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Questions & Answers about La casa és gran.
Why is it la casa and not just casa?
La is the definite article, meaning the.
So:
- casa = house
- la casa = the house
Catalan uses articles very regularly, often more regularly than English. In a simple sentence like this, la casa is the normal way to say the house.
What does és mean?
És is the he/she/it form of the verb ser, which means to be.
So:
- jo soc = I am
- tu ets = you are
- ell/ella és = he/she is
In La casa és gran, és means is.
Why does és have an accent mark?
The accent in és helps distinguish it from es, which is a different word.
- és = is
- es = a reflexive pronoun, like oneself / himself / herself, depending on context
The accent also shows stress and is an important part of correct spelling. So in this sentence, you must write és, not es.