Quan el cel està ennuvolat i hi ha núvols negres, la meva germana no vol sortir sense paraigua.

to want

Breakdown of Quan el cel està ennuvolat i hi ha núvols negres, la meva germana no vol sortir sense paraigua.

• no: not
• estar: to be
• haver-hi: there be

Questions & Answers about Quan el cel està ennuvolat i hi ha núvols negres, la meva germana no vol sortir sense paraigua.

Why does the sentence start with Quan? Does it mean when or whenever?

Quan usually means when, but in sentences like this it often has the sense of whenever or when(ever) in a general situation.

So here, Quan el cel està ennuvolat... means something like:

• When/Whenever the sky is cloudy...

Catalan often uses quan for both a specific time and a repeated/general situation, just like English can.

Why is it el cel and not just cel?

Catalan often uses the definite article more than English does.

So:

• el cel = the sky

Even where English might sometimes omit the, Catalan usually keeps the article. This is very normal with nouns in general.

Why is it està ennuvolat instead of using a verb like to cloud?

Catalan commonly describes weather conditions with estar + adjective/participle.

Here:

• està = is
• ennuvolat = cloudy / cloud-covered

So el cel està ennuvolat literally means the sky is clouded, but naturally it means the sky is cloudy.

This is a very common pattern:

• està obert = it is open
• està tancat = it is closed
• està brut = it is dirty