Quan fa molt fred, la mare acostuma a portar un abric negre i guants.

In Catalan, weather expressions often use fer (to make/do) rather than ser (to be).

So:

• fa fred = it’s cold
• fa calor = it’s hot
• fa vent = it’s windy

Literally, fa molt fred is something like it makes a lot of cold, but you should learn it as the normal Catalan way to say it’s very cold.

Quan means when.

So:

• Quan fa molt fred = When it’s very cold

It introduces a time clause. In this sentence, that clause comes first, followed by the main clause:

• Quan fa molt fred, la mare acostuma a portar...

Catalan, like English, can also sometimes change clause order depending on style, but this order is very natural.

Catalan often uses the definite article with family members:

• la mare = mother / mum
• el pare = father / dad
• la germana = sister

This is much more common than in English. So la mare can refer naturally to mum/mother in context, not necessarily the mother in a formal English sense.

Acostumar a + infinitive means to usually / to tend to / to be in the habit of doing something.

So:

• acostuma a portar = usually wears / tends to wear

It gives a habitual meaning, not a one-time action.

Compare:

• La mare porta un abric negre = Mother is wearing / wears a black coat
• La mare acostuma a portar un abric negre = Mother usually wears a black coat

Because acostumar is followed by a + infinitive when it means to usually do something.

Pattern:

• acostumar a + verb

Examples:

• Acostumo a llegir a la nit = I usually read at night
• Acostumen a arribar tard = They usually arrive late

So acostuma a portar is the normal structure.

Yes—portar can mean to carry, to bring, or to wear, depending on context.

In clothing contexts, portar commonly means to wear:

• Porta ulleres = He/She wears glasses
• Porten jaqueta = They’re wearing jackets

So here:

• portar un abric negre i guants = to wear a black coat and gloves

This is a very normal use of portar in Catalan.

This is a common pattern in Catalan. After verbs like portar, Catalan often omits the article with plural clothing items when speaking generally.

So:

• un abric negre = a black coat
• guants = gloves

The meaning is still definite enough in context: she usually wears a black coat and gloves.

You may also see articles in some contexts, but portar ... guants is very natural.

In Catalan, most adjectives normally come after the noun.

So:

• un abric negre = a black coat
• una casa gran = a big house
• un cotxe vell = an old car

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

Because adjectives in Catalan agree with the noun in gender and number.

Here:

• abric is masculine singular
• so the adjective is negre (masculine singular)

Compare:

• un abric negre = masculine singular
• una jaqueta negra = feminine singular
• abrics negres = masculine plural
• jaquetes negres = feminine plural

So negre matches abric.

Molt here means very.

So:

• fred = cold
• molt fred = very cold

This is a standard adverb use. You do not use de here.

Compare:

• molt fred = very cold
• molta aigua = a lot of water

So molt changes form when it acts like an adjective/determiner, but here it is simply modifying fred.

No. It is a very good and natural way, but not the only one.

Other possibilities include:

• La mare sol portar... = Mother usually tends to wear...
• La mare normalment porta... = Mother normally wears...

But acostuma a portar is especially useful because it clearly expresses habit.

In fa fred, fred behaves like a noun in a weather expression.

That is why Catalan uses:

• fa fred
• fa calor

rather than treating fred the same way English treats cold in it is cold.

So even though fred can also be an adjective in other contexts, in this fixed weather expression you should learn fa fred as a set phrase.

Not very naturally. A word-for-word version would sound strange in English because several Catalan structures work differently:

• Quan = When
• fa molt fred = literally something like it makes much cold
• la mare = the mother / mum
• acostuma a portar = is accustomed to wear / usually wears
• un abric negre i guants = a black coat and gloves

The natural English meaning is something like:

When it’s very cold, Mum usually wears a black coat and gloves.

So it is better to understand the Catalan structure, not translate each word mechanically.