Breakdown of En el teatro, el público aplaude fuerte cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
Questions & Answers about En el teatro, el público aplaude fuerte cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
- En el teatro = in the theatre (inside that place / in that context).
- Al teatro = to the theatre (movement towards it).
The sentence is describing what happens inside the theatre, not someone going to the theatre, so en el teatro is correct.
Spanish almost always uses an article with places, so en el teatro is much more natural than en teatro in this context. (You’d only drop the article in very specific expressions, like “ir a teatro” in some dialects, but “en teatro” would still sound odd here.)
In Spanish, público is grammatically singular and takes a singular verb, even though it refers to many people:
- El público aplaude. = The audience applauds.
You cannot say “el público aplauden” in standard Spanish; that’s considered incorrect. If you want a plural subject, you’d change the noun, for example:
- Los espectadores aplauden. = The spectators clap/applaud.
So: el público → always singular verb agreement.
In everyday Spanish, adjectives like fuerte, lento, rápido, etc. are very commonly used as adverbs after verbs:
- Habla fuerte. = He/She speaks loudly.
- Corre rápido. = He/She runs quickly.
So aplaude fuerte is completely natural and very common.
Fuertemente also exists and is correct, but:
- aplaude fuertemente sounds more formal or written, and a bit less spontaneous.
Ruidosamente (noisily) is also possible, but it changes the nuance: it focuses on the noise, whereas fuerte focuses on the intensity/strength of the applause.
In spoken Spanish from Spain, “aplaudir fuerte” is the default-sounding choice.
Here fuerte is not describing the público, it’s describing how the public applauds. So it’s functioning as an adverb, not as an adjective.
As an adjective (agreeing):
- Un público fuerte → a strong public (strange idea here).
As an adverb (no agreement):
- El público aplaude fuerte. → The audience claps loudly/strongly.
Adverbs in Spanish do not agree with the noun, so they stay in a fixed form. That’s why you don’t say “aplaude fuertes”.
Spanish uses the simple present very often to express:
- Habits / typical behavior
- General truths
So:
- El público aplaude fuerte cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
= The audience claps loudly when the actresses come onto the stage (that’s what usually happens).
Using a progressive like “está aplaudiendo” or “están saliendo” would focus on what is happening exactly right now, in this moment, which is not the idea of the example sentence.
The simple present here is generic, describing what usually happens in that situation.
With cuando, Spanish can use indicative or subjunctive depending on meaning:
Indicative (salen): for habits, repeated events, or facts.
- Aplauden cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
= They clap whenever the actresses come onto the stage (habit).
- Aplauden cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
Subjunctive (salgan): for future, uncertain, or hypothetical events, especially when referring to one specific future moment.
- Aplaudirán cuando las actrices salgan al escenario.
= They will clap when the actresses come onto the stage (in that specific future performance).
- Aplaudirán cuando las actrices salgan al escenario.
In your sentence, the idea is a habitual action, so indicative: salen is correct.
The definite article las can do several things here:
- It can refer to the actresses involved in the show, known from context.
- It can be generic: “actresses (as a group/class) in this situation”.
If you say:
- Cuando actrices salen al escenario – incorrect; Spanish normally needs an article.
- Cuando unas actrices salen al escenario – when some actresses come onto the stage (unspecified group, sounds more random).
“Las actrices” feels like: the actresses in that play / that performance / that kind of situation, which matches the generic/habitual description.
- Salir = to go out / to come out / to exit / to appear (on stage).
- al = contraction of a + el (= to the).
- escenario = stage (the physical stage in a theater).
So salen al escenario literally = “they go out to the stage” or “they come onto the stage”.
You use a because there is movement towards a place (onto the stage).
En el escenario would describe being located on the stage:
- Las actrices están en el escenario. = The actresses are on the stage.
Here we want the moment they enter the stage, so salir al escenario is the natural expression.
Escenario
- The physical stage: the raised platform where actors perform.
- Used for the place.
Escena
- A scene (part of a play, movie, etc.).
- Also “scene” as in “a dramatic situation” or “making a scene”.
So:
Las actrices salen al escenario.
= The actresses come onto the stage (the platform).En la primera escena, las actrices salen corriendo.
= In the first scene, the actresses come out running.
You can’t normally swap escenario and escena here without changing meaning.
Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible here. These are all acceptable and natural:
- El público aplaude fuerte cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
- El público aplaude fuerte cuando salen las actrices al escenario.
- Cuando las actrices salen al escenario, el público aplaude fuerte.
The basic meaning stays the same. The changes mostly affect rhythm and slight emphasis, but not grammar.
Actor is a masculine noun. The irregular feminine form is:
- el actor → la actriz
- los actores → las actrices
The -or → -riz pattern is irregular but very common for this word. You cannot say “la actora” or “las actoras” in standard European Spanish; those forms are either non-standard or used only in some legal/jargon contexts, not for stage performers.
Público can mean both, depending on context:
Audience (people watching a show, concert, event):
- El público aplaude. = The audience applauds.
Public in a broader, more general sense:
- El público en general = the general public
- Un servicio público = a public service
In your sentence (with en el teatro, aplaude), it clearly means “audience”.
Yes, you can say:
- El público aplaude a las actrices cuando salen al escenario.
Differences in nuance:
El público aplaude fuerte cuando las actrices salen al escenario.
- Focuses on how they applaud (loudly / strongly).
- It’s clear from context that the applause is for the actresses, but that’s implicit.
El público aplaude a las actrices cuando salen al escenario.
- Makes the recipient of the applause explicit: the actresses.
- Says who is applauded rather than how they are applauded.
Both are correct; they just highlight different aspects (manner vs. recipient).
Yes, “aplaude muy fuerte” is very natural and very common in Spain.
- aplaude fuerte = claps loudly / strongly.
- aplaude muy fuerte = claps very loudly / very strongly.
Adding muy just intensifies fuerte. Grammar and style are perfect in Peninsular Spanish.