El manillar és recte.

The handlebar is straight.

Breakdown of El manillar és recte.

• ser: to be
• recte: straight
• el manillar: the handlebar

Questions & Answers about El manillar és recte.

Why is it el manillar and not la manillar?

Because manillar is a masculine singular noun in Catalan, so it takes el.

A useful pattern to remember:

• el = masculine singular
• la = feminine singular
• els = masculine plural
• les = feminine plural

So:

• el manillar
• els manillars

Grammatical gender in Catalan does not always match what an English speaker might expect, so it is best to learn the noun together with its article.

Why is manillar singular when English often says handlebars?

Catalan normally uses the singular: manillar.

English often uses a plural form for this object:

• the handlebars are straight

But Catalan usually treats it as a single unit:

• El manillar és recte.

This is very similar to how different languages sometimes divide objects differently. So even if English uses a plural-looking word, Catalan may use a singular noun.

What is és?

És is the 3rd person singular present form of ser, meaning is.

So:

• jo soc = I am
• tu ets = you are
• ell/ella és = he/she is

In this sentence, el manillar is singular, so és is the correct form:

• El manillar és recte. = The handlebar is straight.