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Learn Hardcore Catalan: El gat miola. - The cat meows.

Hardcore Catalan
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El gat miola.

Breakdown of El gat miola.

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Questions & Answers about El gat miola.

Why is it el and not la?

Because gat is a masculine noun in Catalan. The masculine singular definite article is el, so el gat means the cat.

A few useful related forms:

el gat = the male cat / the cat
la gata = the female cat
els gats = the cats (masculine or mixed group)
les gates = the female cats

In many contexts, gat can also be used generically for cat, not only specifically male cat.

Does gat mean specifically a male cat, or can it also just mean cat in general?

It can mean both, depending on context.

gat can mean male cat
but it can also be used in a generic sense for cat

If you specifically want to say female cat, use gata.

So in a simple sentence like El gat miola, learners will often understand it as The cat meows, unless the context makes the cat’s sex important.

What part of speech is miola?

Miola is a verb form. It is the third-person singular present tense of miolar, which means to meow.

So:

miolar = to meow
miola = meows / is meowing, depending on context

In this sentence, el gat is the subject, and miola is the verb.

Why doesn’t Catalan use a pronoun like it here?

Catalan usually does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the verb form already shows the person and number.

So instead of saying something like It meows, Catalan naturally says:

El gat miola

The noun el gat already tells you who is doing the action, so no extra pronoun is needed.

More generally, Catalan often drops subject pronouns such as jo, tu, ell, etc., unless they are needed for emphasis or clarity.

Could you also say Miola el gat?

Yes, you can, but it is less neutral.

The basic, neutral word order is:

El gat miola.

Catalan can also move things around for emphasis or style:

Miola el gat.

That might sound more like The cat is meowing with a slight focus on the action, or it might fit a particular context better. But for a beginner, El gat miola is the safest and most standard order.

How do you pronounce El gat miola?

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide is:

el ≈ ehl
gat ≈ gaht
miola ≈ mee-OH-luh

The stress is on the o in miola:

mi-O-la

A few pronunciation notes:

g in gat is a hard g, like in go
the t in gat is clearly pronounced
miola has three syllables: mi-o-la

Depending on the Catalan variety, the vowels may sound a bit different, but this is a good starting point.

Why is there no accent mark in miola?

Because it follows the normal stress rules, so no written accent is needed.

In Catalan, words ending in a vowel are usually stressed on the second-to-last syllable. Since miola ends in -a, the natural stress is:

mi-O-la

Because that stress is regular, no accent mark is written.

Does miola mean meows or is meowing?

It can mean either one, depending on context.

The Catalan present tense often covers both:

The cat meows
The cat is meowing

So El gat miola could describe:

a general habit: The cat meows
something happening now: The cat is meowing

If the situation is not clear, context usually tells you which meaning is intended.

What is the dictionary form of miola?

The dictionary form is miolar, meaning to meow.

This is the infinitive form, the one you would look up in a dictionary.

A few present-tense forms are:

jo miolo = I meow / am meowing
tu mioles = you meow / are meowing
ell / ella miola = he / she meows / is meowing

For this sentence, the important point is that miola matches a third-person singular subject such as el gat.

Is el always translated as the?

Very often, yes, but not always in a strict word-for-word way.

In this sentence, el is the definite article, so the is the natural English equivalent:

el gat = the cat

However, article use does not always match perfectly between Catalan and English in every sentence. Still, for this example, thinking of el as the is exactly right.

How would this sentence change in the plural?

The plural would be:

Els gats miolen. = The cats meow.

Here is what changes:

el → els
gat → gats
miola → miolen

This shows agreement between the subject and the verb: a plural subject takes a plural verb form.

Is miolar the normal verb for the sound a cat makes?

Yes. Miolar is the normal Catalan verb meaning to meow.

So:

El gat miola = The cat meows / is meowing

You may also see sound words or onomatopoeia in other contexts, but miolar is the standard verb you use for the animal’s action.

Can this sentence mean A cat meows?

Normally, El gat miola is understood as The cat meows because el is a definite article.

If you wanted A cat meows, you would usually say:

Un gat miola.

So:

el gat = the cat
un gat = a cat

That said, in some broad generic statements, languages sometimes use the definite article where English might prefer something else, but for a beginner, it is best to read el gat as the cat.

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