No trobo els mitjons, però els pantalons són sobre el llit.

Trobo is the 1st person singular present indicative of trobar.

• trobo = I find
• no trobo = I do not find / I can’t find

In this sentence, English usually sounds more natural with I can’t find, even though Catalan simply uses the present tense.

In standard Catalan, negation normally goes directly before the conjugated verb:

• No trobo = I can’t find
• No veig = I don’t see
• No tinc temps = I don’t have time

So No trobo is the normal Catalan word order. A pattern like Trobo no would not be correct.

Because els is the masculine plural definite article, meaning the, and each noun needs its own article:

• els mitjons = the socks
• els pantalons = the pants / the trousers

Catalan does not normally use one article for both nouns here. Each noun phrase is separate, so each one keeps its article.

Both nouns are plural in this sentence:

• mitjons = socks
• pantalons = pants / trousers

That is why you see:

• plural article: els
• plural verb: són

The singular of mitjons is mitjó.
For pantalons, Catalan very commonly uses the plural when talking about the garment as a whole, just like English often uses pants or trousers.

This is a very common question, especially for learners who also know Spanish.

In Catalan, ser can be used to express simple location, so els pantalons són sobre el llit is acceptable.

• són = are
• subject: els pantalons → plural, so són

You may also hear estan in everyday speech, especially if the speaker wants to emphasize the current position or state. But són is not wrong here; it reflects a normal Catalan use of ser for location.

Sobre el llit is grammatical and easy to understand. It means on the bed or over/on top of the bed.

That said, in everyday Catalan, many speakers also say:

• damunt del llit
• a sobre del llit

These often sound a bit more explicitly physical, like on top of the bed.

A useful detail:

• de + el = del
• so damunt de + el llit becomes damunt del llit

Because però means but and joins two full clauses:

• No trobo els mitjons
• els pantalons són sobre el llit

Just like in English, a comma before but is very common when two independent clauses are being connected. So the comma here is normal punctuation.

Catalan often uses the definite article where English would use a possessive, especially when the owner is obvious from context.

So:

• No trobo els mitjons can naturally mean I can’t find my socks
• els pantalons can also be understood as the/my pants, depending on context

Catalan does have possessives such as els meus mitjons, but they are not always necessary. If the ownership is already clear, the article alone is often enough.

The accents are part of correct Catalan spelling and help with pronunciation.

• però has a grave accent: ò
  • this shows the stressed syllable and the open o sound
• són has an acute accent: ó
  • this helps mark the correct stress
  • it also distinguishes són from son, which is a different word

So the accents are not optional; they are part of the standard written form.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

• mitjons ≈ mee-CHONS
• llit ≈ lyit

A few pronunciation notes:

• In mitjons, the tj sounds like English ch
• In llit, ll is a Catalan sound that many learners approximate as ly
• In some dialects, ll may sound closer to y
• The final t in llit is pronounced

These are only approximations, but they are a good starting point.