Demà la meva veïna vol portar la tovallola i el banyador a la piscina.

In Catalan, possessives are very often used together with the definite article:

• la meva veïna = my neighbour
• el meu amic = my friend
• la nostra casa = our house

This is one of the big differences from English. English usually says just my neighbour, but Catalan normally says the my neighbour, even though that sounds wrong in English.

There are some exceptions, especially with certain family words in some contexts, but for everyday nouns like veïna, using the article is the normal pattern.

Veí means male neighbour and veïna means female neighbour.

Since the sentence refers to a woman, Catalan uses the feminine form:

• el meu veí = my male neighbour
• la meva veïna = my female neighbour

This also affects other words around it:

• la is feminine singular
• meva is feminine singular to match veïna

So the phrase agrees in gender.

The diaeresis on ï shows that the i is pronounced separately, not merged into a diphthong.

So veïna is pronounced roughly like:

• ve-EE-na /bəˈi.nə/ in Central Catalan

Without the diaeresis, a learner might try to pronounce it as one smoother vowel group, but Catalan wants you to separate the sounds.

This same mark appears in other words too, where it helps show that the vowel must be clearly pronounced.

The accent mark in demà shows the stressed syllable and is also part of the standard spelling.

• demà = tomorrow

The stress falls on the last syllable:

• de-MÀ

In Catalan, written accents are very important because they often tell you where the stress goes and sometimes help distinguish words.

After voler (to want), Catalan normally uses an infinitive directly, without adding a separate word like English to.

So:

• vol portar = wants to bring / wants to take
• literally: wants bring

This is normal in Catalan:

• vull menjar = I want to eat
• volen anar = they want to go
• vol portar = she wants to bring/take

English needs to before the second verb, but Catalan does not.

Vol is the present tense, third-person singular form of voler (to want).

Since the subject is la meva veïna = my neighbour / she, the verb has to match she:

• jo vull = I want
• tu vols = you want
• ell/ella vol = he/she wants

So:

• la meva veïna vol = my neighbour wants

Voler is just the dictionary form, not the form used in this sentence.

It can often be translated as either bring or take, depending on context.

Portar basically means to carry / to bring / to take along. In this sentence, since the person is going somewhere with the towel and swimsuit, English might naturally say:

• bring
• take
• take along

All are reasonable depending on how the meaning has been presented.

A related point: Catalan portar often covers some situations where English splits the meaning between bring, take, and wear/carry.

Catalan uses definite articles more often than English.

Here, la tovallola and el banyador are perfectly natural because Catalan often refers to everyday objects with the definite article when the items are understood as the relevant ones in the situation.

So Catalan says:

• la tovallola = the towel
• el banyador = the swimsuit

Even when English might prefer something less specific, Catalan often still uses the article.

Also notice the gender:

• la tovallola is feminine
• el banyador is masculine

Banyador is the standard word for a swimming garment, but the exact English translation can depend on context.

It may be translated as:

• swimsuit
• bathing suit
• sometimes swimming trunks, depending on who is wearing it and the variety of English being used

Learners should mainly remember that it refers to clothing for swimming.

The word is related to banyar-se (to bathe / to swim / to go in the water) and bany (bath).

Because piscina is a feminine noun:

• la piscina = the swimming pool

After the preposition a (to / at), Catalan does this:

• a + el = al
• a + la = a la

So:

• al parc = to the park
• a la piscina = to the swimming pool

There is contraction with el, but not with la.

Here it means to, because there is movement toward a place:

• portar ... a la piscina = take/bring ... to the pool

Catalan a can correspond to several English prepositions depending on context, especially:

• to
• at
• sometimes even in/on in certain expressions

So you always need to read it in context.

Yes. Catalan word order is flexible enough that you can move the time expression.

For example:

• Demà la meva veïna vol portar la tovallola i el banyador a la piscina.
• La meva veïna vol portar la tovallola i el banyador a la piscina demà.

Both are possible. Starting with Demà gives extra prominence to tomorrow. It is a very natural way to begin a sentence when you want to set the time first.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

de-MA la ME-va bay-EE-na bol por-TAR la tu-va-YO-la ee el ban-ya-DOR a la pis-SEE-na

A few especially useful pronunciation points:

• demà: stress on the last syllable
• veïna: pronounce the i separately
• ny in banyador sounds like ñ in Spanish or ny in canyon
• ll in tovallola is a palatal sound in many varieties, though pronunciation can vary by dialect
• vol is often pronounced with a b-like sound at the start in many accents

This is only approximate, but it helps an English speaker notice the main features.

In careful speech, yes, but in normal fluent speech they often run together smoothly.

So:

• i el banyador

may sound quite connected, something like iel banyador.

This kind of linking is normal in Catalan speech, just as English links words in fast pronunciation. Even when the words flow together, they are still grammatically separate:

• i = and
• el = the

In many contexts, yes. Dur can also mean to take / carry, and in some varieties of Catalan it is very common.

So a learner may encounter both:

• portar
• dur

The exact preference can depend on region and style. Portar is very common and completely natural here, so it is a good word to learn first.