Si hi ha una tempesta, la meva família no va a la platja.

Si means if. It introduces a condition:

• Si hi ha una tempesta = If there is a storm

This is the normal word for if in Catalan when you are talking about a real condition.

Hi ha means there is or there are.

In this sentence:

• hi ha una tempesta = there is a storm

It is a very common Catalan structure.
You can think of it as a fixed expression:

• hi ha un problema = there is a problem
• hi ha moltes persones = there are many people

Even though it looks unusual to an English speaker, it is just the normal Catalan way to express existence.

Una is the indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• una tempesta = a storm

Catalan usually uses an article here, just like English does. Saying only tempesta would sound incomplete in this sentence.

In Catalan, possessives are often used with a definite article:

• la meva família = my family
• el meu amic = my friend
• la nostra casa = our house

So Catalan often says literally something like the my family, although in natural English we simply say my family.

There are some exceptions, especially with certain close family terms in some contexts, but in a normal sentence like this, la meva família is completely standard.

Here, va is not the past tense. It is the present tense of anar (to go):

• jo vaig
• tu vas
• ell/ella va
• nosaltres anem
• vosaltres aneu
• ells/elles van

So:

• la meva família no va a la platja = my family does not go to the beach

It is present tense, not past.

This can confuse English speakers because va looks a bit like a past form, but here it simply means goes.

Because família is grammatically singular.

Even though a family contains several people, the noun itself is singular:

• la família = singular
• les famílies = plural

So Catalan uses a singular verb:

• la meva família no va...

This is similar to English my family goes..., although English can sometimes vary depending on style and dialect.

In Catalan, basic negation is usually made with no placed before the verb:

• no va = does not go
• no menja = does not eat
• no plou = it is not raining

So:

• la meva família no va a la platja = my family does not go to the beach

This is straightforward and very common.

The verb anar (to go) normally takes the preposition a when you say where someone goes:

• anar a casa = to go home
• anar a l’escola = to go to school
• anar a la platja = to go to the beach

Here, a la platja means to the beach.

The a is the preposition to, and la is the feminine singular article agreeing with platja.

Platja means beach, and yes, it is a feminine noun.

That is why it takes la:

• la platja = the beach

Other examples:

• una platja = a beach
• les platges = the beaches

Because this sentence expresses a general rule, habit, or usual result:

• Si hi ha una tempesta, la meva família no va a la platja.
• If there is a storm, my family doesn’t go to the beach.

Using the present tense in both parts makes it sound like something that generally happens whenever that condition is true.

If you wanted a future meaning, you could say:

• Si hi ha una tempesta, la meva família no anirà a la platja.
• If there is a storm, my family will not go to the beach.

So the given sentence is natural for a habitual or general statement.

The comma separates the if-clause from the main clause:

• Si hi ha una tempesta, / la meva família no va a la platja.

This is very common when the conditional clause comes first. It helps readability and makes the structure clearer.

Yes. You could also say:

• La meva família no va a la platja si hi ha una tempesta.

This means the same thing: My family doesn’t go to the beach if there is a storm.

The version with si... first may sound a little more natural when you want to emphasize the condition.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• hi ha: the h is silent, so it sounds roughly like ee ah
• platja: roughly PLAH-juh or PLAHT-yuh, depending on accent

A few notes:

• In hi ha, both words are short and common, so native speakers often say them quite smoothly together.
• In platja, the tj sound may be tricky at first. Listening to native audio is especially helpful for this word.

Yes, tempesta normally means storm.

It is the standard everyday word. Depending on context, it can refer to a storm at sea, a thunderstorm, or a storm in general. In this sentence, it simply means bad stormy weather that would stop the family from going to the beach.