Entre el juny i el setembre, la meva família gairebé sempre fa vacances prop del mar.

Between June and September, my family almost always takes holidays near the sea.

Breakdown of Entre el juny i el setembre, la meva família gairebé sempre fa vacances prop del mar.

• i: and
• meu: my
• sempre: always
• prop de: near

Questions & Answers about Entre el juny i el setembre, la meva família gairebé sempre fa vacances prop del mar.

Why is there el before juny and setembre?

In Catalan, months are often used with the definite article when you are referring to them as time periods: el juny, el setembre.

So Entre el juny i el setembre is a natural way to say between June and September.

This is one of the places where Catalan uses articles more often than English does.

Why does it say la meva família and not just meva família?

Catalan normally uses the definite article with possessives:

• la meva família = my family
• el meu cotxe = my car
• els seus amics = his/her/their friends

For an English speaker, this can feel unusual, because English usually chooses either the or my, not both. But in Catalan, article + possessive + noun is the normal pattern.

Why is the verb fa singular if a family contains several people?

Because família is grammatically singular.

Even though a family is made up of several people, the noun itself is singular, so the verb agrees with família, not with the individual family members:

• la meva família fa...
  not
• la meva família fan...

This is similar to standard American English, where my family is... is common.

What does gairebé sempre mean, and why are the words in that order?