El regal que tinc és per a la mare.

Here, que is a relative pronoun, meaning that or which in English.

So:

• El regal que tinc = The gift that I have

It connects el regal with the clause tinc.

Catalan often uses que in the same kind of way English uses that:

• La noia que conec = The girl that I know
• El llibre que llegeixo = The book that I’m reading

In this sentence, que is necessary. You would not normally leave it out the way English sometimes does.

Because Catalan usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

• tinc already means I have
• It is the 1st person singular form of tenir = to have

So:

• (Jo) tinc = I have

The pronoun jo can be added for emphasis, but it is often omitted:

• El regal que tinc... = The gift that I have...
• El regal que jo tinc... = The gift that I have... (with extra emphasis on I)

This is very common in Catalan.

Catalan has two verbs that can both relate to English to be: ser and estar.

In this sentence, és is from ser, and it is used because the sentence is expressing identity / classification / intended recipient, not a temporary state or location.

• és per a la mare = is for mother / is intended for mother

So ser is the correct choice here.

Compare:

• És vermell = It is red
• És per a la mare = It is for mother

But:

• Està cansada = She is tired
• Està a casa = She is at home

The accent in és helps distinguish it from es.

• és = is
• es = a pronoun, often like oneself / himself / herself / each other, depending on context

Examples:

• Ell és aquí = He is here
• Es renta = He/She washes himself/herself

So the accent is important because it changes the meaning.

In this sentence, per a marks the recipient or intended destination:

• és per a la mare = it is for mother

This is one of the classic uses of per a in standard Catalan.

Very roughly:

• per often means things like through, because of, by, via, or sometimes for in a more general sense
• per a often means for, especially when talking about a recipient, purpose, or destination

So here, per a la mare means the gift is intended for the mother.

Important note: in everyday speech, especially in some varieties, people often use per where formal grammar would prefer per a. So you may hear:

• És per la mare

But in careful standard Catalan, per a la mare is the safer choice here.

Catalan often uses the definite article with close family members when the relationship is obvious from context.

So:

• la mare can mean mother / my mother, depending on context
• el pare = father / my father
• la germana = sister / my sister

In a sentence like this, if the speaker is talking about their own mother, la mare is often perfectly natural.

You can also say:

• per a la meva mare

That is more explicit and may sound more like English for my mother.

So both are possible, but la mare is very idiomatic Catalan.

Because Catalan commonly uses the definite article with family members.

So Catalan often says:

• la mare
• el pare
• la tieta
• l’avi

This is different from English, which usually says my mother, my father, etc.

So the article here is not strange—it is a normal Catalan pattern.

Yes, literally it could be. But that literal English version often sounds less natural unless you mean a specific mother already identified in context.

In Catalan, la mare is often used where English would naturally say:

• my mother
• mum
• mom

So the literal structure is not always the most natural translation into English.

That is a very common thing when learning Catalan: the grammar may be straightforward, but the most natural English equivalent may be a bit different.

The basic structure is:

• El regal = the subject
• que tinc = a relative clause describing the gift
• és per a la mare = the rest of the sentence

So the sentence means:

• The gift that I have is for mother

Catalan word order here is very similar to English:

1. the noun
2. the clause describing it
3. the main verb
4. the complement

So:

• El regal
• que tinc
• és
• per a la mare

Nothing unusual is happening in the order.

No, normally que is not optional here.

English can say:

• The gift that I have
• The gift I have

But Catalan normally needs que:

• El regal que tinc

Leaving it out would sound wrong.

So this is a useful difference to remember: Catalan is less likely than English to omit the relative pronoun in this kind of sentence.

You could, but it changes the meaning.

• El regal que tinc = the gift that I have
  This sounds like a specific, identifiable gift.
• Un regal que tinc = a gift that I have

With un, it sounds less specific and may suggest that you have several gifts and one of them is for your mother.

So el is used because the speaker is referring to a particular gift.

Tinc is the first person singular present tense of tenir (to have).

A few present-tense forms are:

• jo tinc = I have
• tu tens = you have
• ell/ella té = he/she has
• nosaltres tenim = we have
• vosaltres teniu = you all have
• ells/elles tenen = they have

So in que tinc, the speaker is saying that I have.

Yes, depending on context.

Because la mare is often used for my mother, the phrase can naturally mean:

• for my mother

But if the context is different, it could also mean:

• for the mother

So context decides the exact meaning.

That is very normal in Catalan, especially with family words.

Yes, it is natural and grammatical.

A native speaker might also say similar things like:

• Aquest regal és per a la mare. = This gift is for my mother.
• El regal que tinc és per a la meva mare.
• Aquest regal és per la mare. (common in speech in some areas)

But El regal que tinc és per a la mare is a perfectly good standard Catalan sentence.