Les escombraries fan mala olor perquè encara són a la cuina.

In Catalan, escombraries is normally a plural noun, even when it refers to trash in general.

So Catalan says:

• Les escombraries són...
• Les escombraries fan...

not singular forms.

This is similar to how some English nouns are grammatically plural even when they refer to one general thing, like clothes or scissors.

So in this sentence, the plural verb fan matches les escombraries.

Yes, literally fer mala olor is to make a bad smell, but in natural English we would usually translate it as to smell bad or to stink.

This is a very common Catalan structure:

• fer olor = to smell
• fer bona olor = to smell good
• fer mala olor = to smell bad

So:

• Les escombraries fan mala olor = The trash smells bad

This is one of those expressions that should be learned as a chunk.

Because olor is a feminine noun in Catalan.

So the adjective has to agree with it:

• bona olor
• mala olor

not bon olor or mal olor in standard agreement with this noun.

The pattern is:

• una olor
• l’olor
• mala olor

Here perquè means because.

In Catalan, perquè with an accent and written as one word is commonly used for because:

• fan mala olor perquè encara són a la cuina
• they smell bad because they are still in the kitchen

This is important because Catalan also has similar-looking forms such as per què, which usually means why / for what in questions or certain structures.

So in this sentence:

• perquè = because

Encara here means still.

So:

• encara són a la cuina = they are still in the kitchen

It tells you the situation has not changed yet.

Other examples:

• Encara dorm. = He/She is still sleeping.
• Encara no ha arribat. = He/She still hasn’t arrived.

In your sentence, encara explains why the trash smells bad: it has not yet been taken out.

This is a very common question for English speakers.

In Catalan, ser is often used to say where something or someone is located:

• És a casa.
• Som a Barcelona.
• Les claus són a la taula.

So són a la cuina is perfectly normal Catalan for they are in the kitchen.

English speakers often expect estar because of Spanish, but Catalan does not always work the same way. In Catalan, ser is very common for location, especially in neutral statements about where something is.

You may also hear estar in some contexts or varieties, but són a la cuina is standard and natural.

Because a + la does not contract in Catalan.

So:

• a + la = a la
• a + el = al

That means:

• a la cuina = in/to the kitchen
• al menjador = in/to the dining room

So a la cuina is exactly what we expect, because cuina is feminine: la cuina.

Usually yes. Catalan uses definite articles more often than English does.

So Catalan normally says:

• Les escombraries
• La cuina

where English might simply say:

• trash
• kitchen

In this sentence, les escombraries refers to the trash / the garbage, and using the article sounds natural and standard.

A helpful approximate pronunciation is:

əs-kom-brə-REE-əs

More carefully in Central Catalan, it is roughly:

[əz.kum.brəˈɾi.əs]

A few pronunciation notes:

• The first e is usually a weak uh sound.
• The stress falls on ri: escombra-RI-es
• The r in -ries is a tapped Catalan r, somewhat like the quick Spanish single r

If you just remember escombra-RI-es, with the stress near the end, that will already help a lot.

You might be understood, but fan mala olor is the much more natural expression.

Catalan usually prefers:

• fer olor
• fer bona olor
• fer mala olor

rather than tenir mala olor in everyday usage for this meaning.

So if you want to sound natural, learn:

• Això fa mala olor.
• Les escombraries fan mala olor.

The sentence has two parts:

1. Les escombraries fan mala olor
   = the main clause

2. perquè encara són a la cuina
   = the reason clause introduced by perquè (because)

So the pattern is:

[statement] + perquè + [reason]

In this case:

• Les escombraries fan mala olor = what is happening
• perquè encara són a la cuina = why it is happening

This is a very useful sentence pattern to reuse in Catalan.