El apuntador da el pie.

Here, apuntador means the prompter in a theatre context, the person who helps actors by feeding them their lines or cueing them when needed.

Be careful not to translate it too literally as something like pointer. In this sentence, it is a specific stage-related word.

In Spanish, singular countable nouns often need an article when they are the subject of a sentence.

So:

• El apuntador = the prompter

In English, we sometimes drop articles more easily, but in Spanish, Apuntador da el pie would sound incomplete or unnatural in normal usage.

Da is the third person singular of the verb dar, meaning to give.

So:

• dar = to give
• da = he gives / she gives / it gives

Since el apuntador is singular, the verb must also be singular:

• El apuntador da...

Because dar el pie is a fixed expression. In idiomatic expressions, Spanish often uses the definite article, even where English might not.

Here, el pie does not literally mean a physical foot in the usual sense. It is part of the expression dar el pie, which means to give a cue or to feed someone their line.

So you should learn dar el pie as a whole chunk, not word by word.

Yes, literally that is what the words say:

• dar = to give
• el pie = the foot

But in this sentence it is idiomatic, so the literal meaning is not the real one. The whole expression means something like:

• to give a cue
• to prompt someone
• to feed someone their line

This is a very common thing to watch out for in Spanish: a phrase may not make sense if translated word for word.

Yes. In theatre and performance language, pie can refer to the cue that helps someone begin speaking or continue.

So in this context, el pie is not really about a body part. It refers to the prompt or cue that sets the next line in motion.

Yes, and in many real situations that version may feel more complete.

• El apuntador da el pie = The prompter gives the cue
• El apuntador le da el pie = The prompter gives him or her the cue

The original sentence leaves out the indirect object because it is either obvious from context or simply not important.

Yes, Spanish word order is flexible, although El apuntador da el pie is the most neutral order.

You could also hear:

• Da el pie el apuntador

But that sounds more marked, literary, or context-dependent. For a learner, the normal pattern to remember is:

• subject + verb + object
• El apuntador da el pie

Yes, dar pie or dar el pie can also be used more broadly to mean to give rise to, to lead into, or to provide an opening for something.

For example, in a wider sense, something can dar pie a una discusión, meaning it can lead to or trigger a discussion.

So the expression exists both in a literal stage-performance setting and in a more general figurative one.

Because da is a one-syllable word, and one-syllable words in Spanish normally do not take a written accent.

So:

• da is correct
• dá is incorrect

This often surprises learners because verb forms can look very short, but that does not mean they need an accent mark.

Yes, especially if the context is theatre, acting, or performance. It sounds natural in that setting.

That said, apuntador is a somewhat specific word, so outside theatre not everyone would use it every day. But educated speakers in Spain would understand it, and dar el pie is a standard expression.