Les corretges són iguals.

Les is the feminine plural definite article in Catalan, equivalent to the in English.

So here:

• la corretja = the strap
• les corretges = the straps

Catalan articles change for gender and number:

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

Because corretges is a feminine plural noun, it takes les.

The singular is corretja.

So:

• la corretja = singular
• les corretges = plural

This is a common Catalan plural pattern:

• singular ending in -ja
• plural ending in -ges

For example:

• platja → platges
• mitja → mitges
• corretja → corretges

The spelling changes to keep the pronunciation natural.

This is a spelling rule in Catalan.

When a noun ends in -ja, the plural often becomes -ges. This helps preserve the soft sound of the consonant.

So:

• corretja → corretges

If you wrote corretjas, it would not follow standard Catalan spelling.

This kind of change is similar to how languages often adjust spelling in the plural to keep pronunciation consistent.

Because the subject is plural.

• és = is (third person singular)
• són = are (third person plural)

Here the subject is les corretges = more than one strap, so the verb must also be plural:

• La corretja és igual.
• Les corretges són iguals.

Catalan requires the verb to agree with the subject in number.

The accent in són is important in standard written Catalan.

It helps distinguish:

• són = they are
• son = a different word, usually related to sleep or sound, depending on context

So the accent is not optional here. It is the correct written form of the verb ser in the third person plural.

Because adjectives in Catalan usually agree with the noun they describe.

Here:

• corretges is plural
• so igual must also become plural → iguals

Compare:

• La corretja és igual.
• Les corretges són iguals.

This is adjective agreement in number. In this case, igual has the same form for masculine and feminine singular, but the plural adds -s.

In practice, igual is one of those adjectives whose masculine and feminine singular forms look the same:

• igual for masculine singular
• igual for feminine singular

And the plural is:

• iguals for masculine plural
• iguals for feminine plural

So yes, adjectives generally agree in gender and number, but with igual, you do not see a different masculine/feminine form. You only clearly see the singular/plural difference.

Because this sentence is using ser plus an adjective:

• Les corretges són iguals.

This structure means:

• subject + verb + adjective

The adjective is not directly attached before the noun as in English equal straps. Instead, it is working as a predicate adjective, describing the subject after the verb.

This is very normal in Catalan:

• La casa és gran.
• Els llibres són interessants.
• Les corretges són iguals.

Catalan often uses ser when talking about an essential characteristic, classification, or general description.

Here, iguals describes the straps as being the same/alike, so ser is the natural choice:

• Les corretges són iguals.

Using estar here would usually sound unnatural in standard Catalan.

Very roughly:

• ser = what something is like / what it is
• estar = state, condition, location, result in some contexts

So sameness or equivalence here goes with ser.

Usually not in a sentence like this.

Catalan often uses the definite article more regularly than English does. So:

• Les corretges són iguals.

Without the article, Corretges són iguals, the sentence would generally sound incomplete or unnatural in normal standard Catalan.

Catalan tends to want the article with a definite plural noun like this.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

les kuh-RET-juhs son ee-GWALS

A few notes:

• ll in iguals sounds like a y sound in many varieties: ee-GWALS or close to ee-GWALS
• tg in corretges gives a soft sound like the j in judge
• són has an open, clear stressed vowel because of the accent

Pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but that rough guide will help.

Yes, but it does not mean exactly the same thing.

• Les corretges són iguals = the straps are equal / the same in appearance or type / alike
• Les corretges són les mateixes = the straps are the very same ones

So:

• iguals focuses on similarity
• les mateixes focuses on identity

In many contexts they may seem close, but they are not always interchangeable.

Here is the breakdown:

• Les — definite article, feminine plural
• corretges — noun, feminine plural
• són — verb (ser), third person plural present
• iguals — adjective, plural

So the structure is:

article + noun + verb + adjective

That is a very common Catalan sentence pattern.