Abans de sortir de casa, vull mirar l'hora.

In Catalan, abans de is the normal way to say before when it is followed by a verb in the infinitive:

• abans de sortir = before leaving / before going out

If abans is used on its own, it usually means before / earlier / previously in a more general sense:

• Ho he vist abans. = I’ve seen it before.

So in this sentence, de is required because abans is introducing an infinitive verb: sortir.

They do two different jobs:

• abans de sortir → de belongs to the expression abans de + infinitive
• sortir de casa → de means out of / from

So:

• abans de sortir = before leaving
• sortir de casa = leave the house / go out from home

Even though both are de, they are not duplicates by mistake; each one is needed for a different reason.

Because the verb sortir normally uses de when you say where someone is leaving from.

Examples:

• sortir de casa = leave home
• sortir de l'oficina = leave the office
• sortir del cotxe = get out of the car

So de is part of the usual structure with a place of origin or departure.

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• vull already means I want
• vols = you want
• vol = he/she/it wants

Because the verb ending identifies the subject, jo is often unnecessary.

You could say:

• Jo vull mirar l'hora.

But that usually adds emphasis, as in I want to check the time.

Yes. It comes from the verb voler (to want), and this verb is irregular.

Present tense:

• vull = I want
• vols = you want
• vol = he/she wants
• volem = we want
• voleu = you all want
• volen = they want

So vull is just the normal first-person singular form of voler, even though it may not look like the infinitive.

Yes, literally it is look at the time/hour, but idiomatically it means check the time.

In Catalan, mirar l'hora is a very natural expression. English would usually say:

• check the time
• look at the time

Catalan can also use veure quina hora és (see what time it is), but mirar l'hora is shorter and very common.

Because Catalan usually contracts the singular articles el and la before a vowel or silent h:

• la hora → l'hora
• la amiga → l'amiga
• el home → l'home

So l' is just the article la shortened before hora.

Catalan often says casa without an article when it means home in a general, everyday sense.

So:

• sortir de casa = leave home
• ser a casa = be at home
• tornar a casa = go back home

If you say la casa, it sounds more like the house as a specific building.

So:

• sortir de casa = leave home
• sortir de la casa = leave the house

Both are possible, but they do not feel exactly the same.

Because after abans de, Catalan normally uses an infinitive when the subject is the same as in the main clause.

Here the same person is doing both actions:

• vull mirar l'hora = I want to check the time
• abans de sortir de casa = before leaving home

So Catalan uses the infinitive sortir.

This is similar to English before leaving home.

If the subject changed, Catalan would normally need a different structure, not just an infinitive.

Yes. This sentence can also be said as:

• Vull mirar l'hora abans de sortir de casa.

That is probably the most neutral order in everyday speech.

Starting with Abans de sortir de casa puts a little more focus on the time phrase before leaving home. Both are correct.

Literally, hora often means hour, but in the expression mirar l'hora, it means the time.

So:

• Quina hora és? = What time is it?
• Mirar l'hora = check the time

This is one of those cases where the literal word-for-word meaning and the natural translation are slightly different.

This depends somewhat on dialect, but for many learners it is enough to know this:

• In much of Catalan, ll is pronounced like a soft ly sound.
• In some varieties, especially in parts of central Catalan, the pronunciation may be closer to a simple y sound.

So vull is often roughly like vuy or vuly, depending on accent.

The important thing is that it is not pronounced like English l-l separately.