Caldre expresses that something is needed or that an action is necessary: Cal paciència, Cal esperar, Cal que esperis. It frames necessity around the situation instead of conjugating a personal verb for “I need, you need, we need.”
The verb is defective: contemporary Catalan uses third-person forms, not a complete six-person paradigm. A following noun can trigger singular or plural agreement, while an infinitive or a que-clause normally takes singular cal. English often hides these distinctions behind “need,” “have to,” or “it is necessary,” so learn the three Catalan structures directly.
The usable forms of caldre
The infinitive is caldre and the participle is calgut. In actual clauses, the most useful forms are the third-person singular and plural:
| Tense or mood | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| present indicative | cal | calen |
| imperfect indicative | calia | calien |
| periphrastic past | va caldre | van caldre |
| future | caldrà | caldran |
| conditional | caldria | caldrien |
| present perfect | ha calgut | han calgut |
| present subjunctive | calgui | calguin |
| imperfect subjunctive | calgués | calguessin |
There is no ordinary personal series such as jo calc, tu cals, nosaltres calem meaning “I/we need.” A person affected by the need appears through context, a dative pronoun, or the subject of a dependent clause.
(Regional: Valencian) standard subjunctives include calga, calguen and imperfect forms in -ra, such as calguera. The core constructions and the singular/plural logic are the same in IEC and AVL models.
Cal plus a noun: what is needed
With a noun phrase, the noun identifies the required thing. Singular and mass nouns take cal; plural nouns take calen.
Per fer aquesta salsa cal molta paciència.
Making this sauce requires a lot of patience.
Per entrar al recinte calen dues acreditacions diferents.
Two different passes are needed to enter the venue.
Ens cal una persona que conegui bé el barri.
We need someone who knows the neighborhood well.
The third example adds dative ens to identify the people who experience the need. The noun phrase una persona remains grammatically singular, so the verb is cal. With a plural needed item, both verb and noun become plural: Ens calen dues persones.
This noun construction explains the partitive pronoun en. When a previously mentioned count noun is omitted, en retrieves it and the numeral controls agreement:
—Quantes cadires us calen? —Ens en calen quatre més.
—How many chairs do you need? —We need four more.
The cluster follows normal Catalan order: dative ens + partitive en → ens en, with no apostrophe because ens ends in a pronounced consonant. In the first person singular, the cluster is me'n: Me'n cal una.
Cal plus an infinitive: general necessity
Use cal + infinitive when the required action is generic, when the responsible person is obvious, or when an impersonal instruction is appropriate. There is no preposition between cal and the infinitive.
Cal desconnectar l'aparell abans de netejar-lo.
The appliance must be unplugged before it is cleaned.
Per evitar cues, cal reservar hora per internet.
To avoid queues, it is necessary to book an appointment online.
No cal portar tovalloles; l'hotel ja en deixa a l'habitació.
There is no need to bring towels; the hotel provides them in the room.
English may use a passive, an impersonal “you,” or “one must.” Catalan keeps cal singular because the whole infinitival action functions as the needed situation. The infinitive does not carry person or tense; context supplies the understood actor and time.
Negated no cal + infinitive unambiguously means “there is no need to.” By contrast, no haver de is context-sensitive and can express prohibition: No cal entrar says entering is unnecessary, whereas No heu d'entrar in a rule normally says “you must not enter.”
Cal que plus the subjunctive: identify the actor
Use cal que + subjunctive when a finite dependent clause must show who is expected to act, or when its tense and internal structure need to be explicit.
Cal que arribis un quart d'hora abans de la visita.
You need to arrive fifteen minutes before the appointment.
Cal que comprovem si totes les finestres tanquen bé.
We need to check whether all the windows close properly.
No cal que els nens es llevin tan d'hora demà.
The children don't need to get up so early tomorrow.
Cal remains third-person singular. Person and number appear on arribis, comprovem, and es llevin. The dependent event is presented as required, not independently asserted as fact, so the subjunctive is appropriate. Negating the necessity does not turn that event into an assertion; no cal que also takes the subjunctive.
Compare the information structure:
| Pattern | Example | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| cal + infinitive | cal signar aquí | the necessary action; actor generic or obvious |
| cal que + subjunctive | cal que signis aquí | a particular actor and finite clause |
| haver de + infinitive | has de signar aquí | personal obligation attached directly to the subject |
The choice is about viewpoint, not merely translation. English “you need to sign” can become cal que signis when the necessity is framed impersonally or has de signar when the obligation is assigned directly to “you.”
The personal alternative is developed in Haver de plus Infinitive.
Tense and sequence of mood
Changing the finite form of caldre moves the necessity through discourse time. The required action gets the appropriate subjunctive form when a que-clause is used.
Calia que presentéssiu els originals, però ningú no us ho havia explicat.
You were required to submit the originals, but nobody had explained that to you.
Caldrà que hi tornem quan tinguem tots els resultats.
We'll need to go back there when we have all the results.
Al final va caldre ajornar l'estrena per una avaria elèctrica.
In the end, it was necessary to postpone the premiere because of an electrical fault.
The imperfect calia views an ongoing or background requirement in the past and normally combines with an imperfect subjunctive (presentéssiu). Future caldrà still takes present subjunctive (tornem) for the later required action. The periphrastic past va caldre treats the necessity as a bounded episode.
In va caldre ajornar, va + caldre is the Catalan periphrastic past: va is not present movement and there is no preposition a. Do not reshape it on the model of Spanish va a ser necesario. Nor does English progressive wording create a Catalan progressive here: English “we are needing more space” is normally expressed as ens cal més espai.
Weak pronouns in all three patterns
Pronoun position depends on what the pronoun belongs to:
- A dative experiencer or a partitive noun combines directly with caldre: em cal, ens calen, me'n calen dues.
- An object of the infinitive attaches to that infinitive: cal revisar-lo, cal tornar-les.
- In a finite que-clause, pronouns precede the subjunctive verb: cal que el revisis, cal que les tornem.
No me'n cal cap més; amb aquests pots ja en tinc prou.
I don't need any more; I have enough with these jars.
Cal pensar-hi amb calma abans de donar una resposta definitiva.
We need to think about it carefully before giving a final answer.
Cal que me'l torneu signat abans de dijous.
You need to return it to me signed before Thursday.
In pensar-hi, locative/prepositional hi attaches to the infinitive. In me'l torneu, the full cluster precedes the finite subjunctive. Do not place pronouns on cal when they are arguments of the lower verb.
Register and alternatives
Caldre is neutral standard Catalan in every major regional standard. It is especially frequent in instructions, advice, journalism, and administrative prose, but it is not inherently bookish: No cal, gràcies is entirely everyday. Casual speakers may also say fer falta or choose personal haver de according to emphasis.
Spanish-contact (informal) hi ha que + infinitive is not accepted as neutral formal Catalan. Use cal + infinitive for an impersonal requirement or haver de + infinitive for a personal one. Likewise, precís means “precise”; standard Catalan does not use és precís que as the ordinary equivalent of Spanish es preciso que meaning “it is necessary.”
Mini-dialogue: preparing a workshop
—Quantes taules ens calen per al taller de dissabte?
—How many tables do we need for Saturday's workshop?
—Ens en calen sis, i cal que dues quedin a prop de l'endoll.
—We need six, and two of them need to be placed near the socket.
—Cal que hi vagi divendres a preparar-ho? —No, no cal; ho farem dissabte al matí.
—Do I need to go there on Friday to set it up? —No, there's no need; we'll do it on Saturday morning.
The dialogue combines plural noun agreement, the partitive cluster ens en, a subjunctive clause, locative hi, and the standalone conversational response no cal.
Common Mistakes
1. Conjugating caldre as a personal verb.
❌ Calem comprar més tinta per a la impressora.
Incorrect — caldre does not use a first-person plural form here.
✅ Cal que comprem més tinta per a la impressora.
We need to buy more ink for the printer.
2. Keeping singular cal before a plural noun.
❌ Per obrir el compte cal dos documents d'identitat.
Incorrect — the plural noun phrase requires calen.
✅ Per obrir el compte calen dos documents d'identitat.
Two identity documents are needed to open the account.
3. Using the indicative after cal que.
❌ Cal que la Júlia porta també el rebut original.
Incorrect — the required action belongs in the subjunctive.
✅ Cal que la Júlia porti també el rebut original.
Júlia needs to bring the original receipt too.
4. Copying Spanish hay que.
❌ Hi ha que apagar els mòbils abans de començar.
Nonstandard Spanish calque for impersonal obligation.
✅ Cal apagar els mòbils abans de començar.
Mobile phones must be switched off before starting.
5. Confusing “must not” with “need not.”
❌ No has de pagar entrada. [intended: You don't need to pay admission.]
Wrong construction for the intended lack of necessity — this can sound like a prohibition.
✅ No cal que paguis entrada.
You don't need to pay admission.
Key Takeaways
- Use cal/calen + noun and agree with the singular or plural thing needed.
- Use cal + infinitive for a generic or obvious actor: cal esperar.
- Use cal que + subjunctive when a finite clause identifies the actor: cal que esperis.
- Datives and partitive en combine with caldre: ens cal ajuda; ens en calen dues.
- No cal expresses lack of necessity; avoid contact-induced hi ha que in neutral standard Catalan.
Related Topics
- Conjugation of caldreC2 — Complete reference for defective caldre, including its third-person paradigm, dative experiencers, noun agreement, infinitival and subjunctive complements, and negation scope.
- Haver de plus InfinitiveA2 — Express personal obligation, expectation, and planned action with the central Catalan periphrasis haver de plus infinitive.
- Subjunctive after Impersonal ExpressionsB1 — Use impersonal frames to express necessity, advice, possibility, and evaluation with an appropriately marked dependent clause.
- En as a Partitive PronounB1 — Use partitive en to resume indefinite nouns, mass nouns, and counted sets while keeping quantities and agreement visible.
- Pronoun Placement Across Verb FormsB1 — Place weak pronouns before finite verbs, after infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives, and correctly across verb phrases.