A la nit, m'agrada cuinar el sopar.

Because agradar works differently from English to like.

In Catalan, agradar literally works more like to be pleasing to. So:

• m' = to me
• agrada = is pleasing

So m'agrada cuinar el sopar is structurally closer to Cooking dinner is pleasing to me than to I like cooking dinner.

That is why Catalan uses the pronoun m' and not a subject pronoun like jo here.

The full form is em agrada. Before a vowel, em is normally shortened to m'.

So:

• em agrada → m'agrada

This is very common in Catalan with weak pronouns:

• m'agrada
• t'agrada
• l'estimo

It is just a normal contraction for pronunciation and spelling.

Because the thing being liked is treated as a single idea: cuinar el sopar.

With agradar, the verb agrees with the thing that is pleasing, not with the person who likes it.

Here, the subject is the infinitive phrase cuinar el sopar, which counts as singular, so Catalan uses:

• m'agrada cuinar el sopar

Compare:

• M'agrada cuinar.
• M'agraden els llibres.

In the second example, els llibres is plural, so the verb becomes agraden.

Because after agradar, Catalan commonly uses an infinitive to talk about liking an action.

So:

• M'agrada cuinar = I like cooking / I like to cook

This is very natural in Catalan. English can use either -ing or to + verb, but Catalan normally just uses the infinitive.

Other examples:

• M'agrada llegir.
• M'agrada viatjar.
• M'agrada cantar.

Catalan often uses the definite article with meals and other nouns where English might leave it out.

So el sopar is normal here and means dinner in a general or contextually understood sense.

This is similar to how Catalan often says:

• esmorzar / l'esmorzar
• el dinar
• el sopar

In this sentence, cuinar el sopar sounds very natural.

A la nit means at night or in the evening/at night, depending on context.

It is a time expression placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Catalan learners often compare it with de nit:

• a la nit = at night, in the nighttime period
• de nit = by night / at night, often more general or adverbial

In many everyday contexts, both can be possible, but A la nit, m'agrada cuinar el sopar is a very normal way to introduce the time.

It is not always strictly necessary, but it is very natural when a time expression is moved to the front of the sentence.

So both are possible:

• A la nit, m'agrada cuinar el sopar.
• A la nit m'agrada cuinar el sopar.

The comma helps mark A la nit as an introductory phrase and makes the sentence a little clearer to read.

Yes. Catalan allows some flexibility.

For example:

• M'agrada cuinar el sopar a la nit.

This has basically the same meaning. The version with A la nit at the front gives a little more emphasis to the time.

So the difference is mostly about focus and style, not a big change in meaning.

Because Catalan usually leaves out subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

So M'agrada cuinar el sopar already clearly means I like cooking dinner from the pronoun m' and the verb form.

You could say:

• A mi m'agrada cuinar el sopar
• Jo, a la nit, m'agrada cuinar el sopar

But that would add emphasis, contrast, or a special discourse effect. In a neutral sentence, leaving jo out is more natural.

In English, we usually say cook dinner, but Catalan naturally uses the article here: cuinar el sopar.

So even though el literally looks like the, you should not always translate it word for word. In many cases, Catalan uses the definite article where English does not.

That is why cuinar el sopar is the normal Catalan phrasing.

It is pronounced roughly like muh-GRA-thuh in Central Catalan, or muh-GRA-da in varieties where d is pronounced more clearly and z/s distinctions differ.

A few helpful points:

• The stress is on gra: a-GRA-da
• m'agrada is said smoothly, almost as one unit
• In many accents, the final a is a neutral vowel

You do not pronounce a separate full em here; the m' is attached directly to agrada.