No podem collir res de l'arbre fins que la fruita creixi una mica més.

Because Catalan normally uses no to make a verb negative.

• podem = we can
• no podem = we cannot / we can’t

So No podem collir... means We can’t pick...

Also, poder can express either:

• ability: we can / are able to
• permission/practical possibility: we can / are allowed to / it’s possible for us to

In this sentence, it can suggest both: the fruit is not ready yet, so picking it is not appropriate or not possible yet.

Collir means to pick, to gather, or to harvest, especially fruit, flowers, or crops.

In this sentence, collir res de l'arbre means to pick anything from the tree.

It is a very natural verb for things you take from plants:

• collir fruita = to pick fruit
• collir flors = to pick flowers

Yes, but in negative sentences Catalan often uses negative concord, so res appears together with no.

• No podem collir res = literally We can’t pick nothing, but the real meaning is We can’t pick anything / We can pick nothing

So in English, you usually translate it as anything after a negative verb.

A few useful comparisons:

• Res = nothing / anything, depending on context
• No veig res = I don’t see anything
• No vull res = I don’t want anything

This is very normal in Catalan.

This is because arbre is a masculine singular noun, so its definite article is el.

After the preposition de, you would normally get:

• de + el = del

But when the article is shortened before a vowel sound, Catalan uses an apostrophe:

• el arbre becomes l'arbre
• so de l'arbre = from the tree / of the tree

So:

• de l'arbre is the correct form
• not de arbre
• and not del arbre

Because fins que is used before a clause with a verb, while fins by itself is usually used before a noun, time expression, or similar phrase.

Here we have a full clause:

• la fruita creixi una mica més

So Catalan needs fins que:

• fins que la fruita creixi... = until the fruit grows...

Compare:

• fins demà = until tomorrow
• fins al vespre = until the evening
• fins que arribi = until he/she arrives

Because after fins que, when the action is still in the future or has not happened yet, Catalan normally uses the present subjunctive.

So:

• infinitive: créixer = to grow
• present indicative: creix = it grows / is growing
• present subjunctive: creixi

In this sentence, the fruit has not grown enough yet, so Catalan uses the subjunctive:

• fins que la fruita creixi una mica més

This is a very common pattern:

• Esperaré fins que arribi = I’ll wait until he/she arrives
• No marxarem fins que acabi = We won’t leave until it finishes

So creixi is not random; it is required by the grammar of this kind of sentence.

The base verb is créixer, meaning to grow.

Creixi is the present subjunctive form for:

• jo = I
• ell/ella/vostè = he/she/you (formal) and after some conjunctions, it can be used in subordinate clauses like this one.

Here, the subject is la fruita, which is singular, so creixi matches that singular subject.

A simple pattern is:

• que jo creixi
• que ell/ella creixi
• que la fruita creixi

So the sentence literally has the structure:

• until the fruit grow-subjunctive a little more

Not necessarily. In Catalan, fruita often works as a collective or mass noun, like English fruit.

So:

• la fruita can mean the fruit in a general sense, not just one single piece of fruit

That is why:

• la fruita creixi una mica més = the fruit grows a little more / the fruit gets a bit more mature

If you wanted to focus on individual fruits, you could say something like:

• els fruits = the fruits

But la fruita is very natural here.

Una mica means a little bit, and més means more.

So:

• una mica més = a little more / a bit more

In this sentence, it means the fruit needs to grow slightly more before it is ready.

You will often see una mica in everyday Catalan:

• Estic una mica cansat = I’m a little tired
• Parla una mica més a poc a poc = Speak a little more slowly

Because the verb poder is followed directly by an infinitive in Catalan.

So:

• podem collir = we can pick

This is the same basic structure as in English:

• can pick

Not:

• podem a collir
• podem de collir

Other common examples:

• Puc venir = I can come
• No podem entrar = We can’t enter

Yes, in some contexts Catalan can use cap cosa to mean anything, but res is more natural and more common here.

So:

• No podem collir res de l'arbre = very natural
• No podem collir cap cosa de l'arbre = grammatically understandable, but less idiomatic in this sentence

For learners, it is best to remember:

• no ... res is a very common pattern for not ... anything

Yes, but this order is mainly just the most natural, neutral one.

The structure is:

• No podem = verb phrase
• collir = infinitive
• res = object
• de l'arbre = where it is picked from

So the sentence flows naturally as:

• We can’t pick anything from the tree...

Other word orders may be possible for emphasis, but this version is the standard, unmarked way to say it.

A rough guide:

• creixi sounds approximately like KRAY-shi
• l'arbre sounds approximately like LAR-bruh or LAR-breh, depending on accent

A few pronunciation notes:

• the x in creixi is pronounced like sh
• the apostrophe in l'arbre just shows that the vowel of the article has dropped before another vowel

So the whole sentence is roughly:

• No po-DEM co-LLIR RES de LAR-bruh fins ke la FRUI-ta KRAY-shi OO-na MEE-ka MES

That is only an approximation, but it can help at first.