La meva veïna treballa al centre de la ciutat.

in

Breakdown of La meva veïna treballa al centre de la ciutat.

• meu: my
• treballar: to work
• de: of

Questions & Answers about La meva veïna treballa al centre de la ciutat.

Why is it la meva veïna and not meva veïna?

In Catalan, possessives are usually used with a definite article:

• la meva veïna = my neighbor
• el meu amic = my friend
• la seva casa = his/her house

This is different from English, where you normally just say my neighbor without the.

So la meva veïna is the normal Catalan pattern: article + possessive + noun.

What does veïna mean exactly, and why does it have those dots?

Veïna means female neighbor.

The dots over ï are called a diaeresis. They show that the i is pronounced in a separate syllable rather than blending into a diphthong.

So veïna is pronounced roughly as ve-EE-na / veh-EE-nə, with the i clearly heard.

Compare:

• veïna → separate vowel sound
• without the dots, the pronunciation rules would suggest something different

Also, Catalan distinguishes gender here:

• veí = male neighbor
• veïna = female neighbor

Why is meva feminine?

Because it agrees with , which is a feminine noun.