La mare va al mercat amb la meva germana.

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

So la mare is the normal way to say mother / mum in a sentence like this.

English usually does not use the in this context, so this feels unusual to English speakers. In Catalan, though, it is completely natural.

A few notes:

• La mare = mother / mum
• Mare! without the article can be used when directly addressing her, like Mum!

Here, va is the 3rd person singular present tense of anar (to go).

So:

• jo vaig = I go
• tu vas = you go
• ell/ella va = he/she goes

In this sentence, la mare va means the mother goes or mum goes.

Yes, va can also appear in a past construction in Catalan, which often confuses learners.

Catalan has a very common past tense made with:

• va + infinitive

For example:

• va anar = went
• va menjar = ate

But in your sentence, va is not followed by an infinitive. It is followed by al mercat, so here va is just the present-tense verb goes.

So:

• La mare va al mercat = Mother goes to the market
• La mare va anar al mercat = Mother went to the market

Because a + el contracts to al in Catalan.

So:

• a + el mercat → al mercat

This is very similar to contractions in some other languages, and it is standard Catalan.

Examples:

• Va al mercat = goes to the market
• Va al cinema = goes to the cinema

But note:

• a + la does not contract
  
  • a la platja = to the beach

In Catalan, possessives are very often used together with the definite article.

So the normal form is:

• la meva germana = my sister
• el meu germà = my brother

This is different from English, where you would normally say just my sister without the.

So Catalan often uses:

• article + possessive + noun

Examples:

• la meva mare
• el meu pare
• la nostra casa

Because the possessive must agree with the noun in gender and number.

Germana is feminine singular, so you need the feminine singular possessive:

• la meva germana

Compare:

• el meu germà = my brother
• la meva germana = my sister
• els meus germans = my brothers / my siblings
• les meves germanes = my sisters

So:

• meu = masculine singular
• meva = feminine singular
• meus = masculine plural
• meves = feminine plural

Amb means with.

It introduces accompaniment, so amb la meva germana means with my sister.

Examples:

• Vaig amb tu = I’m going with you
• Menja amb els amics = He/She eats with friends

It is the normal everyday word for with in Catalan.

The word order here is very normal and straightforward:

• La mare = subject
• va = verb
• al mercat = destination
• amb la meva germana = accompaniment

So the structure is basically:

• Subject + verb + place + companion

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

This sentence sounds natural as it is.

Yes, it could.

Catalan often drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already gives information about the subject. While la mare is not a pronoun, the subject can still be omitted if it is understood from context.

So:

• La mare va al mercat amb la meva germana = explicit subject
• Va al mercat amb la meva germana = subject understood from context

Including la mare makes it clear who is going.

Mercat is pronounced roughly like mer-KAT, with the stress on the last syllable.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• mer like mehr
• cat more like kaht than English cat

So approximately:

• mehr-KAHT

The final t is pronounced.

In this sentence, va al mercat clearly means goes to the market because it follows the verb anar (to go).

With anar, a indicates destination:

• anar al mercat = to go to the market

If you wanted to say at the market, you would usually use a different structure, such as:

• és al mercat = is at the market

So:

• va al mercat = goes to the market
• és al mercat = is at the market