Breakdown of La meva mare anirà a la farmàcia perquè necessita un medicament.
Questions & Answers about La meva mare anirà a la farmàcia perquè necessita un medicament.
Why is it la meva mare and not just meva mare?
In standard Catalan, possessives usually go with a definite article:
- la meva mare = my mother
- el meu pare = my father
- els meus amics = my friends
This is different from English, where you normally say just my mother without the.
So la meva mare is the normal, natural way to say it in Catalan.
What does anirà mean, and what verb does it come from?
Anirà is the 3rd person singular future form of the verb anar (to go).
So:
- anar = to go
- anirà = he/she/it will go
In this sentence, it refers to la meva mare, so it means:
- My mother will go
A few useful future forms of anar are:
- aniré = I will go
- aniràs = you will go
- anirà = he/she will go
- anirem = we will go
- anireu = you all will go
- aniran = they will go
Why is there a before la farmàcia?
The preposition a often means to when talking about movement toward a place.
So:
- anar a la farmàcia = to go to the pharmacy
This works much like English to in go to the pharmacy.
Examples:
- Vaig a casa = I’m going home
- Anem a l’escola = We’re going to school
- Anirà a la farmàcia = She will go to the pharmacy
Why do we get a la farmàcia and not a contraction like in Spanish a la vs al?
Catalan contracts a + el into al, but a + la stays a la.
So:
- a + el → al
- a + la → a la
- a + els → als
- a + les → a les
Examples:
- Va al metge = He goes to the doctor
- Va a la farmàcia = She goes to the pharmacy
Since farmàcia is feminine singular, you use la, so the phrase is a la farmàcia.
What does perquè mean here?
Here, perquè means because.
So the structure is:
- anirà a la farmàcia perquè necessita un medicament
- she will go to the pharmacy because she needs a medicine/medication
This word is very common for giving reasons.
Examples:
- No ve perquè està cansat = He isn’t coming because he’s tired
- Estudio català perquè m’agrada = I study Catalan because I like it
Why does perquè have an accent?
Catalan distinguishes several similar-looking forms:
- perquè = because
- per què = why / for what
- per a què = what for / for what purpose
In your sentence, it gives a reason, so perquè with the accent is correct:
- perquè necessita un medicament = because she needs a medicine
Compare:
- Per què vas a la farmàcia? = Why are you going to the pharmacy?
- Vaig a la farmàcia perquè necessito un medicament. = I’m going to the pharmacy because I need a medicine.
Why is necessita in the present tense if anirà is in the future?
This is very natural in Catalan. The first action is in the future:
- anirà = will go
But the reason is true now:
- necessita = needs
So the sentence means something like:
- My mother will go to the pharmacy because she needs medicine now
Catalan often uses the present tense for a current reason or situation, even if the main action is in the future.
English does the same:
- She will go because she needs it not usually
- She will go because she will need it
unless you specifically mean the need is also in the future.
Why is there no subject pronoun like ella before necessita?
Catalan usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.
So:
- necessita already means he/she needs
- the subject is understood from context: here it is la meva mare
That is why Catalan often sounds more compact than English.
You could say ella necessita, but that usually adds emphasis or contrast:
- Ella necessita un medicament, no jo.
- She needs medicine, not me.
In a neutral sentence, just necessita is normal.
What does un medicament mean exactly? Is it the same as medicine?
Un medicament means a medicine, a medication, or a drug/medication in a medical sense.
In everyday English, medicine is often uncountable, but Catalan medicament is normally a countable noun here:
- un medicament = a medicine / a medication
- dos medicaments = two medicines / two medications
Catalan also has medicina, but that word can mean:
- medicine as a field of study
- medicine more generally in some contexts
In a sentence about getting something from a pharmacy, medicament is very natural and specific.
Could I also say La meva mare va a la farmàcia instead of anirà?
Yes, but the meaning changes.
- La meva mare anirà a la farmàcia = My mother will go to the pharmacy
- La meva mare va a la farmàcia = My mother goes / is going to the pharmacy
So anirà is clearly future. Va can refer to a present action, a habitual action, or sometimes near-future depending on context.
If the original meaning shown to you is future, then anirà is the best match.
How is farmàcia pronounced, and what does the accent mark do?
Farmàcia is pronounced roughly like far-MA-si-a, with the stress on mà.
The accent mark in à shows where the stress falls:
- far-mà-ci-a
This matters because stress in Catalan is not always predictable from spelling alone.
So the accent helps you know that the strong syllable is mà, not the final part of the word.
Can the possessive go after the noun, like la mare meva?
Usually, the normal neutral order is:
- la meva mare
Putting the possessive after the noun, as in la mare meva, is possible in some contexts, but it is much less neutral and often sounds emphatic, literary, regional, or stylistically marked.
For a learner, the safest and most standard choice is:
- article + possessive + noun
- la meva mare
So for everyday speech and writing, stick with la meva mare.
Why is the sentence not La meva mare anirà a farmàcia without la?
Because in Catalan, places like the pharmacy, the bank, the school, etc. usually take the definite article when you mention a specific type of place in a normal way.
So:
- la farmàcia = the pharmacy
- el banc = the bank
- l’escola = the school
And after a, you get:
- a la farmàcia
- al banc
- a l’escola
Leaving out the article here would sound unnatural in standard Catalan.
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