Questions & Answers about La mare és a l'escola avui.
Why is it la mare and not just mare?
La mare literally means the mother, but in Catalan the definite article is often used with family members in everyday speech.
So la mare can mean:
- the mother
- mum / my mother, depending on context
This is more natural in Catalan than in English. English often drops the article in this kind of meaning, but Catalan usually keeps it.
Why is there an accent in és?
The word és is the 3rd person singular of the verb ser: is.
The accent is important because it distinguishes és from es:
- és = is
- es = a reflexive pronoun, like himself / herself / itself / oneself in different contexts
So in this sentence, és must have the accent because it is the verb.
Why does the sentence use és for location? Could it also be està?