El pare no pot venir avui perquè treballa.

Because el is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So el pare literally means the father. In Catalan, it is very common to use the article with family members, especially when talking about a specific person:

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

Depending on context, el pare can sound natural in places where English would often just say dad.

It can mean either, depending on context and tone.

• pare is the normal word for father
• in many situations, el pare is naturally understood as dad

So the sentence could be understood as either:

• Father can't come today because he is working
• Dad can't come today because he is working

The exact English choice depends on how formal or informal the context is.

Because Catalan usually forms negation by putting no directly before the conjugated verb.

Here, the conjugated verb is pot:

• pot = can / is able to
• no pot = cannot / can't

So:

• El pare pot venir = Father can come
• El pare no pot venir = Father can't come

This is very similar to Spanish and French word order for negation, though simpler than French.

Pot is the 3rd person singular form of the verb poder, which means to be able to / can.

So:

• puc = I can
• pots = you can
• pot = he/she/it can

In this sentence, pot refers to el pare, so it means he can.

Because the sentence is negative:

• no pot = he can't

Because after poder (to be able to / can), Catalan uses another verb in the infinitive.

So the pattern is:

• poder + infinitive

Examples:

• Puc venir = I can come
• No podem sortir = We can't go out
• El pare no pot venir = Dad can't come

This works much like English can + base verb.

Yes. Catalan is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb already shows who the subject is.

So if the context is clear, you could say:

• No pot venir avui perquè treballa.

That would still be understood as He can't come today because he works / is working.

However, in your sentence, El pare is included because the speaker wants to specify exactly who they are talking about.

Yes, avui can move.

In the sentence:

• El pare no pot venir avui perquè treballa

avui means today, and its position here is very natural. But Catalan allows some flexibility:

• Avui el pare no pot venir perquè treballa.
• El pare avui no pot venir perquè treballa.

These all mean roughly the same thing, though the emphasis changes slightly.

The original version is a very neutral, common word order.

Here perquè means because.

So the sentence is divided like this:

• El pare no pot venir avui = Dad can't come today
• perquè treballa = because he works / because he is working

A very important point: perquè as one word with an accent usually means because.

The accent helps distinguish it from other similar forms.

In Catalan:

• perquè = because
• per què = why / for what
• per que = less common combination in other structures
• per a què = what for / so that

So in your sentence, it must be perquè because it introduces a reason:

• No pot venir perquè treballa = He can't come because he works

The accent also shows the stressed syllable.

Because Catalan often uses the simple present where English may use either the simple present or the present continuous.

• treballa literally = he/she works
• but in context it can also mean he/she is working

So:

• perquè treballa can mean:
  • because he works
  • because he is working

In this sentence, English often prefers because he is working, but Catalan does not need a special continuous form here.

It can be either, depending on context.

Treballa is the present tense of treballar (to work), and Catalan present tense is flexible. It may refer to:

• a general habit: he works
• a current situation: he is working

In this sentence, the most likely meaning is the current reason:

• He can't come today because he is working

But grammatically, the same Catalan form is used.

A rough pronunciation guide for English speakers is:

• El ≈ el
• pare ≈ PAH-ruh
• no ≈ no
• pot ≈ pot
• venir ≈ buh-NEER or veh-NEER depending on accent/dialect
• avui ≈ uh-VUI
• perquè ≈ per-KEH
• treballa ≈ truh-BAH-yuh or truh-BAH-juh, depending on dialect

A few useful notes:

• v and b are often pronounced very similarly in Catalan
• ll in treballa can sound different depending on dialect
• the accent in perquè shows the stress is on the last syllable

It can be changed somewhat, though the original sentence is the most neutral.

For example, you could also say:

• Avui el pare no pot venir perquè treballa.
• Perquè treballa, el pare no pot venir avui.

These are grammatical, but they may sound more marked or give special emphasis.

The basic structure of the original sentence is very standard:

• subject: El pare
• negation + modal: no pot
• infinitive: venir
• time expression: avui
• reason clause: perquè treballa

Yes, that is grammatical, but it is less natural unless you want emphasis.

Catalan often avoids subject pronouns like ell when the subject is already clear. So usually you would say:

• El pare no pot venir avui perquè treballa or simply
• No pot venir avui perquè treballa

You would use ell mainly for contrast or emphasis, for example:

• Ell no pot venir, però ella sí.
  • He can't come, but she can.

Yes, mainly in register and tone.

• pare = father / dad, neutral standard word
• papà = dad / daddy, more familiar and affectionate

So:

• El pare no pot venir avui perquè treballa sounds neutral and standard.
• El papà no pot venir avui perquè treballa sounds more family-centered or childlike, depending on context.

Both are correct; they just have a different tone.