Focused learning guide
Catalan apostrophes: articles, pronouns and exceptions
Use l’, d’, m’, t’ and other Catalan apostrophes accurately by identifying vowel contact, stress and conventional exceptions.
Catalan apostrophes mark elision when certain short grammatical words meet a following or preceding vowel sound. The rules depend on pronunciation and word class, not appearance alone.
Articles and the preposition de
El and la commonly become l’ before a vowel or silent h: l’amic, l’hora. De becomes d’: d’Andorra. Important exceptions include feminine words beginning with unstressed i or u sounds: la universitat, la història.
Weak pronouns around verbs
Pronouns can take full, elided, reinforced or reduced forms according to position: em veu, m’ajuda, ajuda’m. Learn the pronoun with a complete verb phrase and check combinations separately; punctuation and accentuation can also change.
Sound is the organising principle
A written initial vowel may represent a glide, and abbreviations, letter names and loanwords can follow specific conventions. Read examples aloud and consult a current normative dictionary when editing formal text.
Questions learners ask
Frequently asked questions
Why is it la universitat, not l’universitat?
Feminine articles generally do not elide before unstressed i or u sounds in this pattern.
Do proper names take apostrophes?
They can when normal phonological conditions apply, though naming conventions and stylisation may matter.
Are Valencian rules different?
The core system is shared, with some normative and usage preferences varying by standard.