Quan escric una paraula malament, l'esborro amb la goma i continuo.

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

So:

• escric = I write
• esborro = I erase
• continuo = I continue

You could say Quan jo escric..., but jo is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Because Catalan uses the present tense for habitual or repeated actions, just like English does in sentences such as:

• When I make a mistake, I erase it and continue.

So Quan escric... l'esborro... i continuo means this is what the speaker normally does.

Quan means when.

In this sentence it introduces a time clause:

• Quan escric una paraula malament... = When I write a word incorrectly...

This kind of structure is very common in Catalan:

• Quan arribo a casa, sopo.
• Quan tinc temps, llegeixo.

Because escric is the first person singular form of escriure (to write) in the present tense.

Present tense of escriure:

• jo escric
• tu escrius
• ell/ella escriu
• nosaltres escrivim
• vosaltres escriviu
• ells/elles escriuen

So escriu means he/she writes, while escric means I write.

Because paraula is a feminine noun in Catalan, so it takes the feminine singular indefinite article una.

• una paraula = a word

Compare:

• un llibre = a book masculine
• una paraula = a word feminine

Malament is an adverb meaning badly, wrongly, or incorrectly, depending on context.

Here it means something like incorrectly or wrong:

• escric una paraula malament = I write a word incorrectly / I spell a word wrong

It modifies the action of writing, not the noun paraula itself. So it does not mean a bad word.

L' is the direct object pronoun la shortened before a vowel.

The noun it refers to is una paraula, which is:

• singular
• feminine

So the full pronoun is la = it for a feminine singular object.

Before a vowel, la becomes l':

• la esborro → l'esborro

So:

• l'esborro = I erase it

Because in Catalan, object pronouns usually go before a conjugated verb.

So Catalan says:

• l'esborro = literally it-I erase

This is normal Catalan word order with clitic pronouns.

More examples:

• la veig = I see her/it
• el tinc = I have it
• ho sé = I know it

Because once una paraula has been introduced, Catalan naturally refers back to it with a pronoun in the next clause.

So the structure is:

• When I write a word incorrectly, I erase it...

Catalan works the same way:

• Quan escric una paraula malament, l'esborro...

This sounds natural and avoids repeating la paraula.

It comes from the verb esborrar, which means to erase, to rub out, or sometimes to delete, depending on context.

Here, because of amb la goma, it clearly means erase with an eraser.

Present tense of esborrar:

• jo esborro
• tu esborres
• ell/ella esborra
• nosaltres esborrem
• vosaltres esborreu
• ells/elles esborren

Amb means with, and la goma means the eraser in this context.

So:

• amb la goma = with the eraser

In school-related Catalan, goma commonly means eraser.

Catalan often uses the definite article in places where English may or may not use one.

Here la goma sounds natural because the speaker means the eraser they are using in that situation.

So Catalan prefers:

• amb la goma

rather than leaving the article out.

Not always. Goma can refer to rubber in a broader sense, but in everyday school context it usually means eraser.

If you want to be extra clear, you can also hear:

• goma d'esborrar = eraser

In this sentence, amb la goma definitely means using an eraser, not gum or anything else.

Because in Catalan the correct first person singular of continuar is continuo, without a written accent.

So:

• jo continuo = I continue

This is different from Spanish spelling, where you would write continúo. English speakers who know Spanish often notice this difference.

Yes, in many contexts segueixo can also mean I continue.

But there is a small nuance:

• continuo comes from continuar
• segueixo comes from seguir

In this sentence, continuo is perfectly natural and straightforward: after erasing the mistake, the speaker carries on writing.