Abans de la festa, anirem a la pastisseria per comprar un pastís de xocolata.

Abans de means before.

In Catalan, abans is normally followed by de when it introduces:

• a noun: abans de la festa = before the party
• an infinitive: abans de marxar = before leaving

So:

• abans de la festa = before the party
• abans de comprar = before buying

That de is required here, so abans la festa would be incorrect.

Catalan often uses the definite article more regularly than English does.

Here, la festa means the party:

• la = the
• festa = party

If the sentence is referring to a specific party already known in context, Catalan naturally uses the article:

• Abans de la festa... = Before the party...

This is very normal and does not sound overly specific in Catalan.

Anirem is the future tense of anar = to go.

It means:

• we will go

So:

• anirem a la pastisseria = we will go to the pastry shop / bakery

This is the 1st person plural form, corresponding to nosaltres = we.

Yes. The verb anar is irregular in the future.

The future forms are:

• aniré = I will go
• aniràs = you will go
• anirà = he/she/it will go
• anirem = we will go
• anireu = you all will go
• aniran = they will go

So even though many Catalan future forms are built from the infinitive, anar changes to anir- in the future.

Because Catalan often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

Here, anirem already tells you the subject is we.

So both are possible:

• Anirem a la pastisseria...
• Nosaltres anirem a la pastisseria...

But the version without nosaltres is more natural unless you want emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Nosaltres anirem a la pastisseria, però ells aniran al supermercat. = We will go to the pastry shop, but they will go to the supermarket.

The verb anar usually takes the preposition a when you say where someone is going.

So:

• anar a casa = to go home
• anar al cinema = to go to the cinema
• anar a la pastisseria = to go to the pastry shop

Here:

• a = to
• la pastisseria = the pastry shop

Since pastisseria is feminine singular, a + la stays a la.

Compare:

• a + el = al
• a + la = a la

So:

• anem al mercat
• anem a la pastisseria

Pastisseria is a pastry shop or a shop that sells cakes, pastries, and sweet baked goods.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• pastry shop
• cake shop
• sometimes bakery

But there is a nuance:

• pastisseria focuses on pastries, cakes, sweets
• forn or fleca is more specifically a bread bakery

So if the goal is to buy a chocolate cake, pastisseria makes perfect sense.

Per comprar means to buy or more literally in order to buy.

Here, per expresses purpose:

• anirem a la pastisseria per comprar... = we will go to the pastry shop to buy...

This is very common in Catalan:

• He vingut per ajudar-te. = I came to help you.
• Sortim per sopar. = We’re going out to have dinner.

So per + infinitive often corresponds to English to + verb when expressing purpose.

Usually, in a sentence like this, per comprar is the normal choice.

Catalan distinguishes between per and per a, but in everyday usage the distinction is not always strict in all dialects. In a purpose expression before an infinitive, per + infinitive is very common and natural:

• anirem... per comprar un pastís

So for learners, the safest version here is:

• per comprar

In Catalan, ingredients, flavors, or material are often introduced with de.

So:

• pastís de xocolata = chocolate cake
• gelat de vainilla = vanilla ice cream
• tassa de cafè = cup of coffee

Here:

• un pastís = a cake
• de xocolata = of chocolate / chocolate

This is the standard way to say chocolate cake in Catalan.

They are related words, but they mean different things:

• pastís = cake
• pastisseria = pastry shop / cake shop
• pastisser = pastry chef
• pastissera = female pastry chef

So in the sentence:

• pastisseria is the place you go to
• pastís is the thing you buy there

The comma separates the introductory time expression from the main clause.

So the structure is:

• Abans de la festa, = Before the party,
• anirem a la pastisseria... = we will go to the pastry shop...

This is similar to English punctuation:

• Before the party, we’ll go to the bakery.

The comma helps readability, though in some short sentences punctuation can vary.

The basic structure is:

• Abans de la festa = time expression
• anirem = verb
• a la pastisseria = destination
• per comprar = purpose
• un pastís de xocolata = object

So the full pattern is:

Time + verb + destination + purpose + object

Catalan word order is often similar to English, but it is usually a bit more flexible. This sentence is very natural and straightforward.

A helpful approximate pronunciation is:

ah-BANS duh luh FES-tuh, uh-nee-REM uh luh pah-stee-suh-REE-uh per kum-PRA oom puh-TEES duh shoo-kuh-LAH-tuh

A few useful notes:

• abans has stress on the second syllable: a-BANS
• anirem has stress on the last syllable: ani-REM
• pastisseria has stress on -ri-: pastisse-RI-a
• pastís has stress on the last syllable because of the accent: pas-TÍS
• xocolata is pronounced with x like sh in most standard Catalan: sho-ko-LA-ta

Pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect, but this will guide you well.

Yes. That is a perfectly natural English rendering.

The Catalan sentence literally lines up as:

• Abans de la festa = Before the party
• anirem a la pastisseria = we will go to the pastry shop
• per comprar un pastís de xocolata = to buy a chocolate cake

In smoother English, you could say either:

• Before the party, we’ll go to the bakery to buy a chocolate cake.
• We’ll go to the bakery before the party to buy a chocolate cake.

Both match the Catalan well.