Breakdown of En abril, la orquesta dará un concierto gratuito en la plaza.
en
in
dar
to give
gratuito
free
la plaza
the plaza
el concierto
the concert
abril
April
la orquesta
the orchestra
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Spanish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about En abril, la orquesta dará un concierto gratuito en la plaza.
Why is there no article before abril?
Because when you mention months in Spanish as time expressions, you typically omit the definite article. Saying en abril means “in April.” If you wanted to include an article, you’d have to rephrase: en el mes de abril (“in the month of April”), but most speakers drop it.
Why is the future tense dará used here, and how do you form it?
Dará is the third person singular of the simple future for dar (“to give”). You form the future by attaching these endings directly to the infinitive:
- yo daré
- tú darás
- él/ella dará
- nosotros daremos
- vosotros daréis
- ellos/ellas darán
Here, la orquesta dará means “the orchestra will give.”
Why is la orquesta treated as singular even though it has many members?
In Spanish, collective nouns (orquesta, familia, equipo) are grammatically singular. You use a singular article and verb—la orquesta da or dará—even though the group contains multiple individuals.
Why say un concierto gratuito instead of un concierto gratis?
- gratuito is an adjective that follows the noun: concierto gratuito (“free concert” in formal register).
- gratis is more of an adverb meaning “free of charge” and typically follows the verb: El concierto es gratis.
Since we’re qualifying the noun directly, gratuito is the preferred adjective form.
Can gratuito come before concierto?
Generally, descriptive adjectives like gratuito follow the noun in Spanish: concierto gratuito. Placing it before (gratuito concierto) would sound very odd or poetic—stick to the post-nominal position for clarity.
Is the comma after En abril necessary?
No, it’s optional. The comma marks a slight pause after the introductory time phrase. You can write:
- En abril la orquesta dará…
or - En abril, la orquesta dará…
Both are correct; the comma just adds a rhythmic pause.
Why do we use la plaza instead of una plaza or no article?
Using la plaza indicates a specific, known place (“the plaza”). Saying una plaza (“a plaza”) would imply any plaza in general. Dropping the article (plaza) isn’t standard here; Spanish requires an article before most singular, countable nouns.
Could we rearrange the sentence, for example, La orquesta dará en abril un concierto gratuito en la plaza?
Yes, Spanish word order is flexible. However, the most natural flow is:
- Time phrase (optional comma)
- Subject
- Verb
- Object
- Location
So En abril, la orquesta dará un concierto gratuito en la plaza feels clearer and more idiomatic, though your alternative is grammatically correct.