Word
No crec que la meva filla pugui parlar gaire, perquè li fa mal el nas i no para d'esternudar; per això sempre porta un mocador.
Meaning
I do not think that my daughter can talk much, because her nose hurts and she does not stop sneezing; that is why she always carries a tissue.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of No crec que la meva filla pugui parlar gaire, perquè li fa mal el nas i no para d'esternudar; per això sempre porta un mocador.
un
a
no
not
i
and
li
her
Questions & Answers about No crec que la meva filla pugui parlar gaire, perquè li fa mal el nas i no para d'esternudar; per això sempre porta un mocador.
Why is it No crec que ... pugui and not No crec que ... pot?
Because after crec que in the negative—no crec que—Catalan normally uses the subjunctive in the following clause.
- No crec que ... pugui = I don’t think ... can
- Crec que ... pot = I think ... can
So:
- No crec que la meva filla pugui parlar gaire is the natural Catalan pattern.
- Using pot here would sound ungrammatical or at least very nonstandard in normal usage.
This is one of the most important Catalan subjunctive triggers to learn:
- crec que
- indicative
- no crec que
- subjunctive
What form is pugui exactly?
pugui is the present subjunctive of poder (to be able to / can), for ell/ella/vostè.
Here is the relevant contrast:
- pot = present indicative
- pugui = present subjunctive
So:
- La meva filla pot parlar = My daughter can speak/talk
- No crec que la meva filla pugui parlar = I don’t think my daughter can speak/talk
Why does Catalan say la meva filla with an article? In English we just say my daughter.