Vull aquesta oportunitat.

Breakdown of Vull aquesta oportunitat.

voler
to want
aquest
this
l'oportunitat
the opportunity

Questions & Answers about Vull aquesta oportunitat.

What does vull mean, and which verb does it come from?

Vull is the first-person singular present tense form of voler, which means to want.

So:

  • voler = to want
  • vull = I want

It is an irregular verb, so the form vull does not look very similar to the infinitive voler.

A few present-tense forms are:

  • vull = I want
  • vols = you want
  • vol = he/she/it wants
  • volem = we want
  • voleu = you all / formal you want
  • volen = they want
Why is there no word for I in the sentence?

Catalan often drops subject pronouns because the verb form already shows who the subject is.

So:

  • Vull aquesta oportunitat = I want this opportunity
  • Jo vull aquesta oportunitat = also correct, but jo is usually added only for emphasis, contrast, or clarity

For example:

  • Jo vull aquesta oportunitat, no ell = I want this opportunity, not him

So the version without jo is completely normal.

Why is it aquesta and not aquest?

Because aquesta must agree with the noun oportunitat, which is feminine singular.

Catalan demonstratives agree in gender and number with the noun:

  • aquest = this (masculine singular)
  • aquesta = this (feminine singular)
  • aquests = these (masculine plural)
  • aquestes = these (feminine plural)

Examples:

  • aquest llibre = this book
  • aquesta oportunitat = this opportunity
  • aquestes oportunitats = these opportunities
Is oportunitat feminine? How can I tell?

Yes, oportunitat is a feminine noun.

A good clue is its ending: many Catalan nouns ending in -tat are feminine, similar to English words ending in -ty or -ity.

Examples:

  • la ciutat = the city
  • la veritat = the truth
  • la oportunitat / l'oportunitat = the opportunity

Because it begins with a vowel, the article la becomes l':

  • l'oportunitat

That is why, if you used the definite article, you would say l'oportunitat, not la oportunitat.

Why is there no article before oportunitat?

Because aquesta already functions as the determiner.

In standard Catalan, you normally say:

  • aquesta oportunitat = this opportunity

not:

  • aquesta l'oportunitat

If you use the article instead, the meaning changes:

  • Vull l'oportunitat = I want the opportunity
  • Vull aquesta oportunitat = I want this opportunity

So the sentence is built exactly as you would expect: verb + demonstrative + noun.

Is the word order fixed in Vull aquesta oportunitat?

This is the normal, neutral word order: verb + object.

Catalan does allow some flexibility for emphasis.

For example:

  • Jo vull aquesta oportunitat = adds emphasis to I
  • Aquesta oportunitat la vull = emphasizes this opportunity

In the second example, la appears because Catalan often uses a clitic pronoun when the object is moved to the front.

But if you are just making a plain statement, Vull aquesta oportunitat is the most natural choice.

How do you pronounce Vull aquesta oportunitat?

A rough English-style approximation is:

BOOL uh-KWES-tuh oo-por-too-nee-TAT

A few notes:

  • vull: the ll is often pronounced like a palatal ly sound, somewhat similar to the lli in million for many learners' ears. In some accents it may sound closer to y.
  • aquesta: stress on -ques-
  • oportunitat: stress on the last syllable, -tat

So the main stresses are:

  • VULL
  • a-QUES-ta
  • o-por-tu-ni-TAT

Pronunciation varies somewhat across Catalan-speaking regions, but this will give you a good starting point.

Does aquesta always mean this? What about that?

In this sentence, aquesta means this.

For that, Catalan commonly uses aquella (feminine singular):

  • aquesta oportunitat = this opportunity
  • aquella oportunitat = that opportunity

You may also encounter the form aqueixa in some varieties, especially in Valencian or in more traditional systems, but aquesta / aquella is the most useful pair to learn first.

Is vull too direct? How would I say something softer, like I’d like this opportunity?

Yes, vull can sound quite direct because it literally means I want.

That does not make it wrong. It is perfectly natural when you are expressing a strong wish or clear intention.

If you want something softer or more polite, you could use:

  • Voldria aquesta oportunitat = I would like this opportunity
  • M'agradaria aquesta oportunitat = I would like this opportunity
  • M'agradaria tenir aquesta oportunitat = I would like to have this opportunity

So:

  • Vull aquesta oportunitat = stronger, more direct
  • Voldria... / M'agradaria... = softer, more polite
How would I make this sentence negative?

Just put no before the verb:

  • No vull aquesta oportunitat. = I do not want this opportunity.

This is very straightforward in Catalan:

  • Vull = I want
  • No vull = I do not want
How would I turn it into a question?

In Catalan, yes/no questions are often made just by intonation in speech and by question marks in writing.

So you can have:

  • Vull aquesta oportunitat? = Do I want this opportunity?

That exact sentence sounds a bit unusual unless you are asking yourself a reflective question.

More useful parallels would be:

  • Vols aquesta oportunitat? = Do you want this opportunity?
  • Vol aquesta oportunitat? = Does he/she want this opportunity?

So Catalan usually does not need an extra helping verb like English do. The verb form itself does the job.

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