The Catalan periphrastic past tense is the most common way to talk about completed past actions.

You'll hear this tense every single day when speaking with native Catalan speakers.

Instead of memorizing complex endings for every verb, you only need to learn one simple formula.

This tense uses a special version of the verb *anar* combined with the infinitive of your target verb.

It's an incredibly efficient grammatical structure that makes speaking Catalan much easier.

I'll show you exactly how to form this tense and when to use it in daily conversation.

<TOC>
**Table of Contents:**

1. [Understanding the periphrastic past tense](#understanding)
2. [The special conjugation of anar](#conjugation)
3. [How to form your sentences](#forming)
4. [Regional variations to know](#regional)
5. [When to use this tense](#when)
</TOC>

<a name="understanding" />

## Understanding the periphrastic past tense

The term periphrastic simply means that a tense is formed using more than one word.

In English, we say "I have eaten" using an auxiliary helper verb and a main verb.

Catalan does something very similar to express the simple past.

Instead of using a single word like *menjava* or *mengí*, you use a helper verb along with the main action verb.

This structure completely replaces the simple past tense in everyday spoken Catalan.

<a name="conjugation" />

## The special conjugation of anar

To build this tense, you must use the present tense of the verb *anar* (to go).

However, you don't use the standard present tense forms for "we" and "you all".

Catalan uses a slightly modified version of *anar* specifically for this past tense formula.

<Table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Pronoun</th>
      <th>Auxiliary Verb</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Jo (I)</td>
      <td>vaig</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Tu (You)</td>
      <td>vas</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Ell / Ella (He / She)</td>
      <td>va</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Nosaltres (We)</td>
      <td>vam</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Vosaltres (You all)</td>
      <td>vau</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Ells / Elles (They)</td>
      <td>van</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</Table>

You must memorize these six helper words to speak in the past tense.

Notice how the first person (*vaig*) and third person (*va*) look exactly like the normal present tense of *anar*.

The crucial difference appears in the *nosaltres* (we) and *vosaltres* (you all) forms.

The standard present tense uses *anem* and *aneu*, while this past tense structure uses *vam* and *vau*.

<a name="forming" />

## How to form your sentences

The formula for creating the periphrastic past is incredibly straightforward.

You simply take your conjugated helper verb and add the full infinitive of your main verb.

The infinitive is the base dictionary form of a verb, such as *menjar* (to eat) or *dormir* (to sleep).

**Formula: Conjugated anar + Infinitive verb**

Here are some everyday examples of this formula in action.

<Dialogue english="I ate a very good pizza.">
Vaig menjar una pizza molt bona.
</Dialogue>

<Dialogue english="You slept for eight hours.">
Vas dormir vuit hores.
</Dialogue>

<Dialogue english="She bought a new car.">
Va comprar un cotxe nou.
</Dialogue>

<Dialogue english="We studied Catalan yesterday.">
Vam estudiar català ahir.
</Dialogue>

<Dialogue english="They went to the beach.">
Van anar a la platja.
</Dialogue>

Notice in that last example that you use *van* followed by the infinitive *anar*.

It translates literally as "they went to go", but it simply means "they went".

<a name="regional" />

## Regional variations to know

Catalan is a rich language with beautiful regional variations across its territories.

When looking at the *nosaltres* and *vosaltres* forms, you'll often see *vàrem* and *vàreu* instead of *vam* and *vau*.

These longer forms are completely correct and mean the exact same thing.

The *vàrem* and *vàreu* variations are widely used in spoken Catalan throughout the Balearic Islands.

You'll also see these longer forms heavily used in formal written Catalan and literature everywhere.

In Catalonia, daily spoken Catalan strongly favors the shorter *vam* and *vau* forms.

Meanwhile, in parts of the Valencian Community, some speakers still use the traditional one-word simple past tense in formal speech.

However, the periphrastic past is universally understood and perfectly acceptable across all Catalan-speaking regions.

<a name="when" />

## When to use this tense

The periphrastic past tense describes actions that were completely finished in the past.

You use it for events that happened at a specific point in time and have no connection to today.

If you're talking about something you did yesterday, last week, or ten years ago, this is the tense you need.

<Dialogue english="Last year I traveled to Barcelona.">
L'any passat vaig viatjar a Barcelona.
</Dialogue>

Don't use this tense for actions you completed today.

For actions that happened earlier today, Catalan requires the present perfect tense.

<Dialogue english="This morning I drank coffee.">
Aquest matí he begut cafè.
</Dialogue>

You also shouldn't use the periphrastic past for ongoing habits or descriptions in the past.

Background details and repeated past habits require the imperfect tense instead.

Mastering the periphrastic past is a huge milestone that will immediately improve your ability to tell stories in Catalan.