Si la tos és pitjor a la nit, has de tornar a l'hospital.

If the cough is worse at night, you have to return to the hospital.

Breakdown of Si la tos és pitjor a la nit, has de tornar a l'hospital.

• ser: to be
• a: at
• la nit: the night
• a: to

Questions & Answers about Si la tos és pitjor a la nit, has de tornar a l'hospital.

Why is it si and not sí?

In Catalan, si without an accent means if.

• si = if
• sí = yes

So in this sentence, Si la tos és pitjor a la nit... means If the cough is worse at night...

The accent matters because it changes the meaning.

Why does és have an accent?

És is the verb to be in the he/she/it is form.

• és = is
• es = a pronoun, often like oneself / himself / herself / itself or part of a pronominal verb

So:

• la tos és pitjor = the cough is worse

The accent helps distinguish the verb from the pronoun.

Why is it la tos? Is tos feminine?

Yes. Tos (cough) is a feminine noun in Catalan, so it takes la.

• la tos = the cough

This may feel unusual to an English speaker because English nouns do not have grammatical gender. In Catalan, you simply have to learn the noun together with its article.

What does pitjor mean exactly?