Breakdown of La meva mare està tan cansada que vol dormir aviat.
Questions & Answers about La meva mare està tan cansada que vol dormir aviat.
Why is it la meva mare and not just meva mare?
In Catalan, possessives are very often used together with the definite article.
So:
- la meva mare = my mother
- literally, it looks like the my mother, but that is normal in Catalan
This is one of the biggest differences from English. English usually says just my mother, but Catalan commonly says la meva mare.
That said, there are some contexts where the article may be omitted, but for a basic sentence like this, la meva mare is the standard form to learn.
What does meva mean, and why does it end in -a?
Meva means my, but Catalan possessives change form to agree with the noun they describe.
Here, mare is:
- feminine
- singular
So the possessive must also be feminine singular:
- el meu pare = my father
- la meva mare = my mother
So meu is the masculine singular form, and meva is the feminine singular form.
Why is it està and not és?
Catalan, like Spanish, has two common verbs for to be:
- ser → used for identity, essential characteristics, origin, etc.
- estar → used for states, conditions, location, and situations
In this sentence, cansada (tired) is a temporary state, so Catalan uses estar:
- La meva mare està cansada = My mother is tired
Using és cansada would sound unnatural in standard Catalan for this meaning.
What form is està?
Està is the third-person singular present form of estar.
So:
- jo estic = I am
- tu estàs = you are
- ell/ella està = he/she is
Since la meva mare is she, the sentence uses està.
Why is it cansada and not cansat?
Adjectives in Catalan usually agree with the noun in gender and number.
Since mare is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular:
- cansat = tired, masculine singular
- cansada = tired, feminine singular
Compare:
- El meu pare està cansat = My father is tired
- La meva mare està cansada = My mother is tired
What does tan ... que mean?
Tan ... que means so ... that.
In this sentence:
- tan cansada que = so tired that
It is a very common structure in Catalan:
- Està tan cansada que vol dormir = She is so tired that she wants to sleep
You can use the same pattern with many adjectives:
- És tan alt que toca el sostre = He is so tall that he touches the ceiling
- Estic tan ocupat que no puc sortir = I am so busy that I can’t go out
Why is there no word for she before vol?
Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.
So instead of saying:
- ella vol dormir
Catalan very naturally says just:
- vol dormir
Because the subject is already understood from the previous part of the sentence: la meva mare.
This is very common in Catalan. English usually needs the pronoun, but Catalan often does not.
What does vol mean here?
Vol is the third-person singular present form of voler, which means to want.
So:
- jo vull = I want
- tu vols = you want
- ell/ella vol = he/she wants
In this sentence:
- vol dormir = wants to sleep
Why is it vol dormir and not something like vol a dormir?
After voler (to want), Catalan normally uses a direct infinitive, without a preposition.
So:
- vol dormir = wants to sleep
- vull menjar = I want to eat
- volen marxar = they want to leave
This is similar to English want to sleep, but Catalan does not insert an extra word like a here.
What does aviat mean exactly?
Aviat usually means soon or early, depending on context.
In this sentence, dormir aviat most naturally means:
- to go to sleep early or
- to sleep early
So the idea is that the mother is tired and wants to go to bed earlier than usual.
This is a useful word to learn because it appears often in everyday Catalan:
- Fins aviat = See you soon
- Arribaré aviat = I’ll arrive soon
Why does aviat come after dormir?
In Catalan, adverbs like aviat often come after the verb or verb phrase.
So:
- dormir aviat = to sleep early / to go to sleep early
This word order is very natural. English also often places early after the verb:
- go to bed early
You may sometimes see adverbs in other positions for emphasis, but vol dormir aviat is the normal, straightforward order.
Could the sentence also be written with la mare meva or ma mare?
Those are possible in certain varieties or styles, but they are not the standard beginner form here.
For most learners, the safest pattern is:
- la meva mare
A few notes:
- la mare meva can sound emphatic, poetic, or dialectal depending on context
- ma mare is used in some dialects and registers, but it is less universal for beginners
So if you want the standard form that works well everywhere, use la meva mare.
Is this sentence talking about a temporary situation?
Yes. The sentence describes a current condition:
- She is so tired that she wants to sleep early
That is exactly why it uses:
- estar for the state
- cansada as a description of how she feels right now
- present tense forms like està and vol
So the sentence sounds like a present, real, immediate situation, not a permanent fact about the mother.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning CatalanMaster Catalan — from La meva mare està tan cansada que vol dormir aviat to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓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