La meva mare em posa un embenat al braç perquè hi ha sang.

In Catalan, possessives are usually used with a definite article, so la meva mare literally looks like the my mother.

This is normal in Catalan:

• la meva mare = my mother
• el meu pare = my father
• la teva casa = your house

English does not use the here, but Catalan usually does.

One important exception: in some family terms when directly addressing someone or in certain set phrases, the article may be omitted, but for a standard sentence like this, la meva mare is exactly what you expect.

Em means to me.

So:

• La meva mare em posa... = My mother puts ... on me / for me

More literally, it is something like My mother puts me a bandage..., but in natural English we would say My mother puts a bandage on my arm or puts a bandage on me.

This em is the weak pronoun for to me or sometimes me, depending on the verb.

Some related forms are:

• em = me
• et = you
• li = him / her / to him / to her
• ens = us
• us = you plural
• els = them / to them

Posa is the 3rd person singular of the verb posar, meaning to put.

So:

• jo poso = I put
• tu poses = you put
• ell / ella posa = he / she puts

Since the subject is la meva mare (my mother), Catalan uses posa:

• La meva mare posa... = My mother puts...

Because the sentence also has em, the full sense is My mother puts a bandage on me / on my arm.

Yes. Embenat is a masculine noun, so it takes un:

• un embenat = a bandage

In Catalan, nouns have grammatical gender, so you need the matching article:

• masculine singular: un, el
• feminine singular: una, la

For example:

• un embenat
• el braç
• la mare
• la sang

You usually have to learn the gender along with the noun.

Because a + el contracts to al in Catalan.

So:

• a + el braç → al braç

This is very common:

• al braç = to/on the arm
• al cotxe = to/in the car
• al parc = to the park

There is a similar contraction with de + el:

• del = de + el

So al braç is just the normal contracted form.

In this sentence, it means on the arm.

Catalan often uses a where English might use on, to, or sometimes another preposition, depending on the context.

So:

• posa un embenat al braç = puts a bandage on the arm

Because the meaning is already clear from the situation, Catalan uses a + body part very naturally here.

Catalan often uses the definite article with body parts where English uses a possessive.

So Catalan says:

• al braç = literally on the arm

But in English we usually say:

• on my arm

The possession is understood from the context because my mother is putting the bandage on me (em), so it is obvious whose arm it is.

This is very common in Catalan:

• Em fa mal el cap = My head hurts / literally The head hurts to me
• M’he rentat les mans = I washed my hands / literally I washed the hands

Here perquè means because.

So:

• ... perquè hi ha sang = ... because there is blood

Be careful: perquè with an accent is commonly used for because.

Learners often confuse several similar forms:

• perquè = because
• per què = why / for what reason
• per que = less common, appears in certain structures
• perquè can also sometimes mean so that, depending on context

In this sentence, it is clearly because.

Hi ha means there is or there are.

It comes from the verb haver-hi, which is used to express existence.

Examples:

• Hi ha sang = There is blood
• Hi ha molta gent = There are many people
• Hi ha un problema = There is a problem

Even though ha looks like has, the whole expression hi ha functions as a fixed structure meaning there is / there are.

Because sang here is being used as an uncountable noun, like blood in English.

So Catalan says:

• hi ha sang = there is blood

Not:

• hi ha una sang

You only use an indefinite article when talking about a countable item, or in special contexts where the meaning changes.

Compare:

• Hi ha sang al terra = There is blood on the floor
• Hi ha una taca de sang = There is a blood stain

So in this sentence, no article is needed.

Yes, it is very normal Catalan word order.

The structure is:

• La meva mare = subject
• em = object pronoun
• posa = verb
• un embenat = direct object
• al braç = location
• perquè hi ha sang = reason clause

So Catalan places the weak pronoun em before the conjugated verb:

• La meva mare em posa...

That is one of the most important word-order patterns to get used to in Catalan.

Yes, but the meaning becomes less specific.

• La meva mare em posa un embenat al braç = My mother puts a bandage on my arm / on me
• La meva mare posa un embenat al braç = My mother puts a bandage on the arm

Without em, you lose the idea of to me / on me, so it sounds more detached and less personal. In this context, em helps show who is affected by the action.

Braç is pronounced approximately like bras, but with the Catalan vowel sound.

The ç is called c trencada. It shows that the c is pronounced like s before a, o, or u.

So:

• braç sounds like bras
• without the cedilla, brac would suggest a different pronunciation pattern

You will also see it in words like:

• força
• açò in some varieties
• caça

So the cedilla is there to signal the s sound.