Learn Hardcore Chinese: yīnyuèhuì lǐ de guānzhòng bù duō, dàjiā dōu zuò zài nàli ānjìng de tīng. - There weren’t many people in the audience at the concert; everyone sat there listening quietly.

Word

音乐会　里　的　观众　不　多，　大家　都　坐　在　那里　安静　地　听。yīnyuèhuì lǐ de guānzhòng bù duō, dàjiā dōu zuò zài nàli ānjìng de tīng.

Meaning

There weren’t many people in the audience at the concert; everyone sat there listening quietly.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of yīnyuèhuì lǐ de guānzhòng bù duō, dàjiā dōu zuò zài nàli ānjìng de tīng.

Why do we use 里 after 音乐会? Can I just say 音乐会的观众?

Both 音乐会里的观众 and 音乐会的观众 are possible, but they feel a bit different:

音乐会里的观众
- Literally: the audience inside the concert (venue/event)
- Emphasises the people present there, in that situation/space.
- Pattern: [Place/scene] + 里 + 的 + [people/things there]
  - 学校里的人 = the people at school
  - 教室里的学生 = the students in the classroom
音乐会的观众
- Literally: the concert’s audience
- More like a possessive: “the audience of the concert”.
- It can sound a bit more general, not as strongly tied to the physical scene.

In this sentence we’re clearly talking about the people who are there at the event, so 音乐会里的观众 fits very naturally.

What exactly is 的 doing in 音乐会里的观众?

Here 的 is the normal “linking” modifier marker:

音乐会里 = “inside the concert (place/event)”
音乐会里的 = “(those who are) in the concert”
音乐会里的观众 = “the audience who are in the concert / the audience at the concert”

Structure:
[Describing phrase] + 的 + [noun]

Common parallels:

Why is it 观众不多 and not something like 观众很少?