Breakdown of Quan comença la funció, el públic fa silenci.
Questions & Answers about Quan comença la funció, el públic fa silenci.
Here quan is a conjunction meaning when, introducing a time clause: Quan comença la funció...
Catalan quan can do two jobs:
- as a question word: Quan comença la funció? = When does the show start?
- as a conjunction: Quan comença la funció, el públic fa silenci. = When the show starts, the audience falls silent / becomes quiet.
So in this sentence, it is not asking a question. It links two parts of the sentence.
Comença is the 3rd person singular present of començar = to begin / to start.
Catalan often uses the present tense for general truths, routines, and things that regularly happen. This sentence describes a typical situation:
- Quan comença la funció, el públic fa silenci.
That is like saying:
- Whenever the performance starts, the audience becomes quiet.
So the present tense works naturally here, just as in English sentences like When class starts, everyone sits down.