El rellotge del meu pare és sobre la taula.

Del is the contraction of de + el.

So:

• de = of
• el = the
• del = of the

That is why del meu pare means of my father, or more naturally in English, my father’s.

Catalan normally contracts these two words:

• de + el → del
• a + el → al

So de el meu pare would be incorrect here.

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

So Catalan says:

• el meu pare = my father
• la meva mare = my mother
• el meu llibre = my book

This is different from English, which usually uses just my father, not the my father.

With family members, using the article is especially common in Catalan. So el meu pare is the normal form here.

Catalan does not form possession with an apostrophe like English does.

English says:

• my father’s watch

Catalan usually expresses that idea with de:

• el rellotge del meu pare
• literally: the watch of my father

This is a very normal Catalan structure. You could sometimes use a possessive adjective instead, such as el seu rellotge, but that can be ambiguous because seu can mean his, her, its, or their depending on context. Del meu pare is clearer.

És is the third-person singular form of ser, which means to be.

So:

• jo soc = I am
• tu ets = you are
• ell/ella és = he/she is

The accent matters because és and es are different words:

• és = is
• es = a pronoun used in other constructions

So the accent helps distinguish the verb form from the pronoun.

This is a very common question, especially for learners who know Spanish.

In Catalan, ser is often used in places where Spanish would prefer estar. That includes many location sentences.

So El rellotge del meu pare és sobre la taula is a normal Catalan sentence.

Very roughly:

• ser often gives a neutral identification or location
• estar can sometimes add a sense of state, condition, or a more temporary/resulting situation

But the division is not exactly the same as in Spanish, so it is best not to translate the Spanish rule directly into Catalan.

Here sobre means on, on top of, or over.

In this sentence, it means the watch is positioned on the table.

A useful thing to know is that Catalan speakers also very often say:

• a sobre de la taula = on top of the table

So sobre la taula is correct, but in everyday speech many people might prefer a sobre de la taula when talking about physical position.

Catalan uses definite articles very regularly.

In this sentence:

• el rellotge = the watch
• el meu pare = my father
• la taula = the table

For an English speaker, the surprising one is usually el meu pare, because English does not use the before my father. But in Catalan, that article is normal.

The other two articles work more like English:

• el rellotge refers to a specific watch
• la taula refers to a specific table

The pronunciation depends somewhat on dialect, but a useful approximate pronunciation is:

reh-LYOJ-juh or ruh-LYOJ-juh

A few parts are worth noticing:

• ll is usually like a ly sound
• tg here sounds like the j in judge
• in many accents, the final e is a very light uh sound

So rellotge does not sound anything like English clock or watch; it has its own Catalan sound pattern.

Yes. Both are possible.

• sobre la taula
• a sobre de la taula

Both can mean on the table. In practice, many speakers find a sobre de more natural for literal physical position.

So:

• El rellotge del meu pare és sobre la taula
• El rellotge del meu pare és a sobre de la taula

Both are understandable and correct, though the second may sound more everyday to many speakers.