Avui la metgessa em dona una recepta per al xarop.

Metgessa is the feminine form of metge and means female doctor.

• el metge = the male doctor / the doctor
• la metgessa = the female doctor

Catalan often has masculine and feminine forms for professions, so this sentence makes it clear the doctor is a woman.

Because la metgessa refers to a specific doctor, so Catalan uses the definite article la.

This is different from English, which sometimes leaves articles out in places where Catalan keeps them. Here, la metgessa simply means the doctor.

Em is the weak pronoun for me or to me.

In this sentence, it means to me:

• la metgessa em dona = the doctor gives me

With the verb donar (to give), Catalan normally uses this pronoun before the conjugated verb:

• em dona = gives me
• et dona = gives you
• li dona = gives him/her

In standard Catalan, object pronouns usually come before a conjugated verb.

So:

• em dona = gives me
• not dona em

This is very normal in Catalan and Romance languages generally. English usually puts me after the verb, but Catalan often puts the equivalent pronoun before it.

Here it is a verb: the third person singular present of donar (to give).

So:

• la metgessa em dona = the doctor gives me

It can look confusing because dona is also the noun woman. Context tells you which one it is.

A useful note: in older spelling you may sometimes see dóna for the verb, but in current standard Catalan it is usually written dona.

Dona is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• from the verb donar = to give

So it matches la metgessa:

• jo dono = I give
• tu dones = you give
• ella dona = she gives

It can mean either, depending on context.

In everyday Catalan:

• una recepta de cuina = a recipe
• una recepta mèdica = a medical prescription

In this sentence, because of la metgessa and xarop, recepta clearly means prescription.

Per al means for the.

It is made from:

• per a = for
• el = the

So:

• per al xarop = for the syrup

Learners should also know that in speech, many speakers may use other forms depending on dialect and level of formality, but per al is a perfectly normal standard form here.

Xarop means syrup.

The initial x in Catalan is often pronounced like English sh. So xarop is approximately:

• sha-ROP

The stress is on the last syllable because the word ends in a consonant other than -s.

Avui means today, and putting it first sets the time right away.

Catalan is fairly flexible with word order, especially with time expressions. Starting with Avui is very natural and often sounds a bit like:

• Today, the doctor gives me a prescription for the syrup.

It helps frame the whole sentence from the beginning.