Fa una setmana que la meva mare està refredada.

Because fa is part of a very common Catalan time expression:

fa + period of time + que + present tense

It means something like for / since / it’s been in English.

So:

• Fa una setmana que... = For a week now... / It’s been a week that...
• Fa dos dies que... = For two days now...
• Fa un any que... = For a year now...

Here, fa comes from the verb fer, but in this pattern it works like an impersonal time marker.

Catalan often uses the present tense for something that started in the past and is still true now.

So:

• Fa una setmana que la meva mare està refredada.

literally uses the present està, even though in English you would usually say:

• My mother has had a cold for a week
• My mother has been sick for a week

This is one of the big differences between English and Catalan:

• English often uses the present perfect
• Catalan often uses present tense with a duration expression like fa... que

In this structure, que links the time expression to the clause that follows.

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Fa una setmana = for a week / it’s been a week
• que = linking word
• la meva mare està refredada = my mother is sick with a cold

You do not translate que word-for-word here in a natural English sentence. It is just part of the Catalan pattern fa... que...

Because Catalan usually uses the definite article with possessives in many everyday expressions.

So Catalan normally says:

• la meva mare = my mother
• el meu pare = my father
• la meva germana = my sister

For an English speaker, this can feel strange, because English usually does not say the my mother. But in Catalan, this is normal grammar.

Because refredada agrees with la meva mare, which is feminine singular.

Agreement here works like this:

• el meu pare està refredat = my father has a cold
• la meva mare està refredada = my mother has a cold

So the ending changes to match the person described:

• masculine singular: refredat
• feminine singular: refredada
• masculine plural: refredats
• feminine plural: refredades

They are very close, and both are common.

• està refredada = she has a cold / she is suffering from a cold
• té un refredat = she has a cold

In many contexts, they are interchangeable.

A learner should know both:

• La meva mare està refredada
• La meva mare té un refredat

Both are natural Catalan.

Because estar is used for a temporary state or condition.

Having a cold is a temporary condition, so Catalan says:

• està refredada

Using ser here would be wrong, because ser is used more for identity, permanent characteristics, origin, profession, and similar ideas.

So:

• temporary health condition → estar
• not ser

Yes. That is also correct and very natural.

Compare:

• Fa una setmana que la meva mare està refredada
• Des de fa una setmana, la meva mare està refredada

Both mean essentially the same thing: My mother has had a cold for a week.

The first version is extremely common and very useful to learn as a fixed pattern.

Yes, somewhat.

The original sentence:

• Fa una setmana que la meva mare està refredada

is a very natural default order.

You can also hear things like:

• La meva mare està refredada des de fa una setmana

This is also correct. The meaning stays the same, but the focus shifts slightly.

The version with Fa una setmana que... puts the duration first and is very common in speech.

Yes, absolutely. This is a general Catalan pattern.

For example:

• Fa dos anys que visc a Barcelona.
  = I’ve lived in Barcelona for two years.

• Fa tres dies que plou.
  = It has been raining for three days.

• Fa una hora que t’espero.
  = I’ve been waiting for you for an hour.

So the learner should remember the whole pattern, not just this one sentence:

fa + time + que + present tense

A helpful literal breakdown is:

• Fa = it makes / it has been
• una setmana = one week
• que = that
• la meva mare = my mother
• està refredada = is suffering from a cold / is cold-sick

So very literally:

It’s been one week that my mother is sick with a cold.

That is not natural English, but it helps show how the Catalan sentence is built. The natural English meaning is:

My mother has had a cold for a week.