Catalan A2
CEFR A2 · Elementary
A2 is where Catalan's most distinctive tense arrives: the periphrastic past with vaig, vas, va + infinitive (vaig anar, va menjar), which does the work of a preterite in everyday speech. You add the reflexive verbs of daily routine (em llevo, es dutxa), agradar with its m'agrada / m'agraden agreement, frequency adverbs like sovint and de vegades, and the vocabulary of travel, work and health, where em fa mal el cap and tinc febre replace the English "my head hurts" and "I have a fever".
76 words · 6 units · 22 grammar points
What you learn at Catalan A2
La rutina diària
Talk about your daily routine, habits, and how often you do things.
- Describe your morning routine using the present tense
- Say what time you do things in the morning
- Sequence your daily activities using first, then and after
- Talk about what you do during the day
- Say how often you do everyday activities
- Use frequency adverbs like always, often and never
- Talk about household chores and who does them
- Say how often each job gets done
El passat i l'últim cap de setmana
Talk about the past: yesterday, last weekend, and travel memories.
- Talk about what you did yesterday using the past tense
- Describe simple past actions in order
- Describe what you did last weekend
- Use past-time markers like last week and then
- Talk about a past travel experience
- Describe places you visited on a trip
- Place a past story in time with expressions like 'a few years ago'
- Contrast how things were before with how they are now
Aficions i temps lliure
Talk about hobbies, likes and dislikes, and free-time plans.
- Say what hobbies and activities you like doing
- Talk about how you spend your free time
- Compare things using more, better and worse
- Express preferences and say what you prefer
- Talk about your plans for the weekend
- Use the near future to describe upcoming plans
- Talk about the music, films and books you like
- Recommend something and say why
Salut i cos
Say what hurts, describe your symptoms at the doctor's, and talk about healthy habits.
- Say which part of your body hurts
- Describe how you feel using tenir + noun
- Explain your symptoms to a doctor
- Understand simple advice and instructions
- Talk about healthy and unhealthy habits
- Give simple advice with cal and hauries de
- Ask for medicine and explain a small symptom at the pharmacy
- Understand instructions about how often to take something
Plans i cites
Proposar alguna cosa, concertar i ajornar una cita, i parlar del temps que canvia els plans.
- Fer una proposta i respondre-hi
- Acceptar una invitació o declinar-la educadament
- Demanar hora, ajornar-la o anul·lar-la
- Preguntar quan algú està lliure
- Descriure el temps i entendre la predicció
- Fer dependre els plans del temps
- Recall vocabulary from earlier lessons without being shown it first
- Prove the unit stuck before moving on
Telèfon, missatges i petits problemes
Trucar i escriure, demanar disculpes, aclarir un malentès i demanar ajuda - el dia a dia quan alguna cosa no va com estava previst.
- Fer una trucada curta i deixar un missatge
- Demanar alguna cosa educadament
- Demanar disculpes i explicar un error
- Queixar-se educadament
- Demanar ajuda i oferir-ne
- Proposar una solució i confirmar-la
- Recall vocabulary from earlier lessons without being shown it first
- Prove the unit stuck before moving on
A2 grammar points
- Reflexive verbs for daily routine
- Anar, fer, sortir, venir: the irregulars you need daily
- Sempre, mai, sovint: how often, and the double no
- El, la, els, les: saying it without repeating it
- The past with vaig + infinitive
- Passat, fa, l'altre dia: placing the past in time
- A, en, de: prepositions with places and transport
- Fa and des de fa: ago and for how long
- Agradar: saying what you like
- Més que, menys que, millor, pitjor
- Plans with anar a, and the trap of vaig
- En: the pronoun for how many and of what
- Saying what hurts with fer mal
- Em, et, li: the person it is done for
- Fer for activities: fer esport, fer una passejada
- Voldria and podria: asking politely
- Propostes: I si …? i Per què no …?
- A les, de... a, abans de, després de
- Plou, fa sol: weather has no subject
- Els verbs modals: poder, haver de i caldre
- No... res, ningú, mai, ja no
- Ho and en: the neuter pronoun and the one for de
Catalan A2 vocabulary
The first 40 of 76, in frequency order.
| Catalan | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| perdre | to lose; to miss (a train) | He perdut les claus. |
| oblidar | to forget | Sempre oblido el paraigua. |
| començar | to begin, to start | La pel·lícula comença a les nou. |
| acabar | to finish, to end | Acabo la feina a les sis. |
| trobar-se | to meet up; to feel | Ens trobem a la plaça. |
| ajudar | to help | Et puc ajudar? |
| necessitar | to need | Necessito descansar. |
| creure | to believe, to think | No ho puc creure! |
| esperar | to wait; to hope | T'espero aquí. |
| somiar | to dream | Somio amb viatjar. |
| sentir | to hear; to feel | No et sento bé. |
| odiar | to hate | No s'ha d'odiar ningú. |
| enyorar | to miss (someone, somewhere) | Enyoro la meva família. |
| prometre | to promise | Et prometo que vindré. |
| recomanar | to recommend | Et recomano aquest restaurant. |
| demanar | to ask for, to request | Demano un cafè. |
| contestar | to answer, to reply | Contesta el telèfon, si us plau. |
| entendre | to understand | Necessito entendre aquesta paraula. |
| explicar | to explain | T'ho explico després. |
| vaig parlar | I spoke (periphrastic past) | Ahir vaig parlar amb la Marta. |
| vas anar | you went (periphrastic past) | Vas anar al cinema? |
| va menjar | he/she ate (periphrastic past) | Va menjar pasta per dinar. |
| anava | I/he was going (imperfect) | Cada dia anava a peu. |
| era | I/he was (imperfect of 'ser') | Quan era petit, vivia a Lleida. |
| havia | I/he had (imperfect of 'haver') | Ja havia menjat. |
| cal | it is necessary to | Cal arribar d'hora. |
| s'ha de | one has to, must | S'ha de reservar abans. |
| és necessari | it is necessary | És necessari estudiar. |
| potser | maybe, perhaps | Potser plourà demà. |
| el cap | head (m.); boss | Em fa mal el cap. |
| els ulls | eyes (m. pl.) | Té els ulls verds. |
| les orelles | ears (f. pl.) | Em fan mal les orelles. |
| la mà | hand (f.) | Dóna'm la mà. |
| el peu | foot (m.) | Em fa mal el peu. |
| la boca | mouth (f.) | Obre la boca. |
| el cor | heart (m.) | El cor batega ràpid. |
| malalt | sick, ill | Avui estic malalt. |
| sa | healthy (m.) | Menja sa cada dia. |
| el metge | doctor (m.) | Vaig al metge demà. |
| l'hospital | hospital (m.) | L'hospital és lluny. |