Tinc un regal per a la mare.

Tinc means I have. It is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb tenir, which means to have.

A few present-tense forms are:

• tinc = I have
• tens = you have
• té = he/she has
• tenim = we have
• teniu = you all have
• tenen = they have

So Tinc un regal... literally starts as I have a gift...

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

So:

• Tinc un regal... = I have a gift...
• Jo tinc un regal... also means I have a gift..., but jo adds emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Jo tinc un regal, però ell no. = I have a gift, but he doesn’t.

So in a normal sentence, leaving out jo is completely natural.

Because regal is a singular countable noun, Catalan normally uses an article with it, just as English uses a or the.

• un regal = a gift
• el regal = the gift

Here, un is the masculine singular indefinite article, so it matches regal.

You usually learn a noun’s gender together with its article:

• el regal = the gift

That tells you the noun is masculine, so the indefinite article becomes un:

• un regal

Unlike some nouns, regal does not have an ending that makes its gender completely obvious to an English-speaking learner, so it is best to memorize it as el regal rather than just regal.

Here, per a means for, in the sense of intended for or meant for someone.

So:

• un regal per a la mare = a gift for Mother / for Mum

In many varieties of spoken Catalan, people very often say per instead of per a, so you may hear:

• Tinc un regal per la mare

However, per a is very common in teaching materials and in more careful or traditional grammar when the idea is destination, recipient, or purpose. So Tinc un regal per a la mare is a very good model sentence.

Catalan often uses the definite article with family members:

• la mare = Mother / Mum / the mother
• el pare = Father / Dad / the father

This is more natural in Catalan than it is in English. In many contexts, la mare can mean my mother if that is already clear from the situation.

By contrast, mare without the article is more likely in direct address, for example:

• Mare, mira això. = Mum, look at this.

So in your sentence, la mare is completely normal.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In everyday Catalan, la mare often refers to one’s own mother if the context makes that obvious. So a learner will often translate it naturally as:

• Mum
• my mother

If you want to be fully explicit, you can say:

• la meva mare = my mother

In some varieties, especially in more familiar speech, you may also hear:

• ma mare = my mother

So per a la mare is natural, but per a la meva mare is also correct if you want to be clearer.

Because mare is feminine, and per al is used with a masculine singular noun.

• per al pare = for Father / for the father
• per a la mare = for Mother / for the mother

This is because:

• per a + el becomes per al
• but per a + la stays per a la

So:

• per al noi = for the boy
• per a la noia = for the girl

This is the normal, neutral word order:

• Tinc = verb
• un regal = direct object
• per a la mare = phrase showing who it is for

Catalan can change word order for emphasis, but the basic version is the best one to learn first.

For example, you might also hear:

• Per a la mare, tinc un regal.

That is possible, but it sounds more marked or emphatic. The most natural default sentence is still:

• Tinc un regal per a la mare.

By itself, it means that I have a gift intended for Mother. It tells us about possession and intended recipient, not necessarily about the act of giving it right now.

So it could mean:

• I bought one and I have it with me.
• I am keeping one aside for her.
• I am about to give it to her.

If you want to express the act of giving more directly, you would usually choose another verb, such as donar:

• Dono un regal a la mare. = I give Mother a gift.
• Li dono un regal a la mare. = I give Mother a gift.

So tinc is about having, not specifically giving.

The main stress falls like this:

• tinc
• re-GAL
• MA-re

So a rough guide is:

• TINC un re-GAL per a la MA-re

A few useful notes:

• tinc ends with a clear k sound
• regal is stressed on the second syllable
• mare is stressed on the first syllable

If you learn the rhythm as TINC un re-GAL per a la MA-re, it will sound much more natural.