La meva tieta regala un llibre al meu nebot.

In Catalan, a possessive like meu / meva is usually used together with a definite article:

• la meva tieta = my aunt
• el meu nebot = my nephew

This is different from English, where you normally just say my aunt, not the my aunt.

So in ordinary Catalan, la meva tieta is the normal way to say my aunt.

The possessive changes to agree with the noun being possessed, not with the owner.

Here:

• tieta is feminine singular, so you use meva
• nebot is masculine singular, so you use meu

A quick pattern:

• el meu = my (masculine singular)
• la meva = my (feminine singular)
• els meus = my (masculine plural)
• les meves = my (feminine plural)

So:

• la meva tieta
• el meu nebot

Regala is the 3rd person singular present tense of regalar.

So regala means:

• gives as a gift
• is giving as a gift
• sometimes simply gives, depending on context

In this sentence, it means that the aunt is giving a book to her nephew as a present.

Basic conjugation of regalar in the present:

• jo regalo = I give as a gift
• tu regales = you give as a gift
• ell/ella regala = he/she gives as a gift

Un llibre means a book, while el llibre means the book.

So the sentence uses the indefinite article because it is talking about a book, not a specific one already identified.

• un llibre = a book
• el llibre = the book

That works much like English.

Al is the contraction of:

• a
  • el = al

So:

• al meu nebot = a + el meu nebot

This is very common in Catalan.

Examples:

• al noi = to the boy
• al meu amic = to my friend

So in your sentence, al meu nebot means to my nephew.

Catalan uses a to introduce the indirect object after verbs like donar or regalar.

In this sentence:

• un llibre is the thing being given → the direct object
• al meu nebot is the person receiving it → the indirect object

So the structure is:

• regalar alguna cosa a algú = to give something to someone as a gift

That is why you get:

• regala un llibre al meu nebot

They are:

• La meva tieta = the subject
  the person doing the action

• un llibre = the direct object
  the thing being given

• al meu nebot = the indirect object
  the person receiving the book

So the sentence structure is:

Subject + verb + direct object + indirect object

That is a very common word order in Catalan.

The sentence as written is the most neutral, natural order:

• La meva tieta regala un llibre al meu nebot.

Catalan word order is somewhat flexible, but changes in order often change the focus or emphasis.

For example, other orders may be possible in the right context, but the given version is the standard one for a simple statement.

For a learner, this is the safest pattern to follow:

Subject + verb + thing + recipient

Yes, you may hear that, especially in spoken Catalan.

Here, li means to him / to her and refers to al meu nebot.

So:

• La meva tieta regala un llibre al meu nebot
• La meva tieta li regala un llibre al meu nebot

Both can occur, though the version without li is simpler and perfectly good for learners.

The extra li is an example of clitic doubling, which is common in Catalan, especially in speech.

Tieta literally means aunt, but it can feel a little warmer or more familiar in tone than a more formal family label.

In everyday language, it is the normal word most learners will meet for aunt.

Its masculine counterpart is:

• tiet = uncle

So:

• la meva tieta = my aunt
• el meu tiet = my uncle

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide would be something like:

la ME-va TYE-ta re-GA-la oon LLY-brahl may-OO na-BOT

A few useful notes:

• meva: the first syllable is stressed → ME-va
• tieta: roughly TYE-ta
• regala: stress on ga → re-GA-la
• llibre: the ll sound can be tricky; depending on accent, it may sound like a soft ly sound or something closer to a y
• nebot: stress on the last syllable → ne-BOT

Pronunciation varies by region, but that is a helpful approximation.

You would change the noun phrases to plural:

• La meva tieta regala llibres als meus nebots.

Changes:

• un llibre → llibres
• al meu nebot → als meus nebots

Notice:

• a + els = als
• meu becomes meus for masculine plural

So:

• als meus nebots = to my nephews

Not exactly.

Regalar specifically means to give as a gift. It is more specific than English give.

So:

• regalar un llibre = to give a book as a present

But if you just mean give in a general sense, Catalan often uses donar instead:

• La meva tieta dona un llibre al meu nebot = My aunt gives a book to my nephew

That version is more general; regala strongly suggests it is a gift.