No copiïs la resposta del meu paper; primer pensa una mica.

Catalan uses two different patterns for commands:

• Affirmative commands use the imperative: pensa = think
• Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no copiïs = don’t copy

So this difference is completely normal. With the same verb, you would get:

• Copia la resposta.
• No copiïs la resposta.

That is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Catalan.

The verb forms show it:

• copiïs
• pensa

These are forms used with tu, the informal singular you.

Catalan often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is. So tu is understood without being said.

You can add tu, but usually only for emphasis or contrast:

• No copiïs tu la resposta...

This sentence is therefore addressed to one person informally.

For comparison:

• vostè: No copiï...; primer pensi...
• vosaltres: No copieu...; primer penseu...
• vostès: No copiïn...; primer pensin...

copiïs is the tu form of the present subjunctive of copiar.

In this sentence, because it comes after no, it functions as a negative command.

The ï is a diaeresis. It shows that the vowels are pronounced separately, not blended together. So copiïs is said in separate syllables, roughly co-pi-is.

This kind of spelling appears in some forms of verbs ending in -iar, for example:

• copiï
• copiïs
• copiïn

del is the contraction of de + el.

So:

• de + el meu paper → del meu paper

Here, paper is a masculine singular noun, which is why you get el meu paper and not la meva paper.

In this sentence, de shows the source of what is being copied. So la resposta del meu paper means the answer from my paper.

Depending on context, paper here could mean:

• paper
• sheet
• worksheet
• exam paper

So the phrase does not mean ownership in the English sense of the answer of my paper. In natural English, it is better understood as the answer from my paper.

Because Catalan normally uses the definite article here, just as English does with the answer.

la resposta refers to a specific answer, not just any answer. In this context, it means the answer on the speaker’s paper.

Leaving the article out would sound unnatural in this sentence.

Here primer means first or first of all.

It is telling the listener what to do before anything else:

• primer pensa una mica = first, think a little

It is being used adverbially here, not as an adjective.

Catalan can place it in different positions, for example:

• Primer pensa una mica.
• Pensa una mica primer.

Both are possible, but primer pensa... sounds especially natural when giving instructions in sequence.

una mica means a little or a bit.

So pensa una mica means:

• think a little
• think a bit
• think for a moment

It often softens the command. Compare:

• Pensa. = Think.
• Pensa una mica. = Think a bit.

The second version sounds less abrupt and more natural in many everyday situations.

It would not be wrong, but it would usually sound more emphatic.

Normal neutral Catalan:

• No copiïs la resposta del meu paper; primer pensa una mica.

With extra emphasis:

• No copiïs tu la resposta del meu paper...

Adding tu can suggest something like:

• you don’t copy it
• I’m talking specifically to you
• a contrast with someone else

So in ordinary speech, leaving tu out is the most natural choice.

The semicolon links two closely connected ideas:

• No copiïs la resposta del meu paper
• primer pensa una mica

It creates a stronger pause than a comma, but it still keeps the two parts together more tightly than a full stop would.

You could also see other punctuation in real life, such as a comma or a period, but the semicolon works well because the two commands are closely related.