El termini és curt.

The time limit is short.

Breakdown of El termini és curt.

• ser: to be
• curt: short
• el termini: the time limit

Questions & Answers about El termini és curt.

Why is it el termini and not just termini?

In Catalan, you often use the definite article where English may or may not use the.

So el termini means the deadline / the time limit / the term.
Leaving out the article here — Termini és curt — would sound ungrammatical in normal Catalan.

A few useful points:

• el = masculine singular the
• termini is a masculine singular noun
• so they go together: el termini

Why is it és and not està?

Catalan, like Spanish, has two main verbs that can both translate as to be:

• ser → for essential characteristics, identity, definitions
• estar → for states, locations, temporary conditions in many cases

Here, curt describes a characteristic of the deadline itself: it is short. That is why Catalan uses ser:

• El termini és curt.

Using estar here would usually sound wrong.

So a good rule of thumb is:

• és curt = is short as a characteristic
• not està curt

What exactly is és?