Quan tinc febre, no vull sopar.

to want

Breakdown of Quan tinc febre, no vull sopar.

• no: not
• quan: when
• sopar: to have dinner

Questions & Answers about Quan tinc febre, no vull sopar.

Why does quan use the present tense here? In English we might say when I have a fever or whenever I have a fever.

In Catalan, quan means when, and with the present tense it often expresses a general or habitual situation.

So Quan tinc febre, no vull sopar means something like:

• When I have a fever, I don’t want dinner
• or more naturally in English, Whenever I have a fever, I don’t want to eat dinner

The present tense in both parts of the sentence gives it a general, repeated meaning, not just something happening right now.

Why is it tinc febre and not something with ser or estar?

Catalan uses tenir (to have) for many physical states and conditions where English often uses to be or to have depending on the expression.

So:

• tenir febre = to have a fever
• tenir gana = to be hungry
• tenir set = to be thirsty
• tenir por = to be afraid

That means tinc febre is the normal Catalan way to say I have a fever.

Why is there no article in tinc febre? Why not tinc la febre?

In this expression, Catalan normally says without an article.