Learn Hardcore Catalan: Mentre l'àvia preparava el sopar, l'avi descansava al sofà amb una manta. - While my grandmother was preparing dinner, my grandfather was resting on the sofa with a blanket.

Breakdown of Mentre l'àvia preparava el sopar, l'avi descansava al sofà amb una manta.

Why are àvia and avi written as l'àvia and l'avi?

Because Catalan often shortens the definite articles el and la before a vowel sound.

This is called elision. It works a bit like how English contracts I am to I'm, though here it affects the article.

Why does Catalan use the grandmother and the grandfather instead of just grandmother and grandfather?

Catalan often uses the definite article before family members when talking about them in a general, familiar way.

So:

In English, we often drop the article in this kind of sentence, but in Catalan the article is very natural.

Why are preparava and descansava in this form?

They are in the imperfect tense.

In this sentence, the imperfect shows an action in progress in the past. Both actions form the background of the scene:

A native English speaker can often think of this as was + -ing.