La mare i el pare són a casa avui.

Because Catalan normally uses the definite article with family members when you talk about them: la mare, el pare, la germana, l’avi, and so on.

So la mare i el pare is completely natural Catalan. English often handles this differently, so it can feel strange at first.

They can mean either, depending on context.

Literally, they are mother and father, but in everyday family context la mare i el pare often feels closer to mum and dad than to the more formal English the mother and the father.

Because the subject is plural overall.

Even though la mare and el pare are each singular, they are joined by i meaning and, so together they form a plural subject. That is why Catalan uses són, the they are form of ser.

Compare:

• La mare és a casa = Mother is at home
• La mare i el pare són a casa = Mother and father are at home

This is a very common learner question.

In Catalan, ser is often used in simple location expressions such as ser a casa. So són a casa is natural and correct.

You may also hear estar in some contexts or dialects, and estan a casa can also be possible, often with a slight sense of being there or staying there. But for a neutral statement of location, són a casa is a normal sentence to learn.

A casa means at home.

This is an idiomatic expression in Catalan. It does not just mean at the house in a literal building sense. It usually means home as the place where someone lives.

Examples:

• Sóc a casa = I’m at home
• Som a casa = We’re at home

Because when casa means home, Catalan usually leaves out the article.

So:

• a casa = at home
• anar a casa = to go home

If you say a la casa, that usually sounds more like to/at the house, referring to a specific house as a building, not the idiomatic idea of home.

Here it means at, because the sentence describes where the parents are.

But Catalan a can also correspond to English to in other sentences. For example:

• Van a casa = They’re going home
• Són a casa = They’re at home

So the exact English meaning depends on context.

Because Catalan word order is flexible, and putting avui at the end is very natural.

The sentence is giving the main statement first, then adding the time information:

• La mare i el pare són a casa avui

You could also say:

• Avui, la mare i el pare són a casa

Both are correct. The version with avui at the end can sound a bit more like today is an extra piece of information or a point of emphasis.

Yes.

Els pares són a casa avui is also correct. It means The parents are at home today or, depending on context, Mum and dad are at home today.

The difference is mainly one of focus:

• la mare i el pare names the two people separately
• els pares refers to them as a pair

Because Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

Here the subject is already clearly stated as la mare i el pare, so there is no need to add ells.

Catalan does this a lot:

• Sóc a casa = I’m at home
• Som a casa = We’re at home
• Són a casa = They’re at home

The accent is part of the correct spelling.

In Catalan, accent marks help show stress and sometimes distinguish one word from another. Són is the plural form of ser meaning are.

So it is best to learn són as a fixed form:

• és = is
• són = are

Yes. In this sentence, i simply means and.

So:

• la mare i el pare = the mother and the father / mum and dad

It is a very common word, and you will see it constantly in Catalan.