Breakdown of Demà vull visitar la meva mare després de la feina.
Questions & Answers about Demà vull visitar la meva mare després de la feina.
What is the basic grammar of this sentence?
It breaks down like this:
- Demà = time expression, tomorrow
- vull = I want
- visitar = infinitive, to visit
- la meva mare = direct object, my mother
- després de la feina = time phrase, after work
So the structure is basically:
Tomorrow + I want + to visit + my mother + after work
Catalan often places time expressions near the beginning, but the sentence could be arranged differently too.
Why is Demà at the beginning?
Because Catalan often puts time expressions first to set the scene.
So Demà vull visitar la meva mare... is very natural.
You could also say:
- Vull visitar la meva mare demà després de la feina.
- Després de la feina, demà vull visitar la meva mare.
These are possible, but the original sentence sounds very normal and clear.
Why isn’t jo used before vull?
Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.
- vull already means I want
- so jo is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast
For example:
- Demà vull visitar la meva mare. = neutral
- Demà jo vull visitar la meva mare. = more emphatic, like I want to visit my mother tomorrow
This is similar to Spanish or Italian, but unlike English, where I usually has to be stated.
Why is it vull visitar and not another verb form after vull?
Because after voler (to want), Catalan normally uses an infinitive.
So:
- vull visitar = I want to visit
- not a conjugated verb after vull
This works like English:
- I want to visit
- not I want I visit
So the pattern is:
voler + infinitive
Examples:
- Vull menjar. = I want to eat.
- Vull sortir. = I want to go out.
- Vull visitar la meva mare. = I want to visit my mother.
Why is there no a before la meva mare?
Because in standard Catalan, a direct object usually does not take the personal a the way it often does in Spanish.
So Catalan says:
- visitar la meva mare
not normally:
- visitar a la meva mare
This is an important difference from Spanish. Catalan can use a with certain direct objects in some cases, especially for clarity, with pronouns, or in some dialects, but in a simple sentence like this, leaving it out is the standard choice.
Why is it la meva mare instead of just meva mare?
Because Catalan usually uses the definite article with possessives.
So:
- la meva mare = my mother
- el meu pare = my father
- el meu llibre = my book
This is very normal Catalan.
English does not use an article here, but Catalan usually does. So even though English says my mother, Catalan says literally the my mother.
There are some dialectal or special forms, such as ma mare, but la meva mare is the standard form learners should use.
Why does Catalan say la feina when English just says work?
Because Catalan often uses the definite article in places where English does not.
So:
- després de la feina = after work
Even though English has no the, Catalan naturally uses la here.
This is very common in Catalan. You should not try to match English article use too closely.
What does després de mean, and why is de needed?
després means later or afterward, but when it is followed by a noun or an infinitive, it normally takes de.
So:
- després = later / afterward
- després de la feina = after work
- després de dinar = after eating / after lunch
- després de classe = after class
So the de is part of the normal pattern.
Why is feina used here instead of treball?
Both feina and treball can relate to work, but feina is very common in everyday Catalan for work, job, or tasks, and després de la feina is a very natural phrase for after work.
Very roughly:
- feina = work, job, tasks, what you have to do
- treball = work, labor, employment, work in a broader or more formal sense
In this sentence, la feina sounds especially natural.
Can I change the word order?
Yes. Catalan word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions.
For example:
- Demà vull visitar la meva mare després de la feina.
- Vull visitar la meva mare demà després de la feina.
- Després de la feina vull visitar la meva mare demà.
All of these are understandable, though some may sound more natural depending on context.
The original sentence is a very good neutral choice because it introduces the main time idea right away: Demà.
How do I pronounce some of the tricky words?
A rough pronunciation guide is:
- Demà ≈ de-MAH
- vull ≈ booly with a very short final ly sound
- visitar ≈ bee-zee-TAR or vee-zee-TAR, depending on accent
- meva ≈ MEH-vuh
- mare ≈ MAH-reh
- després ≈ des-PRES
- feina ≈ FEY-nuh
A couple of notes:
- the accent in demà shows the stress is on the last syllable
- the ll in vull is not exactly like English l; it is a Catalan sound similar to the lli sound in million, though pronunciation varies by dialect
What does the accent mark in demà do?
It shows where the stress falls.
So:
- demà is stressed on the last syllable: de-MÀ
This helps with pronunciation and sometimes distinguishes words that would otherwise look similar. In Catalan, written accents are important and should be learned as part of the word.
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