Avui em fa mal la cama.

In Catalan, fer mal is a very common expression for to hurt / to cause pain.

The structure is:

[indirect object pronoun] + fer + mal + body part / thing

So:

• em = to me
• fa = does / makes
• mal = pain / harm

A very literal way to think about em fa mal la cama is:

the leg causes pain to me

That is why Catalan does not build it the same way English does.

Em is the unstressed object pronoun meaning to me.

In this sentence, it shows who feels the pain.

Compare:

• em fa mal la cama = my leg hurts / my leg is hurting
• et fa mal la cama = your leg hurts
• li fa mal la cama = his/her leg hurts

The full stressed form would be a mi, but in normal sentences Catalan usually uses the clitic pronoun:

• A mi em fa mal la cama = My leg hurts / As for me, my leg hurts

Here, a mi adds emphasis, while em is the normal grammatical pronoun.

Because the verb agrees with la cama, which is singular.

The subject is la cama:

• la cama fa mal = the leg hurts
• les cames fan mal = the legs hurt

So:

• Avui em fa mal la cama = today my leg hurts
• Avui em fan mal les cames = today my legs hurt

Even though em refers to me, the verb does not agree with me. It agrees with the thing that hurts.

With body parts, Catalan very often uses the definite article instead of a possessive, especially when the owner is already clear from the pronoun.

So:

• em fa mal la cama literally has the leg
• but it naturally means my leg

This is very common in Catalan and other Romance languages.

More examples:

• m’he rentat les mans = I washed my hands
• em fa mal el cap = my head hurts
• li tremolen les mans = his/her hands are shaking

Using la meva cama is possible, but it usually sounds more emphatic or contrastive, not the most natural neutral choice here.

No. Catalan allows some flexibility in word order.

Common possibilities include:

• Avui em fa mal la cama.
• Em fa mal la cama avui.
• La cama em fa mal avui.

The most neutral version here is probably Avui em fa mal la cama.

Changing the order can slightly change the focus:

• Avui first emphasizes today
• La cama first emphasizes the leg
• putting avui at the end can sound more like an added time detail

So the sentence you have is natural and standard, but not the only possible order.

Yes. Doldre is another verb meaning to hurt:

• Em dol la cama.

This is correct, but fer mal is usually more common and everyday in many contexts.

A learner will hear fer mal very often with body parts:

• Em fa mal el coll.
• Et fa mal l’esquena?

So if you are unsure, fer mal is a very safe and natural choice.

Because em is a clitic pronoun, and clitic pronouns normally appear directly next to the verb without a preposition.

So Catalan uses:

• em fa mal = it hurts me / it causes me pain

If you want emphasis, you can add the full form too:

• A mi em fa mal la cama.

Here:

• a mi = stressed, emphatic form
• em = required clitic pronoun

This doubling is normal in Catalan.

Yes. La cama can simply mean the leg, and in context it often means my leg.

If the specific identity of the leg is not important, Catalan often still uses the definite article naturally.

If you want to be less specific or mean one leg, you can say:

• Em fa mal una cama.

That can sound like:

• one of my legs hurts
• a leg hurts, but I am not specifying which one

If you know it is the left or right leg, you can say:

• Em fa mal la cama esquerra.
• Em fa mal la cama dreta.

You change both the noun and the verb:

• Avui em fan mal les cames.

Why?

• les cames is plural
• so fer must also be plural: fan

Compare:

• em fa mal la cama = my leg hurts
• em fan mal les cames = my legs hurt

This is a very important pattern:

• Em fa mal el braç.
• Em fan mal els braços.

Very simply.

Question:

• Avui et fa mal la cama? = Does your leg hurt today?

You can also ask:

• Et fa mal la cama avui?

Negative:

• Avui no em fa mal la cama. = My leg doesn’t hurt today.

Catalan usually puts no before the verb:

• no em fa mal

So the pattern is:

• affirmative: em fa mal
• negative: no em fa mal

Not really. Avui is just a time expression meaning today.

It is placed at the beginning here because that is a very natural place for a time word, especially when setting the scene:

• Avui em fa mal la cama.

But it could appear elsewhere too:

• Em fa mal la cama avui.

Beginning position often sounds slightly more natural when you are introducing the time frame first.