Analysis of Common Catalan Grammar Errors
CATALAN ERROR-GRAMMARS
1 – The call to him and to his father.
In this sentence, we find the preposition “to” in front of a direct object (CD) that consists of two different lexical categories: a strong personal pronoun and a noun phrase. The CD is postponed after the verb. This presents a controversial issue: whether using the preposition “to” directly in front of the CD is correct, considering syntactic parallelism. Using the preposition in front of a strong personal pronoun is considered correct, unlike before a noun phrase, where it is considered incorrect. There is no clear consensus on this issue, which complicates its resolution.
Fabra implicitly indicates that using the preposition “to” before a noun phrase is wrong, as he lists exceptions where it would be correct or tolerable, and this case is not included.
Antoni Badia i Margarit indicates that “the contrast between a strong personal pronoun (carried) and adding another person (who must not drive), when the same verb and accessories are next to each other, does a certain violence to those who want to express themselves correctly.”
Ruaix believes that “symmetry is also permissible when the preposition with strong personal pronouns is coordinated.”
Joan Solà indicates that in cases of syntactic parallelism, “it is problematic to remove the preposition.”
All works seem reliable because they argue their proposals reasonably. Fabra’s work doesn’t support its proposal with a specific argument, but due to its official status, its statement is not questionable. As mentioned earlier, the IEC has not commented on this and has no arguments or proposals on this specific aspect. This has led to some disagreement among non-official works.
Bay uses the argument that, on one hand, the established rule is that “the direct complement of persons is being built without a preposition” and, moreover, indicates that this frequent use is due to the influence of Spanish syntax. This seems a clear enough argument to say that his proposal is reliable. However, whether this phenomenon results from foreign influence has been much discussed. Other authors argue that the use of the preposition is an internal process of the Catalan language. Ruaix and Solà are more tolerant of the preposition’s use in accusative complements because they leave open the possibility that it is an internal process typical of Catalan, and not directly a Castilianism. This serves as a compelling counterargument.
Regarding the Style Guide, the most expository work we consulted, it chooses a particular argument because it awaits the IEC’s statement. This conclusion is perhaps the most appropriate since the IEC is the most current official reference. However, Fabra remains the reference work par excellence, but we need an updated regulation on this issue. Until it is established, determining if the usage is right or wrong may not be feasible.
2 – The political parties must have a leader.
After reviewing grammars and compiling the information in this report, I’ll explain my solution to the problem raised initially. I wondered if it was more correct than in sentences like the one I analyzed, but I’ve seen that it doesn’t matter which of the two prepositions is used. Following the general rule, we should use “de” (making the phrase correct), but if someone uses “a,” it wouldn’t be wrong. However, be aware that currently, there’s no definitive grammar rule for this locative use, and you can use both until an official grammar states otherwise.
3 – At this rate, no m’acostumaré never there.
According to the literature and our knowledge, the solution is that the pronoun “hi” in the phrase “At this rate, I do not ever acostumaré” is correct. According to the consulted grammars, the previous sentence is a pleonasm, meaning it contains the same verb complement twice. First, it appears in its full form and then as a weak pronoun, or vice versa. The previous sentence is an example of a common pleonasm called “left theming.” Left theming anticipates a topic with a placeholder, leaving a weak pronoun representing the rest of the sentence. If the verb doesn’t immediately follow the topic but is preceded by the subject or a paragraph, there’s a break, and a comma is used, as in the previous sentence.
4 – The prisoner confessed her crime to the judge
This phrase consists of a single verb (confessed) that governs the subject (the prisoner), a direct object (crime), and two indirect objects (the pronoun her and the judge). “Admit” is a trivalent verb, governing three arguments: subject, direct object, and indirect complement. The sentence’s problem lies not in the verb type but in the indirect complement’s repetition.
Solà’s grammar addresses different constructions with dative clitic doubling. The first two cases show that we’re not dealing with possessive or benefactive datives, where clitic doubling is required. Solà then examines clitic behavior with experiencers and indirect objects of goal. Indirect experiencer verbs depend on psychological activity, such as like, annoy, interest, etc., or pseudo-impersonal verbs like occur, necessary, be required, etc. In both cases, pronominal doubling is required. The exception to pronominal doubling is found in indirect objects of goal, which occur with bivalent verbs (with a subject and an indirect object). Our analyzed phrase has a trivalent verb and an indirect object of goal, so duplication is incorrect because the verb doesn’t require clitic doubling. We fully support Solà’s proposed solution, both because we’ve learned it as a criterion in class and because we find his explanation and arguments reliable and useful.
5 – The school where there were many immigrants there.
The problem lies in the weak pronoun “hi” because it performs the same function as the relative pronoun “on,” which should replace the noun “school.”
To conclude, based on the reviewed literature, our knowledge, and linguistic intuition, we believe the solution is the phrase “School is where many immigrants there,” meaning the pronoun “hi” should be eliminated to avoid pleonasm, as it performs the same function as the relative pronoun “on.” Some grammars offer another solution: “A school where there were many immigrants there.” However, we believe the first solution is better because “hi” in this sentence, besides causing pleonasm, is characteristic of colloquial language, according to Lopez del Castillo.
6 – The exam will be in December
The problem is identifying the definite article because, in this sentence, it only accompanies the noun December, making the phrase incorrect. The correct phrase should be: The exam will be in December, since “December” functions as a circumstantial complement of time.
According to Bay’s “Grammar of the Catalan language, descriptive, normative, diatopic, diastratic,” Article VII states that the prepositions a and en introduce time adjuncts. In our sentence, we want to introduce the noun December. Bay says that the time when something happens is sometimes expressed with the preposition a (when referring to a period) and sometimes with en. However, the preface of Joseph Ruaix’s “Complete upper Catalan language” claims that a and en are used in different contexts. En is used when expressing location, presence, rest, etc., while a is used when expressing direction. Therefore, our sentence should be, in principle, The exam will be a December (as it introduces a CC of time and a direction, requiring a).
We’ve identified one problem: the lack of a preposition before the CC of time. However, the phrase The exam will be a December is still incorrect. In Catalan, the prepositions a, de, and en, when followed by the masculine articles el and els, contract. Thus, the preposition en and the article el, introducing “December,” contract to form al. Therefore, the correct sentence is The exam will be al December, with a circumstantial complement of time, as intended.
7 – It will take ten days to arrive.
The issue in this phrase is the preposition a in front of the infinitive arrive. The correctness of this preposition before an infinitive depends on the infinitive’s function and its relationship with the main verb.
We can conclude that almost all grammars share the same viewpoint regarding using a before an infinitive. While the proposed solution is to replace a with de, it’s not recommended to eliminate the preposition entirely before an infinitive. It’s advisable to use de before an infinitive that acts as a complement to the main verb. It’s different when the infinitive has the value of a gerund, where using a is accepted.
Therefore, after consulting the grammars, we accept Fabra’s proposed solution and replace a with de. The correct phrase is: It will take ten days de arrive.
8 – Do not remember who we were.
The controversial issue here is the use of prepositions. This sentence uses “de” before a subordinate noun clause introduced by “que,” functioning as a verbal complement.
Bay states that prepositions before “que” should be omitted for linguistic reasons, based on “linguistic structure, documentation, and philological literary tradition.” Thus, the correct form is: “Do not remember that we were.” However, this solution may sound forced, so he proposes using noun phrases like “the fact that,” “the possibility that,” “the way that,” etc. Another less forced option is: “No one remembers the fact that we were.”
9 – It’s the girl that everyone talks
Grammar rules explicitly prohibit using the form [Preposition + article + que/qui] in this case, considering it influenced by Spanish.
The use of “de que” is incorrect, and there are two possible solutions: “It’s the girl that everyone talks about” or “It’s the girl who everyone talks about.”
The first construction is recommended in case of doubt, as it’s almost always correct. The context is important for a more accurate choice. For example, “of whom” is more appropriate for formal writing. However, using “who” is equally correct but less formal. The most suitable construction for this sentence is: It’s the girl who everyone talks about
The relative pronoun “which” can be used after a preposition, referring to a person or thing. The relative adjective “which” is always preceded by the definite article.
The combination “of which” is normally used as a pronoun (equivalent to “who” or “what”).
Both “who” and “which” are correct. “Which” is recommended if the antecedent is far from the relative pronoun, which could cause confusion. Solà says the choice between “who” and “which” also depends on style. “Which” has distinctive features of gender and number that can be useful to avoid ambiguity.