Des de fa una setmana, la gespa del jardí és més verda perquè plou sovint.

Des de fa una setmana means for a week now or for the past week. It describes something that started one week ago and is still true now.

By contrast, fa una setmana on its own usually means a week ago.

So:

• Des de fa una setmana, la gespa... és més verda = For a week now, the grass has been greener.
• Fa una setmana va ploure = It rained a week ago.

This is a very common pattern in Catalan:

• des de fa + period of time

Catalan often uses the present tense for situations that began in the past and continue into the present.

So:

• la gespa... és més verda = the grass is greener
• plou sovint = it rains often

In English, we often prefer something like has been greener or has been raining often in similar contexts. Catalan does not need that here; the phrase des de fa una setmana already shows that the situation has been ongoing.

Gespa means grass, especially lawn grass or the grass covering a garden/lawn.

It is a feminine singular noun, so it takes:

• la gespa

This helps explain later agreement too:

• verda, not verd

In some contexts, herba means grass too, but gespa is especially natural for a lawn or garden surface.

Because de + el contracts in Catalan:

• de + el = del

So:

• la gespa del jardí = the grass of the garden / the garden’s grass

This is very common. Similar contractions include:

• a + el = al

Because adjectives in Catalan usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Here:

• gespa is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular
• verd → verda

So:

• la gespa és verda
• la gespa és més verda

If the noun were masculine, you would use verd:

• el camp és més verd = the field is greener

Catalan usually forms the comparative with:

• més + adjective

So:

• verd/verda = green
• més verd/més verda = greener

Examples:

• més gran = bigger
• més petit = smaller
• més interessant = more interesting

Catalan does not usually add an ending like English -er. It normally uses més.

In Catalan, weather verbs such as ploure (to rain) are usually used without a subject pronoun.

So:

• plou = it rains / it is raining

Catalan does not need a dummy subject like English it.

This is normal with weather expressions:

• plou = it’s raining
• neva = it’s snowing

In this sentence, perquè means because.

• perquè plou sovint = because it rains often

This is different from per què (two words), which often means why or for what depending on context.

Compare:

• La gespa és més verda perquè plou sovint. = The grass is greener because it rains often.
• Per què plou tant? = Why does it rain so much?

The accent and spacing matter.

Sovint means often. Its position here is very natural:

• plou sovint = it rains often

Adverbs of frequency often come after the verb in Catalan, especially in simple sentences like this one.

This placement sounds straightforward and idiomatic. Other positions can be possible in some contexts, but plou sovint is the most neutral choice here.

Yes, Catalan word order is fairly flexible, and that version is possible.

However, putting des de fa una setmana at the beginning gives it special emphasis as the time frame for the whole statement:

• Des de fa una setmana, la gespa del jardí és més verda...

This sounds very natural if you want to frame the sentence with for the past week first.

Your alternative:

• La gespa del jardí és més verda des de fa una setmana is also understandable and natural.

Yes. Even though the Catalan uses the simple present (és, plou), the idea in English is often naturally expressed with a present perfect or present perfect continuous sense.

So depending on context, English might say:

• For a week now, the garden grass has been greener because it has been raining often.

Catalan does not need a special perfect form here. The combination of:

• des de fa una setmana
• present tense

already expresses that ongoing meaning.