Quan la pantalla s'encén, la meva filla mira el correu.

When the screen turns on, my daughter checks the mail.

Breakdown of Quan la pantalla s'encén, la meva filla mira el correu.

• meu: my
• la filla: the daughter
• quan: when
• el correu: the mail

Questions & Answers about Quan la pantalla s'encén, la meva filla mira el correu.

What does quan mean here, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?

Quan means when.

Here it introduces a time clause: Quan la pantalla s'encén = When the screen turns on / lights up.

It comes first because Catalan, like English, often puts the time clause at the beginning:

• Quan la pantalla s'encén, la meva filla mira el correu.
• La meva filla mira el correu quan la pantalla s'encén.

Both are possible. The first version puts a little more focus on the timing.

Why is it s'encén and not just encén?

The s' is a reduced form of es, a reflexive/pronominal particle.

• encendre = to light, to switch on something
• encendre's / encendre’s is not the usual dictionary form, but in actual use encendre's idea shows up as encendre'something זיך? No — more naturally:
• encendre can be used transitively: Encenc la pantalla = I turn on the screen
• encendre's-type pronominal use appears in expressions like La pantalla s'encén = The screen turns on / lights up

So s'encén means something like turns on itself or simply comes on.

The apostrophe appears because es becomes s' before a vowel:

• es encén → s'encén