Tornar is the regular verb for “return,” “give back,” and, in tornar a + infinitive, “do again.” The repeated-action construction receives focused treatment on the repetition-periphrasis page. Pronominal tornar-se has separate uses, especially “become,” while tornar-se'n presents departure back from the current setting: me'n torno a casa. English “return” and “again” therefore converge on one Catalan verb, but the required prepositions and clitics reveal which construction is active.
Its principal parts are torno – tornava – torní – tornaré – torni – tornés – tornat. The stem torn- is stable. There is no velar, diphthong, or incoative extension; what learners must retain is the structure around the verb.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | tornar | to return / give back |
| Perfect infinitive | haver tornat | to have returned |
| Gerund | tornant | returning |
| Perfect gerund | havent tornat | having returned |
| Participle | tornat; tornada, tornats, tornades | returned |
Compound tenses take haver + tornat, even when tornar describes motion: elles han tornat, not an agreeing participle and not an auxiliary equivalent of English “be.” Agreeing tornada is adjectival only in suitable contexts.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | torno | tornes | torna | tornem | torneu | tornen |
| Imperfect | tornava | tornaves | tornava | tornàvem | tornàveu | tornaven |
| Periphrastic past | vaig tornar | vas tornar | va tornar | vam tornar | vau tornar | van tornar |
| Simple past | torní | tornares | tornà | tornàrem | tornàreu | tornaren |
| Future | tornaré | tornaràs | tornarà | tornarem | tornareu | tornaran |
| Conditional | tornaria | tornaries | tornaria | tornaríem | tornaríeu | tornarien |
The Central conversational past is normally periphrastic. The simple past torní, tornares, tornà... is (formal/literary) in much Central usage but remains regional spoken usage elsewhere. The accent distinguishes torna “returns / return!” from tornà “returned” in the synthetic past. Likewise, tornem and torneu can be present indicative, present subjunctive, or plural imperatives; their clause identifies the mood.
Cada vespre torno a peu perquè a aquella hora ja no passa cap autobús.
Every evening I walk back because no bus runs at that time.
De jove tornava sovint al poble per ajudar els avis amb l'hort.
When I was young, I often returned to the village to help my grandparents with the garden.
Dissabte vam tornar les claus a la recepció abans de marxar.
On Saturday we returned the keys to reception before leaving.
Quan s'acabi el curs, tornaran a obrir la biblioteca els dissabtes.
When the term ends, they will reopen the library on Saturdays.
Compound tenses
| Indicative tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he tornat | has tornat | ha tornat | hem tornat | heu tornat | han tornat |
| Pluperfect | havia tornat | havies tornat | havia tornat | havíem tornat | havíeu tornat | havien tornat |
| Past anterior | haguí tornat | hagueres tornat | hagué tornat | haguérem tornat | haguéreu tornat | hagueren tornat |
| Future perfect | hauré tornat | hauràs tornat | haurà tornat | haurem tornat | haureu tornat | hauran tornat |
| Conditional perfect | hauria tornat | hauries tornat | hauria tornat | hauríem tornat | hauríeu tornat | haurien tornat |
The past anterior is (formal/literary). The corresponding periphrastic row is vaig haver tornat, vas haver tornat, va haver tornat, vam haver tornat, vau haver tornat, van haver tornat. Ordinary speech usually expresses earlier past time with havia tornat.
La Núria ja ha tornat de Brussel·les i demà vindrà a l'oficina.
Núria has already returned from Brussels and will come to the office tomorrow.
A mitjanit ja haurem tornat a l'hotel, si la carretera està neta.
By midnight we will have returned to the hotel, if the road is clear.
Subjunctive and imperative
| Subjunctive tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | torni | tornis | torni | tornem | torneu | tornin |
| Imperfect | tornés | tornessis | tornés | tornéssim | tornéssiu | tornessin |
| Present perfect | hagi tornat | hagis tornat | hagi tornat | hàgim tornat | hàgiu tornat | hagin tornat |
| Pluperfect | hagués tornat | haguessis tornat | hagués tornat | haguéssim tornat | haguéssiu tornat | haguessin tornat |
| Restricted periphrastic series | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjunctive past | vagi tornar | vagis tornar | vagi tornar | vàgim tornar | vàgiu tornar | vagin tornar |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver tornat | vagis haver tornat | vagi haver tornat | vàgim haver tornat | vàgiu haver tornat | vagin haver tornat |
These periphrastic subjunctives are (regional/formal). The everyday Central baseline normally uses tornés or hagués tornat in the same discourse environments.
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | torna | no tornis |
| vostè | torni | no torni |
| nosaltres | tornem | no tornem |
| vosaltres | torneu | no torneu |
| vostès | tornin | no tornin |
—Te'n tornes ja cap a Manresa? —Sí; torna'm la jaqueta abans que me'n vagi.
—Are you heading back to Manresa already? —Yes; give me back the jacket before I leave.
Affirmative commands attach clitics (torna-me-la, torneu-hi); negative ones place them before the verb (no me la tornis, no hi torneu). The dialogue contrasts tornar-se'n “go back / leave” with transitive tornar una cosa “give something back.”
Constructions, clitics, and regional standards
Movement selects tornar a for the destination and tornar de for the source: torna a l'escola; torna de l'escola. The destination can become hi: hi tornaré demà. With the speaker's current setting as point of departure, tornar-se'n is idiomatic: me'n torno cap a casa. This is a genuine pronominal construction; simply removing en produces a different viewpoint.
Transitive tornar takes the returned item directly and a recipient with a: torna el llibre a l'Aina; torna-l'hi. Tornar a + infinitive marks repetition: ho tornaré a provar. The preposition a is required in standard Catalan; English “again” is an adverb, but Catalan builds a verbal periphrasis.
Tornar-se + adjective/noun expresses a change of state, often gradual or perceived as a transformation: s'ha tornat molt reservat. It is not interchangeable in every context with posar-se, fer-se, or esdevenir. Characteristic collocations include tornar enrere, tornar a començar, tornar-s'hi “have another go / retaliate according to context,” and tornar-se boig.
(Regional: Valencian) has standard first-person torne, present subjunctive torne..., and imperfect tornara.... (Regional: Balearic) uses torn, tornam, tornau and imperfect subjunctive tornàs.... The Central forms above are the teaching baseline; all regional sets are systematic.
Common Mistakes
❌ Demà torno de l'oficina per parlar amb la directora.
Incorrect if the office is the destination—use a, not de.
✅ Demà torno a l'oficina per parlar amb la directora.
Tomorrow I am returning to the office to speak with the director.
❌ Si falla, ho tornaré provar després de dinar.
Incorrect—the repetition construction requires tornar a plus infinitive.
✅ Si falla, ho tornaré a provar després de dinar.
If it fails, I will try it again after lunch.
❌ La situació es torneix cada dia més complicada.
Incorrect—tornar is not incoative; the regular form is torna.
✅ La situació es torna cada dia més complicada.
The situation is becoming more complicated every day.
❌ Les excursionistes són tornades molt tard.
Incorrect—compound movement uses haver, with an invariable participle.
✅ Les excursionistes han tornat molt tard.
The hikers returned very late.
❌ No torna-me'l encara; el necessito fins divendres.
Incorrect—negative imperatives place the clitics before the verb.
✅ No me'l tornis encara; el necessito fins divendres.
Do not give it back to me yet; I need it until Friday.
Key Takeaways
The conjugation is fully regular. Use a for a destination, de for a source, and tornar a + infinitive for repetition. Distinguish nonpronominal movement or transfer from lexical tornar-se “become” and tornar-se'n “go back / leave.”
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Regular -ar Verbs in the PresentA1 — Form and use the regular Catalan present in -ar for current actions, habits, general truths, and scheduled events.
- Tornar a plus InfinitiveA2 — Express repeated events and restored states with tornar a plus an infinitive, and distinguish its scope from de nou and negation.
- Locative EnB1 — Use locative en for places of origin introduced by de, and distinguish this productive source use from lexicalized pronominal verbs.
- Hi for LocationsB1 — Use hi for static places, destinations, and paths, and keep obligatory hi in the existential verb haver-hi.
- Conjugation of anarA1 — Complete contemporary conjugation of anar for movement, destinations, the periphrastic past, weak pronouns, and pronominal anar-se'n.