Breakdown of A l'abril acostumem a veure núvols sobre la muntanya, però al maig gairebé sempre fa sol.
a
in
però
but
sempre
always
fer sol
to be sunny
Questions & Answers about A l'abril acostumem a veure núvols sobre la muntanya, però al maig gairebé sempre fa sol.
Why is it A l'abril but al maig?
Both mean in April / in May, but the form changes because of the noun that follows.
- a + el abril becomes a l'abril
- a + el maig becomes al maig
So:
- a l'abril = in April
- al maig = in May
This happens because abril begins with a vowel, so the article el contracts to l'. With maig, which begins with a consonant, a + el becomes al.
This is very common in Catalan:
- a l'estiu
- al gener
- a l'agost
Why is there an article before the months at all?
In Catalan, months often appear with the definite article, especially after prepositions like a.
So Catalan commonly says:
- a l'abril
- al maig
- al juny
This is different from English, where we just say in April or in May without an article.
You do not need to translate the article literally. It is just part of the normal Catalan structure.
Why is it acostumem a veure instead of just veiem?