El pa és allà.

to be

Breakdown of El pa és allà.

• el pa: the bread
• allà: there

Questions & Answers about El pa és allà.

Why is there an article in el pa? English often just says bread.

In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article where English might use no article.

So el pa literally means the bread, but depending on context it can also match English bread more generally.

Here, el is the masculine singular definite article:

• el pa = the bread

You usually cannot drop el here and say Pa és allà. That would sound incomplete or unnatural in normal Catalan.

Is pa masculine? How do I know?

Yes, pa is a masculine singular noun, which is why it takes el:

• el pa

There is not always a perfect rule for guessing noun gender in Catalan, so often you simply learn the noun together with its article:

• el pa
• la taula
• el llibre

That is a good habit for learners.

Why is it és and not està?