La meva cosina ara treballa a la ciutat, però recorda molt bé el poble on vivia.

In Catalan, possessives are very often used together with the definite article:

• la meva cosina = my cousin
• el meu germà = my brother

This is different from English, which usually does not use an article before a possessive. So la meva cosina is the normal Catalan way to say my cousin.

The possessive must agree with the noun it goes with:

• meu = masculine singular
• meva = feminine singular
• meus = masculine plural
• meves = feminine plural

Since cosina is feminine singular, the correct form is meva.

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• treballa already means she works / he works / it works
• In this sentence, the context makes it clear that it refers to la meva cosina

So La meva cosina ara treballa... is completely natural, and adding ella would usually only be done for emphasis or contrast.

Ara means now. Here it contrasts her present situation with the past:

• ara treballa a la ciutat = now she works in the city
• on vivia = where she used to live / where she lived

Its position here is very natural. Catalan often places time expressions like ara before the verb, especially when setting up a contrast.

The preposition a is commonly used for location or direction with places:

• treballa a la ciutat = she works in the city
• viu a Barcelona = she lives in Barcelona

So even though English says in the city, Catalan uses a here.

Però means but, and it is written with a grave accent: ò.

The accent helps show the correct stress and vowel quality. It also distinguishes it visually from other similar-looking forms. When writing Catalan, it is important to include accents because they are part of the correct spelling.

Yes. Both patterns exist:

• recordar alguna cosa = to remember something
• recordar-se d’alguna cosa = to remember something

So:

• recorda molt bé el poble = she remembers the town very well
• se’n recorda molt bé del poble = another possible way, though structured differently

In your sentence, recorda is perfectly normal and straightforward because it takes a direct object: el poble.

Molt bé literally means very well.

In this sentence it modifies recorda, so it means she remembers the town clearly or very well:

• recorda molt bé = remembers very well

It does not mean that the town itself is good; it describes how well she remembers it.

Here on means where.

• el poble on vivia = the town where she lived

It introduces a relative clause referring to a place. This is a very common and natural use of on in Catalan.

You may also sometimes see more formal alternatives like en què, but on is the usual everyday choice for places.

Vivia is the imperfect tense. It is often used for:

• ongoing past situations
• habitual actions
• background description

In el poble on vivia, the idea is not a single completed event, but a past state or period of life: the town where she used to live / where she lived.

If you used va viure, it would sound more like a completed event or bounded period, which is less natural in this kind of descriptive relative clause.

It can mean either, depending on context.

• poble often suggests a smaller place than a ciutat
• It can be translated as village, small town, or sometimes simply town

In this sentence, the contrast with la ciutat suggests a smaller hometown-type place, so English could translate it as either town or village, depending on tone.

Because però introduces a contrast between two ideas:

• ara treballa a la ciutat = her situation now
• recorda molt bé el poble on vivia = her connection to the past

Just like English often uses a comma before but, Catalan normally uses a comma before però in this kind of sentence.

Yes, but the structure would be different.

• vivia al poble = she lived in the town
• el poble on vivia = the town where she lived

In your sentence, el poble is the direct object of recorda:

• recorda el poble = she remembers the town

Then on vivia adds extra information about that town. So el poble is needed because it is the thing being remembered, not just part of the verb viure.