Al caixer, la meva filla mira el número de la targeta.

At the ATM, my daughter looks at the card number.

Breakdown of Al caixer, la meva filla mira el número de la targeta.

• a: at
• meu: my
• la filla: the daughter
• de: of

Questions & Answers about Al caixer, la meva filla mira el número de la targeta.

Why does the sentence start with Al caixer?

Because Catalan often moves a place or time expression to the beginning of the sentence to set the scene.

So:

• Al caixer = At the ATM / cash machine
• la meva filla mira el número de la targeta = my daughter looks at the card number

Starting with Al caixer gives a natural sense of context: At the ATM, my daughter looks at the card number.

The comma shows that this location phrase has been placed first for emphasis or organization. A more neutral order would also be possible:

• La meva filla mira el número de la targeta al caixer.

What does al mean, and why isn’t it a el?

Al is the contraction of:

• a = to / at
• el = the

So:

• a + el = al

This is a normal contraction in Catalan, just like:

• de + el = del

So al caixer literally means at the cashier / at the ATM.

Does caixer mean cashier or ATM?