Breakdown of La dependenta diu que la talla petita ja no hi és, però que en queda una de gran.
Questions & Answers about La dependenta diu que la talla petita ja no hi és, però que en queda una de gran.
What exactly does dependenta mean?
Dependenta means a female shop assistant / sales assistant. The masculine form is dependent.
So la dependenta tells you the person helping the customer is a woman. In everyday Catalan, this is a very normal word in a shop context.
Why is there la in la talla petita?
Catalan often uses the definite article where English might not.
Here la talla petita means the small size: the specific size option being discussed. It is not just the general idea of smallness; it is a particular size in the set of available sizes.
So:
- talla petita = small size
- la talla petita = the small size
Why does the sentence say diu que ... però que ... with two ques?
Because both parts depend on diu.
The structure is:
- diu que
- first piece of information
- però que
- second piece of information
So the sentence is organized like:
- she says that the small size is no longer available,
- but that there is still a large one left.
In English, we often omit the second that, but in Catalan repeating que is very natural and helps keep the structure clear and parallel.
What does ja no mean here?
Ja no means no longer or not anymore.
So:
- no hi és = it is not there
- ja no hi és = it is no longer there / it is not there anymore
The ja adds the idea of a change: it used to be available, but now it isn’t.
What is hi doing in ja no hi és?
Hi is a very common Catalan pronoun that often refers to there, in that place, or more abstractly in that situation/context.
In ja no hi és, it is part of the expression ser-hi, which can mean to be there, to be present, or in this context to be available.
So la talla petita ja no hi és means something like:
- the small size is no longer there
- the small size is no longer available
English usually does not translate hi word for word here.
Why is it és and not està?
Here Catalan uses the expression ser-hi.
In a shop context, no hi és is a natural way to say that something is not there / not available. It sounds idiomatic for stock or availability.
Using estar here would not sound natural in the same way. So this is best learned as a common pattern:
- hi és = it is there / available
- no hi és = it is not there / not available
Why is it petita, but gran does not change?
Because adjectives agree with the noun they describe, but not all adjectives change in the same way.
Talla is feminine singular, so:
- petit becomes petita
But gran has the same form for masculine and feminine singular:
- talla gran
- jersei gran
Only the plural changes:
- grans
So:
- talla petita is feminine agreement
- talla gran is also feminine, but gran already has that same singular form
What does en mean in en queda una?
En is a partitive pronoun. It often means something like of it, of them, or some.
Here it replaces an omitted noun phrase that is understood from the context: the item/model/garment being discussed.
So:
- en queda una = one remains of it / there is one left
This is very common with quantities in Catalan:
- Queden dues samarretes = Two T-shirts remain
- En queden dues = Two remain / There are two left
So en is used because the noun is not repeated.
Why does Catalan use queda here?
Because quedar can mean to remain or to be left.
So en queda una literally means:
- one remains
- there is one left
This is a very common shop phrase, because it emphasizes the remaining stock, not just existence in a general sense.
So the nuance is:
- hi ha una = there is one
- en queda una = there is one left
Why is it una de gran instead of una gran?
Because when the noun is omitted and you want to describe it with an adjective, Catalan often uses de + adjective after words like un/una, numbers, and quantity expressions.
So:
- una de gran = a large one
- dues de petites = two small ones
- en vull una de blava = I want a blue one
That is the pattern being used here.
By contrast, una gran does not work the same way here. Also, gran before a noun often has the sense of great rather than big, so una gran... can suggest a different meaning.
In this sentence, una de gran means a large one or one in the large size.
Could the sentence have used no n'hi ha instead of no hi és?
Yes, you may hear that too, but the nuance is slightly different.
- ja no hi és focuses on the fact that the small size is not there / not available anymore
- ja no n'hi ha focuses more directly on there aren’t any left
Both are possible in shop language, but the sentence you have uses hi és for availability/presence and en queda una for what still remains. That pairing is very natural.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning CatalanMaster Catalan — from La dependenta diu que la talla petita ja no hi és, però que en queda una de gran to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions