Hi ha un niu petit a l'arbre, i l'ocell hi torna cada matí.

Hi ha is the standard Catalan way to say there is / there are.

It is a fixed existential expression built from:

• hi = a locative element, roughly there
• ha = has from the verb haver

So:

• Hi ha un niu = There is a nest
• Hi ha ocells = There are birds

Even though ha literally looks like has, you should usually learn hi ha as one chunk meaning there is / there are.

They are related, but they are not doing exactly the same job in the sentence.

• In Hi ha, the expression is a fixed structure meaning there is / there are.
• In l'ocell hi torna, hi is a locative pronoun meaning there or to that place.

So in the second clause:

• a l'arbre = in/to the tree
• hi torna = returns there

This hi replaces the location instead of repeating it:

• L'ocell torna a l'arbre cada matí
• L'ocell hi torna cada matí

Both are possible, but using hi is very natural Catalan.

Because they are being presented differently.

• un niu = a nest, an indefinite noun; it introduces something not yet identified
• l'ocell = the bird, a definite noun; it refers to a specific bird, one that is understood in context

This is very similar to English:

• There is a small nest in the tree
• and the bird returns there every morning

So Catalan uses:

• un / una for a / an
• el / la / l' for the

Because Catalan usually elides the article el before a vowel or silent h.

So:

• el arbre becomes l'arbre
• el ocell becomes l'ocell

This is very common in Catalan:

• l'aigua
• l'home
• l'escola

It is mainly a pronunciation and spelling rule that makes speech flow more smoothly.

In Catalan, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• un niu petit = a small nest
• una casa gran = a big house
• un llibre interessant = an interesting book

This is one of the most common word-order patterns in Catalan.

Sometimes adjectives can come before the noun, but that often changes the tone or emphasis. For a basic descriptive meaning, noun + adjective is the normal pattern.

In this sentence, a is the normal preposition for the location.

So:

• a l'arbre = in/on/to the tree, depending on context

With places, Catalan often uses a where English might use in, on, or to. The exact English translation depends on the situation.

Here, Hi ha un niu petit a l'arbre is the natural way to say the nest is in the tree or on the tree, depending on how you imagine it.

Learners often want a one-to-one match between prepositions, but Catalan and English do not always divide them in the same way.

Torna is from the verb tornar.

In this sentence, it means:

• returns
• comes back
• goes back

So:

• l'ocell hi torna = the bird returns there

The verb tornar is very common and can be used in a few ways:

• tornar = to return / go back
• tornar a + infinitive = to do something again

For example:

• Torna a casa = He/She returns home
• Torna a cantar = He/She sings again

Here it is the first use: returns to that place.

Both placement patterns exist in Catalan, but they depend on the verb form and structure.

With a normal affirmative finite verb, the pronoun usually goes before the verb:

• hi torna

Forms like torna-hi are used in other contexts, especially with:

• imperatives
• infinitives
• gerunds

For example:

• Torna-hi! = Go back there! / Do it again!

But in a regular present-tense statement, hi torna is the standard order.

Cada means each / every, and it is followed directly by a singular noun.

So:

• cada matí = every morning
• cada dia = every day
• cada setmana = every week

You do not use the article after cada here:

• not cada el matí

And the noun stays singular:

• not cada matís

This works much like English every morning, not every mornings.

The present tense in Catalan is often used for habitual actions, just like in English.

So:

• l'ocell hi torna cada matí means the bird returns there habitually, regularly, every morning

This is the same kind of present tense as:

• I walk to work every day
• She reads at night

So torna here is not specifically happening right now; it describes a repeated routine.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is also grammatical:

• i l'ocell torna a l'arbre cada matí

Using hi simply avoids repeating the place:

• a l'arbre in the first clause
• hi in the second clause

Catalan often prefers this kind of pronoun repetition avoidance, and it sounds very natural. So the original sentence is a good example of how Catalan uses locative pronouns efficiently.

The comma separates two related clauses:

• Hi ha un niu petit a l'arbre
• i l'ocell hi torna cada matí

In shorter sentences, Catalan punctuation can vary a bit, and some writers might omit the comma. But using it here is perfectly normal because the sentence has two full clauses and the pause is natural.

So the comma is about readability and rhythm, not a special grammar rule unique to this sentence.

In standard Catalan, hi is pronounced roughly like ee.

So:

• Hi ha sounds approximately like ee a
• hi torna begins with that same ee sound

The h is silent in Catalan.

This can feel odd to English speakers because the spelling suggests an English-style h sound, but in Catalan it is not pronounced.