El problema és greu.

Because problema is a masculine noun in Catalan: el problema.

This is one of those nouns that can look misleading to an English speaker, because many Catalan nouns ending in -a are feminine, but not all of them are. A number of learned words of Greek origin are masculine, including problema.

So:

• el problema
• un problema
• aquest problema

Not la problema in standard Catalan.

El is the definite article, meaning the.

So el problema = the problem.

Catalan articles change for gender and number:

• el = the (masculine singular)
• la = the (feminine singular)
• els = the (masculine plural)
• les = the (feminine plural)

In this sentence, el agrees with problema, which is masculine singular.

The accent in és is important.

Here, és is the 3rd person singular of the verb ser:

• és = is

The accent helps distinguish it from es, which is a different word in Catalan, often a reflexive or pronominal form.

So:

• és = is
• es = himself/herself/itself, or part of reflexive constructions, depending on context

This accent is not optional.

It has the same basic meaning here, but the spelling is different.

• Catalan: és
• Spanish: es

In Catalan, the accent mark is required in this form. So if you know Spanish, this is an easy place to make a spelling mistake.

Because greu here describes the problem as serious in a general, identifying sense, so Catalan uses ser:

• El problema és greu. = The problem is serious.

With ser, you identify or describe what something is like.

Using estar would usually sound wrong here. In Catalan, estar is more limited than English to be, and often more limited than Spanish estar too.

For a problem, és greu is the normal choice.

Because greu is a predicate adjective here.

The structure is:

• El problema = subject
• és = verb
• greu = adjective describing the subject

This is the normal pattern in Catalan, just like in English:

• The problem is serious.

So greu comes after és because it is completing the idea of the verb to be.

No. Greu is one of those adjectives that has the same form for masculine and feminine singular.

So you can say:

• El problema és greu.
• La situació és greu.

In the plural, it becomes:

• greus

Examples:

• Els problemes són greus.
• Les conseqüències són greus.

Greu is an adjective meaning something like serious, severe, or grave, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is describing the noun problema.

You can use it:

1. Predicatively: after a verb like ser

   • El problema és greu.

2. Attributively: directly next to a noun

   • un problema greu

So the same adjective can appear in both places.

Yes, but that would not be a complete sentence by itself unless the context supports it.

• un problema greu = a serious problem

That is just a noun phrase.

The full sentence is:

• El problema és greu.

So compare:

• un problema greu = a serious problem
• El problema és greu. = The problem is serious.

Yes, if the context already makes it clear what you are talking about.

Catalan often leaves things out when they are understood from context. So:

• És greu. = It’s serious. / It is serious.

But if you want to state the subject clearly, especially when introducing the idea, you say:

• El problema és greu.

Roughly, greu sounds like GREH-oo compressed into one syllable, with the ending forming a diphthong.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

• greu ≈ greh-oo / grew with a more open vowel

The exact pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect, but the important thing is that it is one syllable, not two separate ones like gre-u.

A simple approximation for English speakers is:

• el pro-BLE-ma es GREU

More carefully:

• El is short.
• problema is stressed on BLE: pro-BLE-ma
• és is short and clear.
• greu is one syllable.

So the rhythm is:

• el pro-BLE-ma és GREU

The normal, neutral order is:

• El problema és greu.

That is the standard way to say it.

Catalan can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but for a beginner, this is the pattern to remember:

• subject + ser + adjective

So if you want to sound natural and neutral, keep it as:

• El problema és greu.

You make the noun, article, verb, and adjective agree in the plural:

• Els problemes són greus. = The problems are serious.

Changes:

• el → els
• problema → problemes
• és → són
• greu → greus

This is a good sentence to study because it shows agreement clearly.

You put no before the verb:

• El problema no és greu. = The problem is not serious.

That is the normal Catalan way to negate the sentence.

Pattern:

• subject + no + verb + adjective

So:

• El problema és greu.
• El problema no és greu.

In speech, you can often keep the same word order and use intonation:

• El problema és greu? = Is the problem serious?

In writing, the question mark shows that it is a question.

Catalan usually does not require a word-order change like English does. So you do not need to move the verb before the subject.

That makes it easy:

• Statement: El problema és greu.
• Question: El problema és greu?