Word
No vull que l'oncle descobreixi la sorpresa abans de la festa.
Meaning
I do not want my uncle to find out about the surprise before the party.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of No vull que l'oncle descobreixi la sorpresa abans de la festa.
voler
to want
no
not
abans de
before
que
that
Questions & Answers about No vull que l'oncle descobreixi la sorpresa abans de la festa.
Why is it No vull que... instead of just No vull...?
Because Catalan usually uses voler que + subjunctive when the second action has a different subject.
In this sentence:
- No vull = I don’t want
- que l'oncle descobreixi... = that the uncle discover...
So the structure is literally closer to:
- I don’t want that my/the uncle discover...
But in natural English, we say:
- I don’t want my/the uncle to discover...
A useful comparison:
- No vull descobrir la sorpresa. = I don’t want to discover the surprise.
- same subject: I don’t want to discover
- No vull que l'oncle descobreixi la sorpresa. = I don’t want the uncle to discover the surprise.
- different subject: I don’t want the uncle to discover
Why is it descobreixi and not descobreix?
Because after No vull que..., Catalan requires the subjunctive, not the indicative.
So:
- descobreix = indicative present, he/she discovers
- descobreixi = present subjunctive, used after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, etc.
Since voler que expresses a wish or desire, the verb in the subordinate clause goes into the subjunctive:
- Vull que vingui. = I want him/her to come.
- No vull que marxin. = I don’t want them to leave.
- No vull que l'oncle descobreixi la sorpresa.
This is one of the most important patterns in Catalan grammar.