Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Penonton tertawa dan memberi tepuk tangan panjang setelah pertunjukan seni. - The audience laughed and gave long applause after the art performance.

It can be either singular or plural, depending on context.
- Singular: penonton = a spectator
- Plural: penonton = (the) spectators / (the) audience
Indonesian usually does not change the noun form to show singular vs plural. Context or extra words do that:
- seorang penonton = one spectator
- para penonton = the audience (clearly plural)

In your sentence, penonton is best understood as “the audience” or “the spectators.”

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Indonesian generally doesn’t use articles like “a / an / the.”

So:

penonton can be:
- the audience
- an / some audience / spectators
  depending on what makes most sense in context.

If you really need to be specific, Indonesian uses other words, not separate articles:

seorang penonton – a (single) spectator
para penonton – the audience / the spectators
penonton itu – that/those spectators, the audience (already known)

But in normal sentences, just penonton is enough, and the English translation adds “the” or “the audience” as needed.

How does tertawa work here? Is it like “to laugh” and do I need anything after it?

Tertawa means “to laugh.”

It’s an intransitive verb in this usage—no object after it.
Penonton tertawa = “The audience laughed.”

You can use it alone, or with extra information:

Penonton tertawa keras. – The audience laughed loudly.
Mereka tertawa karena senang. – They laughed because they were happy.

You don’t need any “do” or “to be” with it. The subject + verb structure is enough:

Penonton tertawa (not Penonton *sedang tertawa* unless you want to stress “are in the middle of laughing”).

What is the structure of memberi tepuk tangan panjang? Why not just a single verb for “clap”?

Memberi tepuk tangan panjang breaks down like this:

memberi = to give
tepuk tangan = applause (literally “hand clap”)
panjang = long (here: long in duration)

So literally it’s like: “(they) gave long applause.”

In English we say “clap” as a verb; in Indonesian this sentence uses the verb + noun pattern:
memberi (give) + tepuk tangan (applause).

You could also say:

Penonton bertepuk tangan panjang. – The audience clapped for a long time.

Bertepuk tangan is a single verbal phrase meaning “to clap (applaud).”
Using memberi tepuk tangan panjang is slightly more formal / narrative in tone, but both are acceptable.

What exactly is tepuk tangan? Why are there two words for “applause”?

Tepuk tangan is a fixed expression:

tepuk = a clap / a slap
tangan = hand

Together, tepuk tangan means “applause” or “clapping.”
You generally treat it as one unit, not as a random combination:

memberi tepuk tangan – to give applause
bertepuk tangan – to clap (to applaud)

It’s not normally split with something between tepuk and tangan.
You can, however, add adjectives after it:

tepuk tangan meriah – enthusiastic applause
tepuk tangan panjang – long applause

Does panjang here mean “physically long” or “long in time”?

In this context, panjang means “long (in duration)”, not physically long.

tepuk tangan panjang = applause that lasted a long time

This is a common metaphorical use—just like English uses “a long speech,” “a long silence.”

Other common collocations:

liburan panjang – a long holiday
waktu yang panjang – a long time
diskusi panjang – a long discussion

So tepuk tangan panjang = “prolonged applause” / “a long round of applause.”

What does setelah do here, and where can it appear in the sentence?

Setelah means “after.” It introduces a time relationship.

In your sentence:

setelah pertunjukan seni = after the art performance / show

It can appear:

In the middle (as in your sentence):
- Penonton tertawa dan memberi tepuk tangan panjang setelah pertunjukan seni.
  The audience laughed and gave a long round of applause after the art performance.
At the beginning (more formal / emphatic):
- Setelah pertunjukan seni, penonton tertawa dan memberi tepuk tangan panjang.

Setelah and sesudah are near-synonyms. In most everyday contexts you can swap them:

setelah pertunjukan ≈ sesudah pertunjukan

What is the difference between pertunjukan seni and seni pertunjukan?

They look similar but mean different things:

pertunjukan seni
- pertunjukan = performance / show
- seni = art
- Together: an art performance, an artistic show
- Focuses on a specific event (a performance of some art).
seni pertunjukan
- Literally “performing arts”
- This is a type or field of art (dance, theatre, etc.), not a single event.

In your sentence, pertunjukan seni correctly means “the art performance / the art show” (a particular performance that just ended).

How do we know this sentence is in the past? There’s no past tense marker.

Indonesian does not change the verb form for tense (past/present/future).
Instead, time is shown by context words like kemarin (yesterday), sudah (already), akan (will), or implied.

Here, setelah pertunjukan seni (“after the art performance”) strongly suggests a completed event:

Natural English translation:
“The audience laughed and gave a long round of applause after the art performance.” (past)

But grammatically, the bare sentence could also be interpreted as:

The audience laugh(s) and gives a long round of applause after the art performance (a habitual action).

To make it clearly past, speakers often add words like:

tadi – earlier
tadi malam – last night
sudah – already

Example:
Tadi malam, penonton tertawa dan memberi tepuk tangan panjang setelah pertunjukan seni.

Why is penonton only mentioned once before two verbs (tertawa and memberi)?

In Indonesian, if the same subject performs multiple actions, you typically mention the subject once, then connect the verbs with dan:

Penonton tertawa dan memberi tepuk tangan panjang.
= The audience laughed and gave a long round of applause.

You do not need to repeat the subject:

✔ Penonton tertawa dan memberi tepuk tangan.
✘ Penonton tertawa dan penonton memberi tepuk tangan. (grammatical but redundant and unnatural unless you’re emphasizing).

This mirrors English usage with compound verbs: “The audience laughed and clapped.”

Could we say this in a more colloquial or slightly different way in Indonesian?

Yes, some natural variations include:

Penonton tertawa lalu bertepuk tangan panjang setelah pertunjukan seni.
– The audience laughed and then clapped for a long time after the art performance.
Setelah pertunjukan seni, penonton tertawa dan bertepuk tangan meriah.
– After the art performance, the audience laughed and applauded enthusiastically.
Penonton tertawa dan bertepuk tangan lama setelah pertunjukan seni.
– The audience laughed and clapped for a long time after the art performance.

All keep the same core meaning but shift nuance (using lalu, meriah, lama, bertepuk tangan instead of memberi tepuk tangan).