La cinta de córrer i la bicicleta estàtica estan lliures.

Because the subject is plural: la cinta de córrer i la bicicleta estàtica = the treadmill and the exercise bike.

Even though each noun is singular on its own, they are joined by i (and), so together they make a plural subject. That is why the verb is plural:

• la cinta... està lliure = the treadmill is free
• la bicicleta... està lliure = the exercise bike is free
• la cinta... i la bicicleta... estan lliures = the treadmill and the exercise bike are free

For the same reason: it agrees with the plural subject.

In Catalan, adjectives usually agree with the noun in number, and often in gender too. Here, lliures is the plural form of lliure:

• lliure = free / available
• lliures = free / available (plural)

So:

• La cinta està lliure.
• La cinta i la bicicleta estan lliures.

Also, in the plural, lliures looks the same for masculine and feminine.

Because lliures here describes a temporary state: the machines are currently available.

Catalan often uses estar for temporary conditions or states, especially with words like lliure, ocupat/ocupada, obert/oberta, etc.

So:

• estan lliures = they are free/available right now

If you used ser, it would sound wrong or at least unnatural in this context. A machine is not being described by an essential characteristic; it is being described by its current status.

Here, lliures means free in the sense of available or not being used.

It does not mean free of charge here.

So in a gym context:

• La cinta està lliure = the treadmill is free / available
• La cinta està ocupada = the treadmill is occupied / in use

This is a very common use of lliure for seats, tables, bathrooms, machines, and so on.

Yes, literally it is something like belt for running or running belt, but that is just the normal Catalan way to say treadmill.

Breakdown:

• cinta = belt / band / strip
• de córrer = for running / to run

So cinta de córrer is the standard expression for treadmill.

This pattern is very common in Catalan: noun + de + infinitive to show purpose or function.

Catalan often uses de + infinitive after a noun to express what something is for.

Here:

• cinta de córrer = treadmill
• literally, belt for running

Other similar patterns exist in Catalan, where an infinitive works a bit like an English for + -ing phrase.

So an English speaker can think of de córrer here as roughly equivalent to for running.

Because adjectives often come after the noun in Catalan.

So:

• bicicleta estàtica = stationary bike / exercise bike

This word order is very normal in Catalan. English often puts adjectives before the noun, but Catalan commonly places them after it.

Compare:

• bicicleta estàtica
• cinta elèctrica
• porta oberta

Not every adjective always comes after the noun, but in this sentence bicicleta estàtica is the standard order.

Literally, it means static bicycle.

In natural English, that corresponds to exercise bike or stationary bike.

So:

• bicicleta = bicycle
• estàtica = static / stationary

It is the usual Catalan term for the kind of bike that stays in one place for exercise.

In this sentence, keeping both articles is the normal and natural choice.

• La cinta de córrer i la bicicleta estàtica estan lliures.

Catalan often uses definite articles more than English does. Here, the sentence is referring to specific machines, or to those machines as identifiable items in the situation.

You would not normally say:

• Cinta de córrer i bicicleta estàtica estan lliures

That sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Catalan.

Yes, you could say estan disponibles, and it would be understood as are available.

But estan lliures is very natural for things like machines, seats, tables, or bathrooms that are not occupied.

So both work, but there is a slight difference in feel:

• estan lliures = are free / unoccupied
• estan disponibles = are available

In a gym, lliures is especially idiomatic.

The accent mark in córrer shows the stressed syllable and the vowel quality.

It is pronounced roughly like COR-rer, with the stress on the first syllable.

The accent helps distinguish pronunciation and follows Catalan spelling rules. For learners, the main practical point is: do not stress the last syllable. The stress is on cór-.

So:

• córrer → stress on the first syllable
• estàtica → stress on tà

You would make both the verb and the adjective singular.

For example:

• La cinta de córrer està lliure.
• La bicicleta estàtica està lliure.

So the pattern is:

• singular subject → està lliure
• plural subject → estan lliures

That is a useful agreement pattern to remember.