Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): En la sala de espera, cada paciente habla en voz baja para respetar el humor de los demás. - In the waiting room, each patient speaks quietly to respect everyone else’s mood.

Even though espera (waiting) looks like a verb form (from esperar), here it’s a feminine noun too (la espera), used in a noun + de + noun structure, which is very common in Spanish.

Is sala de espera a fixed expression, or can I say something like cuarto de espera?

Sala de espera is the standard, natural expression for waiting room (in clinics, offices, stations, etc.).

sala de espera = normal, what natives say
cuarto de espera would sound odd or too literal in most contexts

You might occasionally hear área de espera or zona de espera in more technical or public-space contexts (airports, public offices), but for a doctor’s office, sala de espera is the usual phrase.

Why does it say cada paciente habla and not cada paciente hablan?

In Spanish, cada (each/every) is always followed by a singular noun and takes a singular verb, even if logically you’re thinking of many people.

cada paciente habla = each patient speaks
cada uno de los pacientes habla = each one of the patients speaks

So the verb must stay singular: habla, not hablan.

Is paciente masculine or feminine? How do I know the gender?

The word paciente has one form for both genders. You know the gender from the article or adjectives:

el paciente (male patient)
la paciente (female patient)
los pacientes, las pacientes (plural)

In your sentence there’s no article in front of paciente because it is governed by cada, which doesn’t show gender, so gender is simply not specified.

Why is it habla (simple present) instead of something like está hablando?

In Spanish, the simple present (habla) is used much more often than in English to describe:

general habits or typical behavior
situations that are generally true

Here, the sentence describes what typically happens in the waiting room, not necessarily a single moment you’re observing. So:

cada paciente habla en voz baja ≈ “each patient speaks/usually speaks in a low voice”

You could say cada paciente está hablando en voz baja if you want to emphasize what is happening right now, but the original sentence reads more like a general description.

What exactly does en voz baja mean, and why not just an adverb like bajamente?

En voz baja is a very common fixed expression meaning in a low voice / quietly / softly.

Literally:

voz = voice
baja = low
en voz baja = in a low voice

Spanish often uses en + noun + adjective instead of “-ly” adverbs. Bajamente does exist as a word, but it’s extremely rare and sounds strange here; people simply do not say hablar bajamente. You should learn hablar en voz baja as a chunk.

Can I say hablar bajo instead of hablar en voz baja? Is there a difference?

Yes, hablar bajo is also correct and common in many regions. Both mean speaking quietly:

hablar en voz baja – a bit more explicit/formal or neutral
hablar bajo – short and common in everyday speech

In many contexts they’re interchangeable:

Habla en voz baja, por favor.
Habla bajo, por favor.

Both are fine to say “Speak quietly, please.”

Why is para respetar followed by an infinitive and not para que respeten or para respetando?

Para + infinitive is used when the subject of both actions is the same.

cada paciente habla (subject: cada paciente)
para respetar (same subject: cada paciente)

So we use:

Cada paciente habla en voz baja para respetar…

Use para que + subjunctive when the subject changes:

Hablamos en voz baja para que los pacientes puedan descansar.
(We speak quietly so that the patients can rest.)

Para respetando is incorrect in standard Spanish; you don’t use para + gerundio to express purpose.

In this context, what does el humor mean? Does it mean “sense of humor”?

Here, el humor means mood / emotional state, not “sense of humor.”

So:

respetar el humor de los demás ≈ respect everyone else’s mood / emotional state

It’s similar to:

estado de ánimo = mood
ánimo = mood, spirit

You could also say:

…para respetar el estado de ánimo de los demás.

That’s a bit clearer if you want to avoid any confusion with “humor” as “funny.”

What does los demás mean exactly, and how is it different from los otros?

Los demás means the others / everyone else, usually with a nuance of “the rest of the people.”

los demás = the other people, the rest
los otros = the other ones (more neutral and can sound a bit more “separating”)

In this sentence:

el humor de los demás = everyone else’s mood / the mood of the other people

You can say el humor de los otros, but los demás is more idiomatic when you mean “everyone else around you.”

Why is it el humor de los demás and not su humor?

You could say su humor, but it’s ambiguous in Spanish:

su humor can mean his mood, her mood, their mood, or even your mood (formal).

El humor de los demás makes it very clear you are talking about other people’s mood, not the speaker’s or one specific person’s mood. It’s more explicit and avoids confusion.

What is the role of de in el humor de los demás?

De is used to show possession or relationship, similar to “of” or “’s” in English.

el humor de los demás = the mood of the others = the others’ mood

This noun + de + noun (or pronoun) pattern is extremely common in Spanish:

la casa de mi madre = my mother’s house
las opiniones de los pacientes = the patients’ opinions

Why is there a comma after En la sala de espera?

En la sala de espera is an introductory phrase that sets the location. In Spanish, it’s very common (and stylistically preferred) to separate such fronted phrases with a comma:

En la sala de espera, cada paciente habla en voz baja…

You could omit the comma in informal writing, but including it makes the sentence clearer and more natural in standard written Spanish.

Does en in en la sala de espera always translate as “in”? Could I ever use a la sala de espera here?

In this sentence, en means in / inside:

en la sala de espera = in the waiting room

Use a to indicate movement toward a place:

Vamos a la sala de espera. = We are going to the waiting room.

So:

en la sala de espera = location (where they are)
a la sala de espera = direction (where they’re going)

Here we’re describing what happens inside that place, so en is correct.