Learn Hardcore Dutch: Het publiek klapt luid als het muziekstuk eindigt. - The audience applauds loudly when the piece of music ends.

In Dutch, het publiek (“the audience”) is treated as a single collective noun, so it takes a singular verb form. That’s why you say het publiek klapt rather than klappen. Even though English sometimes treats “the audience” as plural (the audience clap), Dutch always uses the singular.

Why is luid placed after klapt rather than before?

Dutch main clauses follow a Subject–Finite Verb–Adverbial–Rest order. Since luid (“loudly”) is an adverb, it naturally comes right after the finite verb klapt. Placing it before would break the standard V2 structure of Dutch.

Why does the verb eindigt appear at the end of the clause als het muziekstuk eindigt?

Because als introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb moves to the very end—this is called the verb-final rule.

Why is als used here instead of wanneer or toen?

Als is used for present or future time conditions, conveying “whenever” or “when (in general).”
Wanneer can also mean “when,” but it’s more formal or typically used in questions.
Toen refers exclusively to a single moment in the past (“when that one time happened”).
So als fits best for a general or recurring time situation.

Is luid here an adjective or an adverb? Could we say hard klappen instead?

Here, luid functions as an adverb modifying klappen: “to clap loudly.” You can indeed say hard klappen, which emphasizes force more than volume. The adjective luidruchtig (“noisy”) describes a state or character, not the manner of clapping.

Why is it het muziekstuk and not de muziekstuk?

Dutch nouns are either common (de) or neuter (het). The word stuk (“piece”) is neuter, so compounds like muziekstuk also take het. Gender assignment often has to be memorized.

Why don’t we say something like “the audience claps hands” (de handen klappen)?

In Dutch, klappen meaning “to applaud” is intransitive—you don’t need to specify “hands.” The act of clapping is understood. If you wanted to be very explicit, you could say in de handen klappen, but normally just klappen suffices.

Could we replace als with zodra, as in Het publiek klapt luid zodra het muziekstuk eindigt?

Yes. Zodra means “as soon as” and also introduces a subordinate clause with the verb at the end. Using zodra emphasizes that the clapping starts immediately once the piece ends.