Aquesta guia em serveix. English does not visibly distinguish these roles, but Catalan clitics do.
Servir per a + noun/infinitive expresses intended purpose in careful standard usage: una clau que serveix per a obrir la porta. In many contexts, especially orally, per also occurs according to the wider per/per a system. Servir de + noun means “serve as”: servir de model, servir de refugi. The fixed expression no servir de res means “be no use.”
Aquest botó serveix per a reiniciar el sistema si la pantalla queda bloquejada.
This button is for restarting the system if the screen freezes.
Discutir ara no servirà de res; primer hem d'escoltar què proposen.
Arguing now won't do any good; first we need to hear what they propose.
Pronominal servir-se de means “make use of,” often in neutral or (formal) prose: Es va servir d'un exemple per aclarir la idea. Without de, servir-se can mean “help oneself,” especially with food. The pronoun is part of these meanings and cannot simply be added to ordinary servir el sopar.
La investigadora es va servir de dades obertes per comprovar la hipòtesi.
The researcher used open data to test the hypothesis.
(Regional: Valencian) forms such as servisc, servixes/serveixes, servix/serveix, servixen/serveixen and present subjunctive servisca... are standard. (Regional: Balearic) incoative forms in -esc occur. Central serveixo/serveixi is the baseline here; regional variants belong to complete systems and should not be mixed cell by cell.
Common Mistakes
❌ Nosaltres serveixim el sopar a dos quarts de nou.
Incorrect—the incoative extension is absent from first-person plural.
✅ Nosaltres servim el sopar a dos quarts de nou.
We serve dinner at eight thirty.
❌ Estan serveixent les postres a la terrassa.
Incorrect—the gerund is servint, without -eix-.
✅ Estan servint les postres a la terrassa.
They are serving dessert on the terrace.
❌ Aquesta habitació serveix com despatx provisional.
Incorrect in the usual Catalan construction—use servir de for a role.
✅ Aquesta habitació serveix de despatx provisional.
This room serves as a temporary office.
❌ Ens hem servits de totes les eines disponibles.
Incorrect—the participle after haver is normally invariable.
✅ Ens hem servit de totes les eines disponibles.
We have made use of all the available tools.
❌ No serveix-te més arròs si ja estàs tip.
Incorrect—negative commands put the pronoun before a subjunctive form.
✅ No et serveixis més arròs si ja estàs tip.
Don't help yourself to more rice if you're already full.
Key Takeaways
The reference family is serveixo, servim, servint, serviré, serveixi, servís, and servit. Keep -eix- only in its present-tense cells. Use a direct object for what is served, per a for intended purpose, de for a role, and pronominal servir-se de for using a resource.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
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- Present Subjunctive of -er, -re, and -ir VerbsB1 — Build present-subjunctive forms of regular second- and third-conjugation verbs, including pure and incoative -ir patterns and regional standards.
- Forming the Periphrastic PastA2 — Build Catalan’s ordinary past with the auxiliary forms vaig, vas, va, vam, vau, van and an unchanged infinitive.
- Weak Pronouns with Affirmative CommandsA2 — Learn where Catalan weak pronouns go in affirmative commands and how hyphens, apostrophes, stress, and pronoun clusters work.
- Inherently Pronominal VerbsA2 — Recognize Catalan verbs whose weak reflexive pronoun is part of the verb itself, and use them with the right person, complement, and placement.
- Conjugation of seguirA2 — Complete contemporary conjugation of seguir for following and continuing, including its incoative present, seguint, clitics, and regional forms.