Breakdown of La meva cosina va pintar un dibuix per al meu avi, i ell estava molt feliç.
un
a
molt
very
estar
to be
i
and
Questions & Answers about La meva cosina va pintar un dibuix per al meu avi, i ell estava molt feliç.
Why is it la meva cosina and not just meva cosina?
In Catalan, possessives are usually used together with the definite article.
So:
- la meva cosina = my cousin
- el meu avi = my grandfather
This is different from English, where you normally do not use the with my.
A few family-relation words can sometimes appear without the article in certain contexts, but for learners, using the article is the safest and most standard pattern:
- la meva mare
- el meu pare
- la meva germana
So La meva cosina is exactly what you would expect in normal Catalan.
What does va pintar mean exactly, and why are there two words?
Va pintar means painted.
This is the very common Catalan periphrastic past, formed with:
- va
- infinitive
So:
- va pintar = painted
- va menjar = ate
- va arribar = arrived
Even though va by itself can mean goes or went in other contexts, here it is just part of the past tense structure.
So in this sentence:
- La meva cosina va pintar un dibuix = My cousin painted a drawing
This is one of the most important past tenses in everyday Catalan.
Why is it un dibuix? What does dibuix mean?