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Questions & Answers about Com estàs avui?
Why does Catalan say Com estàs avui? instead of something more literal like How are you today?
Because com means how, estàs means you are, and avui means today. So the structure is actually very close to English:
- Com = how
- estàs = are you / you are
- avui = today
Catalan does not need the subject pronoun tu here, so Com estàs avui? is the natural way to say it.
Why is it estàs and not ets?
Catalan, like Spanish, uses two verbs for to be:
- ser → more permanent qualities, identity, origin, profession
- estar → states, conditions, feelings, locations in many cases
When asking about someone’s condition or how they feel, Catalan uses estar:
- Com estàs? = How are you?
- Estic bé. = I’m fine.
By contrast, ets comes from ser, so it would be used for things like:
- Ets català? = Are you Catalan?
- Ets professor? = Are you a teacher?
Why isn’t tu included in the sentence?