Catalan can turn nouns and adjectives into verbs: modern → modernitzar, simple → simplificar, festa → festejar, clar → aclarir. These endings contribute recurrent meanings such as “make X,” “perform an activity involving X,” or “become X.” They also assign the new verb to a conjugation and therefore determine much of its inflection.
The correspondence is not an automatic English-to-Catalan code. English -ize often matches Catalan -itzar, but an established verb such as aclarir blocks a mechanically plausible invention. Spanish can point learners toward a cognate, yet spelling and preferred vocabulary still have to be checked independently. Productive grammar proposes candidates; the lexicon decides which candidates have become normal words.
The four main patterns
| Pattern | Typical meaning | Conjugation | Typical register |
|---|---|---|---|
| -itzar | make, render, organize by a principle | first (-ar) | neutral to (formal), highly productive in technical language |
| -ificar | make, convert into, cause to have a property | first (-ar) | often (formal), (academic), or technical |
| -ejar | perform, use, behave, act repeatedly | first (-ar) | neutral; some coinages are (informal) |
| prefix + base + -ir | become or make more X | third (-ir), commonly incoative | neutral, but only in established families |
The boundaries shown in modern + -itzar are morphological notation. Complete verbs are written without a hyphen: modernitzar, never modern-itzar.
-itzar: a productive causative and process verb
The suffix -itzar forms verbs such as modernitzar, digitalitzar, prioritzar, estabilitzar and caracteritzar. With an adjective base it often means “make or become X”; with a noun or learned base it may mean “organize, treat, or express according to X.” The result is a regular first-conjugation verb.
L'hospital digitalitzarà tots els historials abans de traslladar l'arxiu.
The hospital will digitize all the records before moving the archive.
Hem de prioritzar les reparacions que afecten la seguretat.
We need to prioritize the repairs that affect safety.
Argument structure matters. A transitive subject can cause the change: L'ajuntament modernitza el servei. A corresponding pronominal clause can present the affected entity as undergoing the process: El servei s'ha modernitzat. This alternation is common, but it is a property of individual verbs and constructions, not a promise made by the suffix.
El comerç s'ha modernitzat, però encara conserva el rètol original.
The shop has modernized, but it still keeps the original sign.
The spelling tz is essential: analitzar, utilitzar, organitzar. In Central Catalan it commonly represents an affricate; (regional: Valencian and Balearic) pronunciation may realize the sequence differently, but the shared spelling remains tz. Do not confuse genuine -itzar with verbs in -isar: improvisar, matisar, avisar. Their families do not acquire tz merely because English or Spanish has a visually similar verb.
-ificar: technical change and conversion
The suffix -ificar is visible in simplificar, solidificar, electrificar, exemplificar, purificar. It often denotes causing a property or changing something into a state. It is less freely extendable than -itzar and is especially frequent in (formal), (academic), scientific, and administrative language.
La nova plantilla simplifica el tràmit i evita repetir les mateixes dades.
The new template simplifies the procedure and avoids repeating the same data.
La cera es solidifica de seguida quan baixa la temperatura.
The wax solidifies immediately when the temperature drops.
Solidificar can be intransitive, as in the second example, or transitive: El fred solidifica la cera. Other verbs have stronger preferences. Exemplificar una idea normally takes a direct object. A suffix gives a broad semantic class; it does not tell you every complement the verb licenses.
The spelling alternates to preserve the /k/ sound before front vowels: simplifico but simplifiquem and simplifiqui. The infinitive and participle are simplificar, simplificat. See present-tense spelling changes.
Competing verbs may differ in register or meaning. Aclarir is the neutral everyday verb for “clarify” and “become clear.” Clarificar exists, especially (formal) and technical, but it should not be fused with aclarir into unattested aclarificar.
-ejar: activity, repetition, and modern coinages
The broad suffix -ejar creates first-conjugation verbs. Depending on the base, it can mean performing a characteristic activity (festa → festejar), using or producing something (bloc → bloquejar belongs to an adapted learned/loan family), moving in a characteristic way, or repeating a small action. Frequent verbs such as netejar and passejar are fully lexicalized; their meanings cannot be recovered by subtracting -ejar mechanically.
Aquest matí he passejat pel riu mentre esperava que obrissin les botigues.
This morning I walked by the river while waiting for the shops to open.
El sistema bloqueja l'accés després de tres intents fallits.
The system blocks access after three failed attempts.
The spelling alternation follows the sound: passejo, passeges, passeja, passegem, passegeu, passegen. The letter j appears before a, o, u, while g appears before e, i in this paradigm. The base spelling therefore cannot simply be copied into every form.
Some new -ejar verbs arise in technological or playful (informal) usage, but Catalan does not accept every English noun plus -ejar. Often the idiomatic expression is a native verb or a phrase: fer clic, enviar un correu, cercar a internet. Established loan verbs are covered separately under integrating loanwords.
-ir and the incoative pattern
Many change-of-state verbs end in -ir: clar → aclarir, barat → abaratir, ric → enriquir, fort → enfortir. The structure frequently includes a prefix as well as the verbal ending, so it is better analyzed as a family such as a- + clar + -ir or en- + ric + -ir, not as a freely attachable suffix that can verb any adjective.
La companyia ha abaratit les tarifes dels trajectes curts.
The company has lowered the fares for short journeys.
El debat s'enriqueix quan tothom aporta exemples concrets.
The debate becomes richer when everyone contributes specific examples.
These derived verbs commonly use incoative inflection in the present: Central enriqueixo, enriqueixes, enriqueix, enriquim, enriquiu, enriqueixen. The increment appears in some persons, not throughout the paradigm. (Regional: Valencian) standard forms include variants in -isc/-ix according to the verb and paradigm. The infinitive ending -ir itself does not guarantee incoative behavior: frequent verbs such as dormir and sentir follow their own patterns. See incoative -ir verbs.
Meaning does not determine the suffix by itself
Several suffixes can express causation, but they are not freely interchangeable:
| Established verb | Natural meaning | Blocked invention |
|---|---|---|
| modernitzar | modernize | *modernificar |
| simplificar | simplify | *simpliejar |
| aclarir | clarify; become clear | *aclarificar |
| netejar | clean | *netificar |
There is no completely logical shortcut. Frequency, inherited word families, and editorial convention select the winning form. A novel technical term may legitimately use a productive suffix, but (formal) writers should verify it in current specialist usage rather than assuming comprehensibility equals acceptance.
A realistic workplace exchange
—Al resum hi diu que el projecte «agilitza» les consultes. Ho canviem per «agilifica»? —No: «agilitzar» és la forma consolidada; «agilificar» és una invenció transparent però innecessària.
—The summary says that the project streamlines enquiries. Shall we change it to agilifica? —No: agilitzar is the established form; agilificar is a transparent but unnecessary invention.
Here both forms are structurally interpretable, but only one is idiomatic for the genre. This is exactly where lexical knowledge controls a productive pattern.
Common Mistakes
❌ L'empresa vol modernisar totes les botigues.
Incorrect — the productive suffix is written -itzar, with tz.
✅ L'empresa vol modernitzar totes les botigues.
The company wants to modernize all its shops.
❌ Espero que el nou esquema simplifici el tràmit.
Incorrect spelling — c must become qu before i to preserve the /k/ sound.
✅ Cal simplificar-ho perquè tothom ho comprengui; espero que ho simplifiqui bé.
It needs to be simplified so everyone understands it; I hope they simplify it well.
❌ Jo passejo, tu passejes i nosaltres passejem.
Incorrect — before e the paradigm uses g: passeges, passegem.
✅ Jo passejo, tu passeges i nosaltres passegem.
I walk, you walk, and we walk.
❌ Demà enriquixem el dossier amb dos gràfics.
Incorrect in the Central baseline — the incoative increment does not appear in first-person plural; use enriquim.
✅ Demà enriquim el dossier amb dos gràfics.
Tomorrow we will enrich the file with two charts.
❌ Primer aclarificarem què ha passat.
Incorrect hybrid made by combining aclarir and clarificar.
✅ Primer aclarirem què ha passat.
First we will clarify what happened.
Correction exercise
Correct these forms: modernisar, simplifici, nosaltres passejem, nosaltres enriqueixem. The standard Central forms are modernitzar, simplifiqui, nosaltres passegem, nosaltres enriquim. Then choose the idiomatic verb in aclarir / aclarificar el malentès: neutral Catalan chooses aclarir el malentès; (formal) clarificar is possible in some technical contexts, but the hybrid aclarificar is never the solution.
Key Takeaways
- -itzar is productive for causative and process verbs; its tz spelling is not interchangeable with -isar.
- -ificar is common in formal and technical change-of-state vocabulary and shows c/qu spelling alternation.
- -ejar forms diverse activity verbs and alternates j/g across the paradigm.
- Many base-to-ir verbs are established prefixed families and use incoative present forms, but -ir does not automatically mean incoative.
- The suffix suggests meaning, not complete argument structure; transitive, intransitive, and pronominal uses must be learned with the verb.
- A transparent coinage may still be blocked by an established Catalan verb.
Related Topics
- Adjective-Forming SuffixesA2 — Build and interpret Catalan adjectives with -ós, -al, -ari, -enc, -í, and -able while respecting agreement, spelling, and lexical convention.
- Noun-Forming SuffixesA2 — Form and interpret Catalan nouns in -ció, -ment, -tat, -esa, -eria, and -dor while controlling gender, stress, spelling, and lexical competition.
- Allomorphy in Derivational FamiliesC1 — Why one Catalan lexical family can show several stems, with productive spelling alternations, stress shifts, and inherited or learned variants.
- The Three Conjugations: -ar, -er or -re, and -irA1 — Use a Catalan infinitive to identify its conjugation, anticipate its endings, and recognize the pure and incoative patterns within the third conjugation.
- Incoative -ir Verbs in the PresentA1 — Learn where Central Catalan inserts -eix- in verbs such as servir and how Valencian -isc/-ix forms correspond.
- Present-Tense Spelling ChangesA2 — Keep a Catalan verb stem's consonant or vowel sequence stable by alternating c/qu, g/gu, ç/c, j/g, and diaeresis spellings.