Valer means “to be worth, be valid, or be of use.” The equally standard infinitive valdre is widespread, but the short forms are not selected by mechanically attaching endings to whichever infinitive a speaker cites: both lead to valc, valguí, valdré, and valgut. Unlike Spanish vale, Catalan val is not an all-purpose conversational “okay”; use d'acord, va bé, or another context-appropriate response.
The principal-part family is valc – valia – valguí – valdré – valgui – valgut. It unites the first-person velar, a broader valgu- family, the contracted future valdr-, and an irregular participle. This second-conjugation verb never takes the incoative -eix- extension: valeixo is not a form of valer. Pronominal valer-se de means “to make use of, avail oneself of” and requires both the reflexive pronoun and de.
Compare the productive morphology on velar-stem verbs.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | valer / valdre | to be worth; be valid |
| Perfect infinitive | haver valgut | to have been worth |
| Gerund | valent | being worth |
| Perfect gerund | havent valgut | having been worth |
| Participle | valgut; valguda, valguts, valgudes | been worth |
The gerund valent is spelled like the adjective valent “brave”; syntax distinguishes them. In compounds, valgut is invariable: les entrades han valgut cinquanta euros cadascuna. Agreeing valguda is possible in genuinely adjectival use, but the perfect never agrees with the subject or object.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | valc | vals | val | valem | valeu | valen |
| Imperfect | valia | valies | valia | valíem | valíeu | valien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig valer | vas valer | va valer | vam valer | vau valer | van valer |
| Simple past | valguí | valgueres | valgué | valguérem | valguéreu | valgueren |
| Future | valdré | valdràs | valdrà | valdrem | valdreu | valdran |
| Conditional | valdria | valdries | valdria | valdríem | valdríeu | valdrien |
The completed past in ordinary conversation is usually vaig valer. The synthetic valguí... is more strongly (formal/literary) in much Central usage, although its spoken distribution varies regionally. Future and conditional always use valdr- in the general standard: neither valeré nor valré belongs to this paradigm.
Aquest abonament val per a tots els trajectes de la zona metropolitana.
This pass is valid for all journeys in the metropolitan area.
Quan vam comprar el pis, el traster valia gairebé tant com una plaça d'aparcament.
When we bought the flat, the storage room was worth almost as much as a parking space.
La visita va valer molt més del que havíem pagat per les entrades.
The visit was worth far more than we had paid for the tickets.
Si el repares bé, aquest rellotge valdrà una petita fortuna.
If you repair it well, this watch will be worth a small fortune.
Indicative compounds and subjunctive
| Indicative tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he valgut | has valgut | ha valgut | hem valgut | heu valgut | han valgut |
| Pluperfect | havia valgut | havies valgut | havia valgut | havíem valgut | havíeu valgut | havien valgut |
| Past anterior | haguí valgut | hagueres valgut | hagué valgut | haguérem valgut | haguéreu valgut | hagueren valgut |
| Future perfect | hauré valgut | hauràs valgut | haurà valgut | haurem valgut | haureu valgut | hauran valgut |
| Conditional perfect | hauria valgut | hauries valgut | hauria valgut | hauríem valgut | hauríeu valgut | haurien valgut |
| Subjunctive tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | valgui | valguis | valgui | valguem | valgueu | valguin |
| Imperfect | valgués | valguessis | valgués | valguéssim | valguéssiu | valguessin |
| Present perfect | hagi valgut | hagis valgut | hagi valgut | hàgim valgut | hàgiu valgut | hagin valgut |
| Pluperfect | hagués valgut | haguessis valgut | hagués valgut | haguéssim valgut | haguéssiu valgut | haguessin valgut |
(Regional: Valencian) the present subjunctive commonly has valga, valgues, valga, valguem, valgueu, valguen, and the imperfect also has valguera.... General Central uses valgui and valgués. Compound forms always select haver, including pronominal s'ha valgut de.
No crec que aquesta acreditació valgui fora del recinte.
I don't think this pass is valid outside the venue.
Tot l'esforç ha valgut la pena perquè el bosc torna a estar net.
All the effort has been worthwhile because the woods are clean again.
Si l'informe hagués valgut com a prova, el jutjat l'hauria admès.
If the report had counted as evidence, the court would have admitted it.
These rows complete the reference; the subjunctive periphrases are restricted (regional/formal) forms.
| Periphrastic tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver valgut | vas haver valgut | va haver valgut | vam haver valgut | vau haver valgut | van haver valgut |
| Subjunctive past | vagi valer | vagis valer | vagi valer | vàgim valer | vàgiu valer | vagin valer |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver valgut | vagis haver valgut | vagi haver valgut | vàgim haver valgut | vàgiu haver valgut | vagin haver valgut |
Imperative and high-frequency constructions
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | val | no valguis |
| vostè | valgui | no valgui |
| nosaltres | valguem | no valguem |
| vosaltres | valeu | no valgueu |
| vostès | valguin | no valguin |
True imperatives are complete but semantically rare: one does not often command something to have value. The productive patterns are declarative. Valer X euros gives a price, valer per a + purpose expresses validity or suitability, valer la pena means “be worthwhile,” and val més + infinitive means “it is better to.” Before a finite clause, val més que normally frames advice and takes the subjunctive.
Val més que sortiu ara, abans no tallin la carretera.
You'd better leave now, before they close the road.
Aquest adaptador no val per al model nou; necessites el de seixanta watts.
This adapter isn't suitable for the new model; you need the sixty-watt one.
Pronominal valer-se de means “make use of,” often with resources, influence, a method, or a person. The complement introduced by de can be replaced by en: Es va valer dels contactes → Se'n va valer. Dropping se gives ordinary valer and changes the meaning; dropping de/en leaves the construction incomplete.
La investigadora es va valer d'un dietari inèdit per reconstruir els fets.
The researcher made use of an unpublished diary to reconstruct the events.
No se'n valdrà: aquesta vegada haurà d'explicar el mètode sencer.
He won't resort to it; this time he'll have to explain the entire method.
Other characteristic collocations are fer valer un dret “assert a right,” no valer res “be worthless,” and valer-se per si mateix “manage independently.”
Common Mistakes
❌ Aquesta targeta valerà fins a final de mes.
Incorrect—the future has the contracted stem valdr-.
✅ Aquesta targeta valdrà fins a final de mes.
This card will be valid until the end of the month.
❌ Dubto que el descompte val per a les reserves antigues.
Incorrect after doubt—the required present subjunctive is valgui.
✅ Dubto que el descompte valgui per a les reserves antigues.
I doubt the discount applies to old bookings.
❌ Ens hem valat d'un programa gratuït per fer els plànols.
Incorrect—the participle of valer-se is valgut.
✅ Ens hem valgut d'un programa gratuït per fer els plànols.
We used a free program to make the plans.
❌ La portaveu va valer dels seus informes per rebatre l'acusació.
Incorrect—‘make use of’ is pronominal valer-se de.
✅ La portaveu es va valer dels seus informes per rebatre l'acusació.
The spokesperson used her reports to refute the accusation.
❌ Val, quedem demà a les nou.
Incorrect as a Spanish-style conversational ‘okay’; Catalan does not generally use val as that discourse marker.
✅ D'acord, quedem demà a les nou.
Okay, let's meet tomorrow at nine.
Key Takeaways
Memorize valc, valia, valguí, valdré, valgui, and valgut. Use valer/valdre for worth and validity, not as a default “okay.” Preserve the entire frame in valer-se de and use en when that de-complement becomes a clitic.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Velar Stems in the PresentA2 — Learn the Catalan verb family whose first-person present ends in a velar consonant, as in bec, dic, duc, tinc, and vinc.
- Irregular Future StemsA2 — Master the high-frequency future bases far-, haur-, podr-, sabr-, tindr-, vindr-, voldr-, and their related families.
- Velar and Irregular Subjunctive StemsB1 — Build Catalan present-subjunctive forms such as digui, tingui, vingui, pugui, and conegui from their irregular velar stems.
- Participles in Compound TensesA2 — Use haver plus a normally invariable participle, place negation and clitics correctly, and recognize restricted object agreement.
- 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.
- En for De-ComplementsB1 — Use en to replace complements selected by de after verbs, adjectives, and nouns, while respecting focus and extraction limits.