L’attore principale entra in scena con un grande applauso.

to enter

Breakdown of L’attore principale entra in scena con un grande applauso.

• in: in
• con: with
• grande: great

Questions & Answers about L’attore principale entra in scena con un grande applauso.

Why is there an apostrophe in l’attore?

Italian uses elision to avoid two vowels clashing. The masculine singular definite article lo becomes l’ before a word starting with a vowel. So lo attore contracts to l’attore, and the apostrophe marks the dropped “o.”

Why is the verb entra in the present tense instead of a past tense?

This is an example of the historical present (or theatrical present). Italian often uses the simple present to make descriptions or stage directions more vivid and immediate. If you wanted to speak of a past event, you could say L’attore principale è entrato in scena… (present perfect) or L’attore principale entrò in scena… (passato remoto).

What does entra in scena mean, and can I say salire sul palco instead?

Entra in scena literally means “enters into the scene” and is the standard theatrical idiom for making an entrance.

• Salire sul palco (“to go up on the stage”) is also correct but is more general—it focuses on physically climbing onto the platform called palco, not necessarily on joining the dramatic action.

Why is it con un grande applauso? Could I use a different preposition or expression?