Word
Quan el teló baixa, l'escenari queda buit i les primeres files de butaques ja són buides.
Meaning
When the curtain comes down, the stage is empty and the first rows of seats are already empty.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Quan el teló baixa, l'escenari queda buit i les primeres files de butaques ja són buides.
ser
to be
i
and
quan
when
de
of
Questions & Answers about Quan el teló baixa, l'escenari queda buit i les primeres files de butaques ja són buides.
Why does the sentence begin with Quan? Does it mean when or while?
Quan usually means when. In this sentence, it introduces a time clause: Quan el teló baixa = When the curtain comes down / lowers.
Depending on context, English might translate it as when, as, or sometimes once, but the basic Catalan word here is simply when.
Why is it el teló baixa and not something like es baixa?
Here baixar is being used intransitively, meaning to go down / to come down / to lower by itself.
So:
- el teló baixa = the curtain comes down
- algú baixa el teló = someone lowers the curtain
Catalan often uses the simple verb where English may prefer a slightly different phrasing. So el teló baixa sounds natural.
What exactly is teló?
Teló means curtain, especially a theater curtain or stage curtain.
That is why the rest of the sentence also uses theater-related words like:
- l'escenari = the stage
- butaques = seats / armchairs in a theater
Why is it l'escenari instead of el escenari?