Abans que arribi la meva amiga, reservaré una taula a la terrassa del restaurant.

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Breakdown of Abans que arribi la meva amiga, reservaré una taula a la terrassa del restaurant.

• l'amic: the friend
• la taula: the table
• meu: my

Questions & Answers about Abans que arribi la meva amiga, reservaré una taula a la terrassa del restaurant.

Why is arribi used after abans que instead of arriba?

Because abans que normally triggers the subjunctive in Catalan when the action has not happened yet.

In this sentence, your friend has not arrived yet, so Catalan uses:

• arribi = present subjunctive
• not arriba = present indicative

So Abans que arribi la meva amiga is the natural way to say Before my friend arrives.

What form is arribi exactly?

Arribi is the present subjunctive, first or third person singular, of the verb arribar.

Here it means she arrives in a subordinate clause:

• que arribi = that she arrive / arrives

Even though it is called present subjunctive, it can refer to the future, depending on context. In this sentence, it clearly refers to a future event.

Why is reservaré in the future tense?

Reservaré is the simple future, first person singular, of reservar:

• reservaré = I will reserve

Catalan often uses the future tense just as English does here. It tells you the reservation will happen later.

You may also hear the present used for near-future meaning in Catalan in some contexts, but reservaré is very clear and fully standard.