Puc ajudar la mare, però el gat no pot sortir.

the cat

Breakdown of Puc ajudar la mare, però el gat no pot sortir.

• no: not
• la mare: the mother
• però: but
• poder: to be able to
• ajudar: to help
• sortir: to go out

Questions & Answers about Puc ajudar la mare, però el gat no pot sortir.

What does puc mean, and what verb is it from?

Puc means I can or I am able to. It comes from the verb poder, which means to be able to / can.

So:

• puc = I can
• pot = he/she/it can

Poder is an irregular verb, so its forms do not all look very similar.

Why is there no jo in the sentence?

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

So:

• Puc ajudar... already tells you the subject is I
• adding jo is possible, but not necessary

This is very common in Catalan. The verb ending often gives enough information by itself.

Why do we have puc in the first clause but pot in the second?

Because the subject changes.

• In Puc ajudar la mare, the subject is I, so the verb is puc
• In el gat no pot sortir, the subject is the cat, which is third-person singular, so the verb is pot

The verb poder has to agree with its subject.

Why are ajudar and sortir in the infinitive?

After poder, the next verb normally stays in the infinitive.

So:

• puc ajudar = I can help
• pot sortir = can go out / can leave

This works much like English:

• I can help
• the cat can go out

You do not conjugate the second verb here.

Why is the negative no pot sortir?

In Catalan, no usually goes before the conjugated verb.

So:

• no pot sortir = cannot go out

The negation is attached to pot, the finite verb. This is the normal way to make a sentence negative in Catalan.

Why are la and el used here?

They are the definite articles the:

• la mare = the mother
• el gat = the cat

Catalan uses definite articles very regularly. With family words like mare, the article is also very natural, and depending on context it can sometimes sound more natural in Catalan than a literal English the mother would.

Why is there no preposition before la mare?

Because la mare is the direct object of ajudar.

In this sentence:

• puc = main verb
• ajudar = infinitive
• la mare = the person being helped

Standard Catalan normally does not need an extra preposition here. So ajudar la mare is the normal pattern.

What does però mean, and why does it have an accent?

Però means but.

The accent on ò helps show:

• where the stress falls
• that the vowel is an open o sound

So the word is pronounced with stress on the second syllable: pe-RÒ.

Does sortir mean to leave or to go out?

It can mean either, depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• to go out
• to leave
• to come out

In this sentence, with the cat, go out is probably the most natural translation:

• el gat no pot sortir = the cat can't go out

Is the comma before però normal?

Yes. A comma before però is very normal when it joins two clauses.

Here the sentence has two parts:

• Puc ajudar la mare
• però el gat no pot sortir

So the comma helps separate the contrast, just like in English before but.