El meu avi treballava a la biblioteca del poble, i jo anava sovint a la biblioteca amb ell.

In Catalan, possessives like meu, teva, nostre usually go together with a definite article:

• el meu avi = my grandfather
• la meva mare = my mother
• els meus amics = my friends

This is one of the first things English speakers notice, because English normally does not use an article before my, your, etc.

There are a few exceptions in Catalan, especially with some family terms in certain contexts, but el meu avi is completely normal and standard.

Avi means grandfather. It is masculine, which is why it takes:

• el → el meu avi
• meu rather than meva

The feminine form is àvia:

• la meva àvia = my grandmother

So the article and possessive both agree with the noun’s gender.

Both treballava and anava are in the imperfect tense.

Here:

• treballava = was working / used to work
• anava = was going / used to go

The imperfect is often used for:

• repeated actions in the past
• habits
• background description
• ongoing past actions

That fits this sentence well:

• the grandfather used to work at the village library
• the speaker used to go there often with him

So this sentence describes a past routine, not a single completed event.

Because the sentence is talking about habitual past actions, not one specific event.

Compare the idea:

• treballava = he used to work / he was working
• va treballar = he worked / did work, usually referring to a more definite completed action

And:

• anava sovint = I used to go often
• vaig anar = I went

Since the sentence gives a background picture of what life was like in the past, the imperfect is the natural tense.

Del is a contraction of de + el.

So:

• de + el = del
• de + els = dels

That means:

• la biblioteca del poble = the library of the village / the village library

This contraction is mandatory in normal Catalan.

Examples:

• el llibre del nen = the boy’s book
• la plaça del barri = the neighborhood square

Catalan often uses the definite article in places where English may or may not use it.

Here, a la biblioteca means to the library / at the library, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• treballava a la biblioteca del poble = worked at the village library
• anava sovint a la biblioteca = often went to the library

The article la is needed because biblioteca is a specific noun, and in this context we are talking about a particular library.

Yes. In Catalan, the verb ending already shows the subject:

• anava can mean I was going or he/she was going, depending on context

So Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns. However, speakers may include them for:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity

In this sentence, jo helps create a contrast with el meu avi:

• El meu avi treballava...
• i jo anava...

So jo is not required, but it sounds natural because it highlights my grandfather versus I.

Sovint means often. It is an adverb of frequency.

In the sentence:

• jo anava sovint a la biblioteca = I used to go to the library often

Its position is very natural here: after the verb and before the destination phrase.

Catalan adverbs can sometimes move around, but anava sovint a la biblioteca is a very standard order.

Other possible examples:

• Vaig sovint al mercat = I often go to the market
• Sovint anava al parc = I often used to go to the park

After a preposition such as amb (with), Catalan uses a stressed pronoun:

• amb mi = with me
• amb tu = with you
• amb ell = with him
• amb ella = with her
• amb nosaltres = with us

So:

• amb ell = with him

You cannot use the article el here, because el means the, not him.

Yes, i normally means and in Catalan.

Example:

• El meu avi treballava..., i jo anava...

A pronunciation detail is that i can change to e before words beginning with certain vowel sounds, especially i or hi, to avoid awkward repetition of sounds.

For example:

• pares e fills

But in your sentence, i jo is perfectly normal.

Yes, the imperfect can have a range of meanings in English depending on context.

Anava a la biblioteca could be understood as:

• I used to go to the library
• I was going to the library

In this sentence, because of sovint and the general past setting, the best interpretation is I used to go to the library often.

So context is what tells you whether the imperfect is:

• habitual
• ongoing
• descriptive

Yes, it is normal here.

The sentence joins two full clauses:

• El meu avi treballava a la biblioteca del poble
• jo anava sovint a la biblioteca amb ell

A comma before i is common when the sentence is a bit longer or when the writer wants a clear pause between two related ideas.

In shorter sentences, Catalan often leaves the comma out:

• Va venir i va seure

So the comma here is natural and helps readability.

In standard Catalan, treballava is pronounced roughly like truh-buh-LYA-vuh, though exact pronunciation depends on accent.

The important part for many English speakers is ll:

• Catalan ll is traditionally a sound like the lli in million
• In many modern accents, it can sound closer to y

So treballava has that ly / y sound in the middle.

Also:

• v and b are often pronounced very similarly in Catalan
• the final a is usually a neutral vowel in many dialects, especially Central Catalan

Yes, in Catalan you could replace it with the locative pronoun hi if the place is already understood.

For example:

• El meu avi treballava a la biblioteca del poble, i jo hi anava sovint amb ell.

Here:

• hi = there / to that place

This version is very natural and avoids repeating a la biblioteca.

So both are possible:

• repeated noun phrase: clearer, more explicit
• hi: more compact and very idiomatic