Tinc una germana.

I have a sister.

Breakdown of Tinc una germana.

• un: a
• tenir: to have
• la germana: the sister

Questions & Answers about Tinc una germana.

What exactly is tinc?

Tinc is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb tenir, which means to have.

So:

• tenir = to have
• tinc = I have

It is a common and important verb, and its present-tense forms are a bit irregular, so tinc is something you should memorize as a whole form.

Why isn’t jo included?

Because Catalan often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Here, tinc already tells you the subject is I, so jo is not necessary.

• Tinc una germana = normal, natural
• Jo tinc una germana = also correct, but more emphatic

You might add jo if you want contrast or emphasis, for example:

• Jo tinc una germana, però ell no.

Why is there una before germana?

Because germana is a singular countable noun, and in Catalan, singular count nouns normally need a determiner such as un/una, la, aquesta, etc.

So una germana works like a sister in English.

You would not normally leave it out in standard Catalan here.

Why is it una and not un?

Because germana is a feminine noun, and the indefinite article has to agree with it.

• un = masculine singular
• una = feminine singular

So:

• un germà = a brother
• una germana = a sister

How do I know that germana is feminine?

In this case, the ending helps: germana is the feminine form, while germà is the masculine form.

• germà = brother
• germana = sister

The article confirms it too:

• un germà
• una germana

So both the noun and the article show the gender.

Why doesn’t Catalan use my here, like la meva germana?

Because Tinc una germana is about having a sister, not about identifying a specific person as my sister.

Compare:

• Tinc una germana = I have a sister
• La meva germana = my sister

So if you are simply stating that such a family member exists, Catalan uses tenir + un/una + noun.

If you say la meva germana, you are referring to a specific sister, not just saying that you have one.

Can una here also mean one instead of a?

Yes. Just like English a and one can sometimes overlap, una can be either the indefinite article or the number one.

In Tinc una germana, the most neutral reading is usually I have a sister.

If you want to make the number more explicit, Catalan often adds extra emphasis, for example:

• Només tinc una germana = I only have one sister
• Tinc una sola germana = I have only one sister

So context and stress matter.

How is Tinc una germana pronounced?

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

teenk OO-nuh zher-MAH-nuh

A few notes:

• tinc: the i is like ee in see, and the final c sounds like k
• una: roughly OO-nuh
• germana: the g before e sounds like the s in measure for many speakers

Pronunciation varies by dialect, so you may hear small differences, especially in the vowels.

Can I also say Jo tinc una germana?

Yes, absolutely.

Both are correct:

• Tinc una germana
• Jo tinc una germana

But Tinc una germana is more neutral and more typical in everyday Catalan.

Adding jo usually gives extra emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

How would I say I have a brother instead?

You would say:

Tinc un germà.

The pattern is the same:

• tinc = I have
• un = a masculine singular article
• germà = brother

So the only changes are the article and the noun’s gender form.