L'equilibri és important.

to be

Breakdown of L'equilibri és important.

• important: important
• l'equilibri: the balance

Questions & Answers about L'equilibri és important.

Why is there an apostrophe in L'equilibri?

Because Catalan shortens the definite article before a vowel sound.

The masculine singular article is el, but before a singular noun beginning with a vowel, it usually becomes l':

• el llibre = the book
• l'equilibri = the balance

This is similar to how some languages avoid vowel clashes for smoother pronunciation.

Is equilibri masculine or feminine?

Equilibri is masculine singular.

You can tell from its full article:

• el equilibri would be the underlying form
• before a vowel, el becomes l', so you see l'equilibri

One thing that can confuse learners is that l' can stand for either el or la, so the apostrophe form alone does not show gender.

Why is és written with an accent?

The accent is important because it distinguishes two different words:

• és = is
• es = a reflexive/object pronoun, like himself/herself/itself or part of a pronominal verb

So in this sentence, és is the 3rd person singular of ser: is.

The accent is not optional here.