Word
Abans de marxar, la meva mare ha donat una abraçada a la tieta i un petó a l'oncle.
Meaning
Before leaving, my mother gave a hug to my aunt and a kiss to my uncle.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Abans de marxar, la meva mare ha donat una abraçada a la tieta i un petó a l'oncle.
un
a
la mare
the mother
i
and
a
to
Questions & Answers about Abans de marxar, la meva mare ha donat una abraçada a la tieta i un petó a l'oncle.
Why is it Abans de marxar with an infinitive?
Because after abans de (before), Catalan often uses an infinitive when the subject is understood from the main clause.
So:
- Abans de marxar = before leaving
- here, the person understood to be leaving is most naturally la meva mare
If the subject is different or you want to state it more explicitly, Catalan usually uses abans que + subjunctive:
- Abans que marxés la meva mare... = before my mother left
- Abans que jo marxés... = before I left
So abans de + infinitive is the normal compact structure when English would say before leaving.
Who is understood to be leaving in Abans de marxar?
Normally, it is understood to be the same subject as in the main clause: la meva mare.
So the sentence is interpreted as:
- Before leaving, my mother gave...
If Catalan wanted to make it clear that someone else was leaving, it would usually not use this bare infinitive structure. It would switch to something like abans que...
That is a very useful rule for learners:
- preposition + infinitive often implies the same subject
- abans que + finite verb is used when the subject needs to be different or explicit
Why does Catalan say la meva mare and not just meva mare?