Το πλήθος έξω ακούει το χειροκρότημα του κοινού.

The crowd outside hears the audience's applause.

Breakdown of Το πλήθος έξω ακούει το χειροκρότημα του κοινού.

• έξω: outside
• ακούω: to hear
• το κοινό: audience
• το πλήθος: crowd

Questions & Answers about Το πλήθος έξω ακούει το χειροκρότημα του κοινού.

Why is το πλήθος singular if it refers to many people?

Because πλήθος is a collective noun. It means something like crowd, multitude, or large number, but grammatically it is singular and neuter.

So Greek uses:

• το πλήθος = the crowd
• ακούει = hears, is hearing

Even though a crowd contains many people, the grammar treats it as one group.

Why is the verb ακούει and not a plural form?

For the same reason: the subject is το πλήθος, which is grammatically singular. So the verb must also be 3rd person singular.

• ακούει = he/she/it hears or is hearing

If the subject were actually plural, such as οι άνθρωποι (the people), then you would use a plural verb:

• Οι άνθρωποι ακούνε... = The people hear...

What does έξω mean here, and why is there no preposition?