El meu pare tornarà en autobús abans de sopar.

In standard Catalan, possessives like meu / meva / meu / meves are usually used with a definite article:

• el meu pare = my father
• la meva mare = my mother
• els meus amics = my friends

So unlike English, Catalan normally says the my father literally, even though the real meaning is just my father.

In some contexts, especially with family terms in certain varieties or styles, the article may sometimes be omitted, but el meu pare is the normal standard form.

Yes. Pare is the normal Catalan word for father.

A few related words:

• pare = father
• mare = mother
• pares = parents / fathers, depending on context

So el meu pare is a very natural way to say my father.

Tornarà is the future tense of the verb tornar.

Here is the verb:

• tornar = to return, to come back

And the form:

• tornarà = he/she/it will return

So:

• El meu pare tornarà = My father will return

This ending -à is typical of the 3rd person singular future for many -ar verbs.

For example:

• parlarà = he/she will speak
• arribarà = he/she will arrive
• tornarà = he/she will return

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

So instead of saying:

• El meu pare ell tornarà

Catalan simply says:

• El meu pare tornarà

The subject is already expressed by el meu pare, and the verb form tornarà also clearly matches he/she.

This is similar to Spanish and unlike English, where you must usually say he will return.

It can mean both, depending on context.

• tornar = to return
• tornar = to come back

So El meu pare tornarà could naturally correspond to:

• My father will return
• My father will come back

English chooses between those options more often, but Catalan commonly uses tornar for both ideas.

In Catalan, en is commonly used to express the means of transport:

• en autobús = by bus
• en tren = by train
• en cotxe = by car
• en avió = by plane

So tornarà en autobús means he will return by bus.

This is a normal Catalan pattern. English uses by, but Catalan often uses en for this idea.

Because when Catalan names a means of transport in a general way, it often uses the noun without an article:

• en autobús = by bus
• en tren = by train
• en cotxe = by car

This is similar to English, where we also say by bus, not usually by the bus.

If you add an article, the meaning often becomes more specific and less like the general means of transport expression.

Abans de means before.

Examples:

• abans de sopar = before having dinner / before dinner
• abans de marxar = before leaving
• abans de dormir = before sleeping

It is a very common Catalan structure.

A useful contrast:

• abans = before
• després de = after

So:

• abans de sopar = before dinner / before eating dinner
• després de sopar = after dinner / after eating dinner

After abans de, Catalan often uses an infinitive when talking about an action:

• abans de sopar = before eating dinner / before having dinner

Here, sopar is the infinitive verb to have dinner / to eat dinner.

So this structure is:

• abans de + infinitive

Examples:

• abans de sortir = before going out
• abans de parlar = before speaking
• abans de sopar = before having dinner

Why not soparà?

• soparà is a future finite verb: he/she will have dinner
• You do not use that form after abans de

Why not del sopar?

• abans del sopar means before the dinner or before dinner as a noun phrase
• That is possible in some contexts, but it is a slightly different structure
• abans de sopar is the more general and very common way to say before dinner / before eating dinner

Here it is best understood as a verb in the infinitive:

• sopar = to have dinner / to eat dinner

So:

• abans de sopar = before having dinner

However, sopar can also be a noun in Catalan:

• el sopar = dinner, the evening meal

That can be confusing for learners because the same form can be both:

• sopar = to have dinner
• el sopar = dinner

In this sentence, because it follows abans de, it is functioning as an infinitive verb.

The word order is very natural and straightforward:

• El meu pare = subject
• tornarà = verb
• en autobús = manner / means of transport
• abans de sopar = time expression

So the structure is basically:

Subject + Verb + Transport expression + Time expression

Catalan word order is often similar to English in simple statements, although it can be more flexible.

Yes. Catalan allows some flexibility.

For example, you could also say:

• El meu pare tornarà abans de sopar en autobús
• Abans de sopar, el meu pare tornarà en autobús

But the original sentence:

• El meu pare tornarà en autobús abans de sopar

is clear and natural.

The exact placement may depend on what the speaker wants to emphasize, but all the main parts are easy to understand.

A careful approximate pronunciation is:

el MEU PA-rə tur-nə-RA en ow-tu-BUS ə-BANS də su-PA

A few helpful notes:

• meu sounds roughly like meh-oo, but as one syllable or close to it
• pare in Central Catalan is often pronounced roughly PA-rə
• tornarà has stress on the last syllable: ra
• autobús has stress on the last syllable: bús
• abans has stress on the second syllable
• sopar has stress on the last syllable

Pronunciation varies by dialect, but the stress pattern is especially important here:

• tor-na-RÀ
• auto-BÚS
• so-PAR

Yes, it is singular: autobús.

That is completely normal. In Catalan, as in English, the transport noun in this kind of expression is often singular:

• en autobús
• en tren
• en cotxe

You are not talking about one specific bus. You are just naming the mode of transport.

Not always. Tornar and venir are different verbs.

• tornar = to return / come back
• venir = to come

If the idea is specifically that he is returning, then tornarà is the right choice.

• El meu pare tornarà = My father will return / come back

If you say:

• El meu pare vindrà

that means My father will come, which is different. It focuses on movement toward the speaker or destination, not necessarily returning.

So tornarà is important if the meaning is specifically will come back / will return.