La mare està cansada avui.

to be

Breakdown of La mare està cansada avui.

• avui: today
• la mare: the mother
• cansat: tired

Questions & Answers about La mare està cansada avui.

Why is it la mare and not just mare?

In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article before family members, especially in ordinary statements.

So la mare means the mother, but in many contexts it naturally corresponds to English mother or mom.

Examples:

• La mare està cansada. = Mother/Mom is tired.
• El pare treballa. = Father/Dad is working.

Using the article here is normal Catalan.

Why do we use està instead of és?

Catalan has two verbs that can both mean to be:

• ser → often for identity, essential characteristics, origin, etc.
• estar → often for states, conditions, location, and temporary situations

In La mare està cansada avui, cansada is a temporary condition, so estar is the natural choice.

Compare:

• La mare està cansada. = Mother is tired.
• La mare és amable. = Mother is kind.

So està cansada means she is in the state of being tired.

What form of the verb is està?