Hi ha un soroll estrany a la clínica veterinària.

Hi ha is the standard Catalan way to say there is or there are.

It is made of:

• hi = a little locative particle, roughly related to there
• ha = has from the verb haver

So literally it comes from an older structure like there has, but in modern Catalan you should just learn hi ha as a fixed expression meaning there is / there are.

Examples:

• Hi ha un gat. = There is a cat.
• Hi ha dos gats. = There are two cats.

Notice that Catalan uses hi ha for both singular and plural.

Because Catalan, like Spanish and unlike English, uses a special structure for existence.

• Hi ha = something exists / is present somewhere
• És = is, for identity or essential description
• Està = is, for location or temporary state

So in this sentence, the idea is there is a strange noise, not the noise is strange.

Compare:

• Hi ha un soroll estrany a la clínica veterinària. = There is a strange noise at the veterinary clinic.
• El soroll és estrany. = The noise is strange.
• El gos està a la clínica veterinària. = The dog is at the veterinary clinic.

In modern Catalan, hi ha is normally used unchanged for both singular and plural.

So you say:

• Hi ha un soroll. = There is a noise.
• Hi ha molts sorolls. = There are many noises.

For English speakers, this is important because you do not usually change it to match the number the way English does with is/are.

Because Catalan usually uses an article where English sometimes does not.

• un soroll = a noise
• soroll by itself can mean noise in a more general or abstract sense

In this sentence, we are talking about one unspecified noise, so un is natural.

Compare:

• Hi ha un soroll. = There is a noise.
• Hi ha soroll. = There is noise. / It’s noisy.

Both are possible, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.

In Catalan, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• un soroll estrany = a strange noise
• una clínica gran = a big clinic

This is one of the most common differences from English.

Sometimes Catalan adjectives can come before the noun, but that often changes the tone or meaning. For ordinary descriptive use, put the adjective after the noun.

Because soroll is a masculine singular noun, so the adjective must agree with it.

Agreement here is:

• soroll = masculine singular
• estrany = masculine singular form

Compare:

• un soroll estrany = a strange noise
• una situació estranya = a strange situation
• uns sorolls estranys = strange noises
• unes situacions estranyes = strange situations

Catalan adjectives usually change to match gender and number.

Mostly, you learn the gender together with the noun.

The article shows it clearly:

• un soroll = masculine
• una would be feminine

Unfortunately, gender is not always predictable from the ending, so it is best to memorize nouns with their article:

• el soroll
• la clínica

That helps you automatically choose the right adjective forms later.

A usually means to or at, depending on context.

Here, a la clínica veterinària means at the veterinary clinic.

It breaks down like this:

• a = at / to
• la = the
• clínica veterinària = veterinary clinic

So:

• a la clínica = at the clinic

This is very common with places:

• a l’escola = at school
• a la universitat = at the university
• al parc = at the park

Because clínica is feminine.

Catalan combines:

• a + el = al
• a + la = a la

So:

• al veterinari = to the vet / at the male vet
• a la clínica = at the clinic

The contraction only happens with el, not with la.

Here, veterinària is an adjective describing clínica.

So:

• clínica = clinic
• veterinària = veterinary

Together:

• clínica veterinària = veterinary clinic

It agrees with clínica, which is feminine singular, so the adjective is also feminine singular:

• veterinari = masculine singular
• veterinària = feminine singular

Yes. That is also perfectly natural.

Catalan often allows some flexibility in word order, especially when you want to emphasize the location or set the scene first.

Both are good:

• Hi ha un soroll estrany a la clínica veterinària.
• A la clínica veterinària hi ha un soroll estrany.

The second version puts more focus on where this is happening.

In standard Central Catalan, hi ha is often pronounced approximately like ee AH or sometimes with the first part reduced in fast speech.

A simple learner-friendly guide:

• hi sounds roughly like ee
• ha has an a like father

So:

• hi ha ≈ ee AH

Depending on dialect and speed, the exact sound can vary a bit, but if you say it clearly as two parts, people will understand you.

The accent marks show which syllable is stressed.

• clínica: stress on clí
• veterinària: stress on nà

This is very helpful in Catalan, because written accents often guide pronunciation.

A rough stress guide:

• CLÍ-ni-ca
• ve-te-ri-NÀ-ri-a

For learners, accents are worth paying attention to because they are not optional in correct writing.

Yes, that is possible, but un soroll estrany is the more neutral, everyday order.

• un soroll estrany = a strange noise
• un estrany soroll = a strange noise, but with a slightly more literary or emphatic feel

For normal conversation, it is safer to use noun + adjective unless you have learned that a particular adjective commonly goes before the noun.

You put no before hi ha:

• No hi ha un soroll estrany a la clínica veterinària.

Very often, though, Catalan speakers would phrase it more naturally as:

• No hi ha cap soroll estrany a la clínica veterinària. = There isn’t any strange noise at the veterinary clinic.

Using cap is common when English would use any.

You can simply use question intonation in speech, or add question marks in writing:

• Hi ha un soroll estrany a la clínica veterinària?

This means:

• Is there a strange noise at the veterinary clinic?

Catalan does not need an extra auxiliary like English do or inversion like is there. The same structure can work as a statement or a question, depending on intonation and punctuation.