Word
Mentrestant, la mare prepara el sopar i jo llegeixo el diari al sofà.
Meaning
Meanwhile, my mother prepares dinner and I read the newspaper on the sofa.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Mentrestant, la mare prepara el sopar i jo llegeixo el diari al sofà.
la mare
the mother
i
and
llegir
to read
a
on
Questions & Answers about Mentrestant, la mare prepara el sopar i jo llegeixo el diari al sofà.
What does mentrestant mean, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?
Mentrestant means meanwhile or in the meantime.
It is placed at the beginning to set the scene for what is happening at that moment. In this sentence, it introduces two simultaneous actions:
- la mare prepara el sopar
- jo llegeixo el diari al sofà
The comma after mentrestant is very natural here, just like in English with Meanwhile, ...
Why does Catalan use la mare instead of just mare?
Catalan very often uses the definite article with family members:
- la mare = mum / the mother
- el pare = dad / the father
- la germana = the sister
This is much more common in Catalan than in English. A native English speaker may expect just mother or mum, but la mare is perfectly normal Catalan.
Why do we have el sopar? Doesn’t English often say just dinner without the?
Yes. Catalan uses articles in places where English often does not.
So:
- prepara el sopar = prepares dinner / is making dinner
Even though English often omits the, Catalan normally keeps el here. This is one of the most common differences English speakers notice.