La mare vol obrir la finestra abans de sortir.

In Catalan, family members are very often used with the definite article: la mare, el pare, l’avi, la germana, etc.

So La mare can mean:

• the mother
• or, depending on context, simply mother / mum

This is very natural in Catalan. English usually does not do this in the same way.

A useful contrast:

• La mare vol obrir la finestra. = Mother / Mum wants to open the window.
• Mare, vine! = Mum, come!

When directly addressing the person, Catalan usually drops the article.

Vol is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb voler, which means to want.

So:

• jo vull = I want
• tu vols = you want
• ell/ella vol = he/she wants

In this sentence, La mare vol... means The mother / Mum wants...

This verb is irregular, so it is worth memorizing its present forms.

Because in Catalan, voler is followed directly by an infinitive.

Pattern:

• voler + infinitive

So:

• vol obrir = wants to open
• vol sortir = wants to leave/go out
• vol menjar = wants to eat

Unlike English, where you say wants to open, Catalan does not use a word equivalent to to here.

Because it depends on vol.

After voler, the second verb stays in the infinitive:

• vol obrir = wants to open

This works much like English:

• wants to open
• wants to leave
• wants to eat

So obrir is not conjugated because vol is already the conjugated verb.

Catalan often uses the definite article where English may or may not use one, but here it matches English quite closely:

• la finestra = the window

The speaker is referring to a specific window, so the definite article is used.

Also note:

• la is the feminine singular article
• finestra is a feminine noun

So:

• la porta = the door
• la casa = the house
• la finestra = the window

Abans de means before when it is followed by a noun or an infinitive.

In this sentence:

• abans de sortir = before leaving / before going out

This is a very common structure in Catalan.

Examples:

• abans de dinar = before lunch / before eating lunch
• abans de marxar = before leaving
• abans de dormir = before sleeping

Because abans normally takes de before an infinitive.

So the pattern is:

• abans de + infinitive

Examples:

• abans de parlar = before speaking
• abans de començar = before starting
• abans de sortir = before leaving

If a full clause with a conjugated verb follows, Catalan often uses a different structure:

• abans que surti
• abans que marxem

So abans de sortir is the normal form when the verb is left in the infinitive.

Here sortir means to leave or to go out.

Depending on context, sortir can mean:

• to go out
• to leave
• to come out
• to exit

In abans de sortir, the natural English translation is usually:

• before leaving
• or before going out

The exact choice depends on the context already given.

Usually, yes.

In a sentence like this, when you have:

• La mare vol obrir la finestra abans de sortir

the most natural interpretation is that the mother is the one who will leave/go out.

That is because the infinitive sortir normally shares its subject with the main verb unless context suggests otherwise.

If you wanted to make it clear that someone else is leaving, Catalan would usually use a fuller structure, for example:

• La mare vol obrir la finestra abans que els nens surtin. = The mother wants to open the window before the children leave.

Yes, it is completely normal.

The structure is:

• La mare — subject
• vol — conjugated verb
• obrir — infinitive linked to vol
• la finestra — object
• abans de sortir — time expression

So the sentence is built very naturally: Subject + verb + infinitive + object + time phrase

Catalan word order is often similar to English in sentences like this, although Catalan can sometimes be more flexible.

Yes, depending on context.

Catalan often uses the article with family words in places where English might use:

• my mother
• mum
• mother

So La mare vol obrir la finestra could, in the right context, mean:

• Mum wants to open the window
• My mother wants to open the window
• The mother wants to open the window

Context tells you which one is intended.

A very close breakdown is:

• La mare = the mother / mum
• vol = wants
• obrir = to open
• la finestra = the window
• abans de sortir = before leaving / before going out

So literally it is something like:

The mother wants open the window before leaving

But natural English adds to after wants: The mother wants to open the window before leaving.

A few useful ones:

• mare sounds roughly like MAH-reh
• vol has a short o sound, roughly bol/voll depending on accent
• obrir ends with an infinitive -ir
• finestra is stressed on nes: fi-NES-tra
• sortir is stressed on the last syllable: sor-TIR

Catalan pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect, but these stress patterns are important:

• mare → MA-re
• finestra → fi-NES-tra
• sortir → sor-TIR

Learning where the stress falls will help a lot with sounding natural.