Estira l'esquena i després aixeca la manuella.

and

Breakdown of Estira l'esquena i després aixeca la manuella.

• després: then
• l'esquena: the back
• estirar: to stretch

Questions & Answers about Estira l'esquena i després aixeca la manuella.

What form are estira and aixeca here?

They are informal singular imperatives: commands addressed to one person that you would normally say to tu.

• estira = stretch
• aixeca = lift / raise

So the sentence is giving two instructions in sequence.

A useful thing to know is that these forms can also look like the he/she present tense form, but here the context makes it clear that they are commands.

Why is there no tu in the sentence?

Catalan usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already gives enough information.

So instead of saying:

• Tu estira...

Catalan normally just says:

• Estira...

That is the natural way to give a command. Adding tu is possible, but it usually adds emphasis.

Why does it say l'esquena and not la teva esquena?

With body parts, Catalan often uses the definite article instead of a possessive adjective when it is obvious whose body part is meant.

So:

• Estira l'esquena naturally means Stretch your back

not Stretch the back in some strange abstract sense.