ABSTRACT

The C a t a l a n p r o n o m i n a l clitics, also generally referred to as weak object pronouns, are unstressed elements wh ich , while having a distinctive grammat ica l function (expressing verbal complements) , are nevertheless reduced phonet ical ly to fo rming a single unit w i t h the verb that governs them: M e mana ' H e orders me' behaves phonet ical ly like the word mamaire ' suckl ing ' , Veta'ls 'Veto them' behaves like petals 'petals'. These weak pronouns can stand either (procl i t ical ly) before a verb or are attached (enclitically) after a verb: proctitic: M'ajudes ' Y o u help me' , E m pots ajudar ' Y o u can help me'; enclitic: Ajuda'm ' H e l p me' , Has d'ajudar-me ' Y o u must help me'.