Quan la impressora no va, necessito una fotocòpia.

That is a very common question.

In Catalan, the verb anar normally means to go, and va is the he/she/it form of the present tense:

• va = goes

But in everyday Catalan, anar is also used in expressions about how something is functioning:

• La impressora va bé = The printer works well
• La impressora no va = The printer doesn’t work

So in this sentence, no va means is not working or doesn’t work, not literal movement.

Yes. Both are natural, but they are slightly different in tone.

• La impressora no va = very common, everyday speech
• La impressora no funciona = also correct, a bit more explicit

Native speakers often use no va for machines, devices, apps, systems, and similar things.

Quan means when.

It does not take an accent in this sentence because it is the normal conjunction when:

• Quan la impressora no va... = When the printer doesn’t work...

Do not confuse it with quant, which means how much or how many.

Examples:

• Quan arribes? = When are you arriving?
• Quant costa? = How much does it cost?

La impressora means the printer.

Catalan uses definite articles much like English does, but learners often notice that Romance languages use them very naturally with specific things already understood in context.

Here, la impressora refers to a specific printer, probably the one being talked about in the situation.

• la = feminine singular the
• impressora is feminine, so it takes la

Because it takes the feminine article la, and the noun itself has a typical feminine ending -a.

• la impressora = feminine singular

This also affects other words that go with it, such as adjectives:

• la impressora nova = the new printer

As always, gender is grammatical, so it is best learned together with the noun:

• la impressora
• una impressora

Necessito is the I form of the verb necessitar, meaning to need.

Present tense of necessitar:

• jo necessito = I need
• tu necessites = you need
• ell/ella necessita = he/she needs

So:

• necessito una fotocòpia = I need a photocopy

It matches the implied subject I.

Yes, it is completely normal and common.

Necessitar is a straightforward way to say to need.
You may also see other ways of expressing need, depending on context, but necessitar is simple and natural.

Examples:

• Necessito ajuda = I need help
• Necessitem temps = We need time

So necessito una fotocòpia is perfectly standard.

Una is the feminine singular indefinite article, meaning a or one.

Since fotocòpia is feminine, it takes una:

• una fotocòpia = a photocopy

Compare:

• un llibre = a book masculine
• una fotocòpia = a photocopy feminine

The accent in fotocòpia shows where the stress falls.

• fotocòpia

The stressed syllable is cò.

Accent marks in Catalan are very important because they help show pronunciation and sometimes distinguish words. In this case, the accent tells you the word is stressed in the correct place.

For a learner, it is best to memorize the spelling with the accent included.

Not exactly. Fotocòpia specifically means photocopy.

So this sentence is talking about a physical copied document, not just any kind of copy.

If the context were digital, Catalan might use different words depending on what kind of copy is meant.

The comma separates the introductory clause from the main clause:

• Quan la impressora no va, = time clause
• necessito una fotocòpia. = main clause

This is very similar to English:

• When the printer doesn’t work, I need a photocopy.

The comma is especially natural when the when clause comes first.

Yes, you can.

You could say:

• Necessito una fotocòpia quan la impressora no va.

This is grammatically possible, but it may sound slightly different in focus.
The original sentence starts with the condition or situation first, which is very natural.

Beginning with Quan... puts emphasis on the circumstance.

Yes.

Here, va is present tense, third person singular, from anar:

• la impressora va = the printer goes / works
• la impressora no va = the printer doesn’t work / isn’t working

In many everyday contexts, the present tense can translate naturally into English either as:

• doesn’t work
• isn’t working

The exact English version depends on context, but the Catalan form is present tense.

Yes, and that is exactly what the sentence does.

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

• necessito already tells you the subject is I
• so jo necessito is possible, but usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis

Examples:

• Necessito una fotocòpia = normal
• Jo necessito una fotocòpia = more emphasis on I

A rough breakdown is:

• Quan = when
• la impressora = the printer
• no va = doesn’t work / isn’t working
• necessito = I need
• una fotocòpia = a photocopy

So the structure is very close to English:

• When the printer doesn’t work, I need a photocopy.

That makes it a useful sentence for learners, because the grammar is fairly transparent even though no va is a slightly idiomatic expression.