No puc mirar el correu perquè la pantalla no s'encén.

Puc is the 1st person singular form of poder, which means to be able to / can.

So:

• poder = to be able to
• puc = I can

That means No puc = I can’t.

A few related forms:

• puc = I can
• pots = you can
• pot = he/she/it can

After a modal verb like poder (can / to be able to), Catalan usually uses another verb in the infinitive.

So:

• puc mirar = I can look at / check
• literally: I can look

This works much like English:

• I can look
• I can read
• I can go

In Catalan:

• puc mirar
• puc llegir
• puc anar

Catalan often omits subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Here, puc already tells you the subject is I, so jo is not necessary.

• No puc mirar el correu... = natural
• Jo no puc mirar el correu... = also possible, but more emphatic

You might add jo if you want contrast or emphasis, like I can’t, but someone else can.

Catalan uses the definite article more often than English in many everyday expressions.

So mirar el correu is the normal way to say:

• check the mail
• check email
• look at my email

Here el correu can mean the mail in general, and in modern everyday use it often means email, especially from context.

If you want to be extra explicit, you can also say:

• el correu electrònic = email

But in normal speech, el correu is often enough.

Yes, literally mirar means to look at, but in everyday Catalan mirar el correu often means check the email/mail.

It does not always mean you are carefully reading every message. It can mean:

• opening your inbox
• checking whether you have messages
• looking at your mail

If you specifically want read, Catalan would use llegir:

• No puc llegir el correu = I can’t read the email

So mirar el correu is often broader and more natural for checking email.

Here perquè means because.

In Catalan, perquè as because is written:

• as one word
• with a grave accent on the final è

So:

• perquè = because

This is different from:

• per què = why / for what reason

For example:

• No puc mirar el correu perquè la pantalla no s'encén. = I can’t check my email because the screen won’t turn on.
• Per què no pots mirar el correu? = Why can’t you check your email?

That distinction is very important in writing.

Because there are two negative clauses:

1. No puc mirar el correu = I can’t check the email
2. la pantalla no s'encén = the screen doesn’t turn on

Each clause needs its own negation.

So the structure is:

• No
  • verb in the first clause
• perquè
• subject + no
  • verb in the second clause

This is perfectly normal in Catalan.

S'encén comes from the verb encendre, which means to turn on, to light, or to switch on depending on context.

Here it means:

• turns on
• lights up

So:

• la pantalla s'encén = the screen turns on / lights up

The form encén is the 3rd person singular present:

• s'encén = it turns on

Since la pantalla is singular, the verb is singular too.

In this sentence, the verb is being used in its pronominal/intransitive form: encendre's / encendre’s in practice appears as encendre’s? Actually standard explanation: encendre can be used with a pronoun when something turns on by itself or comes on.

So:

• Encenc la pantalla. = I turn on the screen.
  (transitive: someone turns it on)

But:

• La pantalla s'encén. = The screen turns on.
  (the screen comes on)

The s' is the reduced form of es before a vowel:

• es encén → s'encén

So s' here is not really himself/herself in the English sense. It is part of how Catalan often expresses that something comes on rather than someone actively turning it on.

The apostrophe appears because es becomes s' before a word beginning with a vowel.

So:

• es + encén → s'encén

Catalan does this very often to avoid awkward vowel contact.

Other common examples are similar contractions with pronouns and articles before vowels.

The accent in encén shows both stress and the quality of the vowel.

It tells you the stress falls on the last syllable:

• en-cén

It also distinguishes pronunciation more clearly. In Catalan, accents are very important because they often show:

• which syllable is stressed
• whether the vowel is open or closed

So the accent is not optional; it is part of the correct spelling.

Yes, you could, but it changes the nuance a bit.

• mirar el correu = check/look at the email
• veure el correu = see the email
• llegir el correu = read the email

In your sentence, mirar el correu sounds natural because the problem is that the screen will not turn on, so you cannot check it.

Veure is understandable, but mirar fits better in this situation.

Yes. Pantalla is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la.

• la pantalla = the screen

And because it is singular, the verb is singular too:

• la pantalla no s'encén

If it were plural:

• les pantalles no s'encenen = the screens don’t turn on