Breakdown of Ahir vaig aprovar un examen, però la meva amiga el va suspendre.
un
a
l'amic
the friend
però
but
meu
my
Questions & Answers about Ahir vaig aprovar un examen, però la meva amiga el va suspendre.
Why is the past written as vaig aprovar and va suspendre instead of a single past-tense verb?
This is a very common Catalan past tense, especially in everyday language: the periphrastic past.
It is formed with:
- a present-tense form of anar (vaig, vas, va, vam, vau, van)
- plus an infinitive
So:
- vaig aprovar = I passed
- va suspendre = she failed
In this sentence:
- vaig is used because the subject is I
- va is used because the subject is la meva amiga = my friend
So the pattern is:
- jo vaig + infinitive
- tu vas + infinitive
- ell/ella va + infinitive
Why does vaig mean I, but va means she?
Because they are different forms of the auxiliary part of the periphrastic past.
Here are the relevant forms:
- jo vaig
- tu vas
- ell/ella va
- nosaltres vam
- vosaltres vau
- ells/elles van
So:
- vaig aprovar = I passed
- la meva amiga va suspendre = my friend failed
Even though vaig comes from the verb anar, in this structure it does not mean I go. It is just part of the past tense.