Infinitives after Modal and Control Verbs | Catalan Grammar

Catalan frequently places an unchanged infinitive after a finite verb: puc venir, volem parlar, va prometre tornar. The finite verb carries person, number, tense, mood, and much of the speaker's viewpoint; the infinitive supplies the event. The central question is who is understood to perform that event.

With the verbs on this page, the ordinary infinitive shares its subject with the finite verb. La Júlia promet tornar means that Júlia makes the promise and Júlia will return. If the intended actor is different, Catalan usually needs a finite que-clause.

Six high-frequency patterns

Frame	Core meaning	Understood subject of the infinitive
poder + infinitive	ability, permission, or possibility	subject of poder
voler + infinitive	intention or desire to act	subject of voler
saber + infinitive	knowing how; learned ability	subject of saber
intentar + infinitive	attempt	subject of intentar
decidir + infinitive	decision to act	subject of decidir
prometre + infinitive	commitment to act	subject of prometre

No puc obrir aquest pot; la tapa no es mou gens.

I can't open this jar; the lid won't budge.

Volem arribar abans que comenci el concert.

We want to arrive before the concert starts.

La meva filla ja sap cordar-se les sabates tota sola.

My daughter already knows how to tie her shoes by herself.

None of the infinitives agrees: obrir, arribar, and cordar-se keep their citation form. Compare puc/podem/podien obrir: only poder changes. The infinitive retains its lexical stress and spelling; a weak pronoun attaches with the usual hyphen or apostrophe, as in cordar-se, fer-ho, and anar-hi.

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Read the two verbs as one participant map: “Who can/wants/tries/decides/promises to do it?” If the answer is the finite subject, an infinitive is normally available. If the answer is someone else, expect a finite clause.

Poder does not have one fixed English translation. Depending on context, it expresses capacity, permission, or situational possibility.

Demà podem treballar des de casa si encara neva.

Tomorrow we can work from home if it's still snowing.

Voler + infinitive expresses the subject's intention or desire to act. When the desired actor changes, use voler que + subjunctive:

Vull parlar amb la directora abans de decidir res.

I want to speak with the director before deciding anything.

Vull que parlis amb la directora abans de decidir res.

I want you to speak with the director before deciding anything.

The subjunctive parlis does not appear simply because voler is a “trigger.” It appears because the second clause presents another person's action as desired, not as an asserted fact. With the same subject, the infinitive has no mood morphology.

Saber + infinitive means “know how to,” not “know that.” For factual knowledge, use saber que + finite clause.

Sé fer anar el programa, però no sé com instal·lar-lo.

I know how to use the program, but I don't know how to install it.

Sé que la versió nova funciona millor.

I know that the new version works better.

The indicative funciona presents the proposition as known. Replacing it mechanically with a subjunctive because another verb precedes it would misrepresent the assertion.

Control verbs: intentar, decidir, and prometre

These verbs describe an attempt, decision, or commitment by their subject. They are semantically fuller than a modal, and their complements form a less tightly integrated clause.

Vaig intentar reparar la persiana, però al final vaig trucar a un professional.

I tried to repair the blind, but in the end I called a professional.

Hem decidit ajornar el viatge fins a la primavera.

We've decided to postpone the trip until spring.

Us prometo enviar l'informe abans de les cinc.

I promise you I'll send the report before five.

With prometre, the recipient is introduced as an indirect object (us), but that recipient does not control the infinitive. The subject does: “I” will send the report. To report a commitment about another person's action, make the content finite: Us prometo que la Clara enviarà l'informe.

Do not confuse decidir + infinitive with pronominal decidir-se a + infinitive. Both are standard, but the second presents reaching or committing oneself to a decision and requires a:

Al final em vaig decidir a demanar ajuda.

In the end I made up my mind to ask for help.

Time and aspect belong to the whole chain

The simple infinitive is not inherently present. In Ahir va prometre tornar demà, tornar is future relative to yesterday's promise. In Ara intenta dormir, the attempt and sleeping are simultaneous. The finite verb and time expressions establish the timeline.

Ahir la Núria va prometre tornar-nos les claus demà.

Yesterday Núria promised to return our keys tomorrow.

The periphrastic past is va prometre, with no a. Va a prometre would instead contain present lexical anar plus a and would need a motion or narrowly imminent context. English “was promising” likewise does not force a Catalan progressive: choose prometia for an imperfect viewpoint unless the ongoing phase itself is relevant.

A perfect infinitive marks an earlier lower event: Diu haver enviat el document “He says he has sent the document” (formal). That is a separate aspectual choice; it does not make the infinitive agree with the subject.

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The finite verb anchors the chain in discourse time; the infinitive is interpreted relative to it. In va prometre tornar demà, the promise is past and the return is later—not because tornar is a future form, but because demà and the meaning of promising place it later.

Weak-pronoun placement and climbing

With the tightly integrated modals poder and voler, a weak pronoun belonging to the infinitive can normally stand before the finite verb or attach to the infinitive.

No el puc obrir. / No puc obrir-lo.

I can't open it.

T'ho vull explicar amb calma. / Vull explicar-t'ho amb calma.

I want to explain it to you calmly.

The whole cluster moves: t'ho becomes postverbal -t'ho. With lexical control verbs, low placement keeps the dependency clear and is often the neutral or only ordinary option: Va decidir comprar-lo; va prometre tornar-me'l. El va decidir comprar is not the neutral equivalent of va decidir comprar-lo.

There is genuine lexical variation at the boundary—especially with highly integrated uses of intentar—so no honest rule predicts climbing from meaning alone. Learn the robust modal alternation first and keep the pronoun on the lower infinitive with unfamiliar control verbs. The full distribution is treated on the clitic-climbing page.

Negation and scope

Negation before the finite verb normally denies the modal or control claim. Negation directly before the infinitive denies the lower action.

No puc venir demà.

I can't come tomorrow.

Puc no venir demà, si prefereixes parlar en privat.

I can choose not to come tomorrow, if you'd rather speak in private.

The contrast is not stylistic. The first denies ability or availability; the second says nonattendance is an available option. English word order happens to show a similar difference, but the Catalan interpretation comes from the scope of no.

Mini-dialogue

—Saps configurar la impressora nova? —Ho puc intentar, però no prometo arreglar-la avui. —D'acord; si no te'n surts, demà trucarem al servei tècnic.

—Do you know how to set up the new printer? —I can try, but I don't promise to fix it today. —All right; if you can't manage it, tomorrow we'll call technical support.

The dialogue contrasts learned ability (saps configurar), possibility (puc intentar), and a withheld commitment (no prometo arreglar-la). The simple present is natural for the current exchange; English wording does not require a progressive.

Regional and register perspective

These complement patterns belong to contemporary Catalan across regions. The finite forms themselves may vary—puga beside Central pugui (regional: Valencian), for example—but the shared-subject logic of poder/voler/saber/intentar/decidir/prometre + infinitive remains. Contact-influenced tenir que + infinitive is frequent in some (informal) speech throughout the domain, but the standard obligation is haver de + infinitive.

Common Mistakes

1. Giving a bare infinitive a different overt subject.

❌ Vull tu venir abans de les vuit.

Incorrect in the neutral standard—the desired actor differs from the subject of vull.

✅ Vull que vinguis abans de les vuit.

I want you to come before eight.

2. Confusing knowing how with knowing a fact.

❌ Sé arribarà tard.

Incorrect—factual content requires que plus a finite clause.

✅ Sé que arribarà tard.

I know that he'll arrive late.

3. Adding a after nonpronominal decidir.

❌ Hem decidit a ajornar el viatge.

Incorrect—the simple control verb is decidir + bare infinitive.

✅ Hem decidit ajornar el viatge. / Ens hem decidit a ajornar-lo.

We've decided to postpone the trip. / We've made up our minds to postpone it.

4. Splitting a climbable weak-pronoun cluster.

❌ Ens podeu reservar-les fins demà?

Incorrect for one two-pronoun cluster—the pronouns must move together.

✅ Ens les podeu reservar fins demà? / Podeu reservar-nos-les fins demà?

Can you reserve them for us until tomorrow?

5. Copying Spanish-influenced obligation or choosing mood mechanically.

❌ Tinc que marxar, però sé que ell vingui més tard.

Incorrect—the standard obligation is haver de, and known factual content takes the indicative.

✅ He de marxar, però sé que ell vindrà més tard.

I have to leave, but I know that he'll come later.

Key Takeaways

The infinitive after these verbs normally shares the finite subject. Poder, voler, and saber express modality or ability; intentar, decidir, and prometre assign an attempted, decided, or promised action to their subject. Use a finite que-clause when the actor changes, and choose its mood from the intended assertion. Let the finite verb and context establish time, and climb weak pronouns only where the construction licenses it.

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