Breakdown of Vull tornar a trucar a la secretària demà.
Questions & Answers about Vull tornar a trucar a la secretària demà.
Why is it vull and not jo vull?
Catalan often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending usually already shows who the subject is.
- vull = I want
- jo vull = I want / I, personally, want
So Vull tornar a trucar... is the normal, natural way to say it. You would add jo only for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.
Example:
- Jo vull trucar, però ell no. = I want to call, but he doesn’t.
Why is the verb vull so different from the infinitive voler?
Because voler is an irregular verb.
Its first-person singular present form is:
- jo vull = I want
Some other present-tense forms are:
- tu vols
- ell/ella vol
- nosaltres volem
- vosaltres voleu
- ells/elles volen
So vull is just the normal irregular I form of voler.
What does tornar a mean here?
Tornar a + infinitive means to do something again.
So:
- tornar a trucar = to call again
This is a very common Catalan structure.
Examples:
- Tornar a començar = to start again
- Tornar a veure = to see again
- Tornar a intentar-ho = to try it again
Without a, tornar usually means to return / to come back.
Compare:
- Torno demà. = I’m coming back tomorrow.
- Torno a trucar demà. = I’m calling again tomorrow.
Why are there two a's in tornar a trucar a la secretària?
They do two different jobs.
tornar a + infinitive
Here, a belongs to the structure meaning again:- tornar a trucar = to call again
trucar a algú
Here, a is required by the verb trucar when you say who you are calling:- trucar a la secretària = to call the secretary
So the sentence has:
- one a after tornar
- another a after trucar
That is completely normal.
Why is it trucar a la secretària and not just trucar la secretària?
Because in Catalan, trucar normally takes a before the person you call.
So:
- trucar a algú = to call someone
Examples:
- Truco a la Maria.
- Has trucat al metge?
- Vull trucar a la secretària.
This is different from English, where we usually say call someone without a preposition.
Can I replace a la secretària with a pronoun?
Yes. Since trucar a algú uses an indirect object-style pronoun, you normally use li for to him / to her / to you (formal).
So you can say:
- Li vull tornar a trucar demà.
- Vull tornar a trucar-li demà.
Both mean I want to call her again tomorrow.
A very important point for English speakers:
- You do not normally use la here
- because trucar takes a algú, so Catalan uses li
Where can demà go in the sentence?
Catalan word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions like demà.
Your sentence:
- Vull tornar a trucar a la secretària demà.
Other possible orders:
- Demà vull tornar a trucar a la secretària.
- Vull demà tornar a trucar a la secretària.
This is possible, though a bit less neutral in many contexts.
The most natural position often depends on what you want to emphasize:
- Demà at the beginning highlights the time
- demà at the end sounds very natural and neutral
Is demà always placed at the end?
No. Demà can appear in different places.
Common options:
- Demà truco a la secretària.
- Truco a la secretària demà.
- Demà vull tornar a trucar-hi.
Catalan allows this kind of movement more freely than English in many cases. The meaning usually stays the same, but the focus changes slightly.
Why is it la secretària?
Because secretària is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la.
- la secretària = the secretary
Masculine equivalent:
- el secretari = the male secretary
The ending -a often signals feminine nouns, though not always.
Why does secretària have an accent mark?
The accent mark in secretària shows the stressed syllable.
It is pronounced roughly like:
- se-cre-TÀ-ri-a
Without the accent, Catalan stress rules would suggest a different pronunciation. So the written accent helps show the correct stress.
How is the whole sentence pronounced?
A broad pronunciation guide is:
- Vull tornar a trucar a la secretària demà
- roughly: bool tor-NAR a troo-KAR a la sek-re-TA-ree-a de-MA
A few notes:
- vull sounds roughly like bool with a Catalan ll
- trucar has stress on the last syllable: tru-CAR
- secretària is stressed on tà
- demà is stressed on the last syllable: de-MÀ
Depending on the variety of Catalan, pronunciation details can vary.
Can tornar a trucar also mean call back?
Yes, in many contexts tornar a trucar can correspond to English call again or call back.
Examples:
- Et tornaré a trucar més tard. = I’ll call you back / I’ll call you again later.
- Vull tornar a trucar a la secretària. = I want to call the secretary again.
If the context is returning a phone call, English often says call back, while Catalan still commonly uses tornar a trucar.
Could I also say Vull tornar demà a trucar a la secretària?
Yes, that is possible, but it sounds a bit more marked or literary than the more neutral:
- Vull tornar a trucar a la secretària demà.
- Demà vull tornar a trucar a la secretària.
Placing demà between tornar and a trucar is not the most straightforward option for a learner. It is better to use one of the more common word orders above.
What is the basic structure of the sentence?
It breaks down like this:
- Vull = I want
- tornar a trucar = to call again
- a la secretària = the secretary
- demà = tomorrow
So the grammar pattern is:
- [conjugated verb] + [infinitive expression] + [object/complement] + [time expression]
More specifically:
- Vull
- tornar a trucar
- a la secretària
- demà
- a la secretària
- tornar a trucar
This is a very common and useful Catalan sentence pattern.
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