Vostè vol cafè o te al matí?

Vostè is the formal singular word for you in Catalan. You use it when speaking politely, respectfully, or in more formal situations, for example with a stranger, a customer, an older person, or in professional contexts.

The informal singular you is tu.

So:

• Vostè vol cafè o te al matí? = formal
• Vols cafè o te al matí? = informal

Because vostè takes the third-person singular verb form, not the second-person singular form.

So:

• tu vols = informal you want
• vostè vol = formal you want

This is one of the most important things to remember with vostè: even though it means you, it behaves grammatically like he/she.

Yes. In Catalan, subject pronouns are often omitted when the meaning is clear from the verb or from context.

So this is very natural:

• Vol cafè o te al matí?

Including vostè can add clarity, emphasis, or formality, but it is not always necessary.

Capitalizing Vostè is a polite writing convention, similar to writing a respectful You in some older or very formal English styles. It shows deference or courtesy.

However, in modern Catalan, lowercase vostè is also completely normal:

• Vostè vol cafè o te al matí?
• vostè vol cafè o te al matí?

Both are possible, though lowercase is generally more common in everyday writing.

Catalan does not use a helper verb like English do in questions.

English says:

• Do you want coffee or tea in the morning?

Catalan simply uses the verb directly:

• Vostè vol cafè o te al matí?

Very often, a yes/no question has the same word order as a statement, and the question is shown by intonation in speech or by the question mark in writing.

Compare:

• Vostè vol cafè o te al matí. = statement
• Vostè vol cafè o te al matí? = question

In Catalan, when talking about food or drink in a general, indefinite way, it is very common to use the noun without an article.

So:

• vol cafè o te = wants coffee or tea

This is natural because the speaker is asking what kind of drink the person wants, not referring to a specific coffee or a specific tea already known to both speakers.

Using an article can change the nuance and may sound more specific or less natural in this context.

Yes, they are different words:

• te = tea
• té = he/she has or you have with vostè

So in this sentence:

• cafè o te = coffee or tea

If you wrote té, it would be a different word entirely.

This is a very common point of confusion for learners, so it is worth memorizing.

Al matí means in the morning.

The word al is a contraction of:

• a + el = al

So literally, al matí is something like at the morning, but the natural English translation is in the morning.

This kind of contraction is very common in Catalan.

Yes, in many contexts pel matí is also used and can mean in the morning or during the morning.

But al matí is very standard and straightforward here. For a learner, al matí is an excellent form to know and use.

You would normally use tu, and the verb would change to vols:

• Vols cafè o te al matí?

Notice two changes:

• vostè → tu (or omitted)
• vol → vols

In everyday speech, the informal version is often more common unless the situation calls for politeness or distance.

The accents show where the stress goes and help distinguish pronunciation.

• vostè is stressed on the last syllable
• cafè is stressed on the last syllable

For an English speaker, a simple approximation would be:

• vostè ≈ vos-TEH
• cafè ≈ ka-FEH

The grave accent in these words helps signal that final stressed è is pronounced as an open e sound.

The sentence is natural as written, but Catalan word order is fairly flexible.

You could also say:

• Al matí, vostè vol cafè o te?

This puts more emphasis on in the morning.

So the original sentence is perfectly normal, but Catalan can move time expressions like al matí for focus or style.