Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que a veces me asusta. - In the early hours there is a deep silence that sometimes scares me.

the early hours (of the morning)
the small hours
sometimes at dawn, though Spanish often reserves el amanecer more specifically for the moment when the sun is coming up.

So En la madrugada = In the early hours / in the small hours (before or around dawn).

Why is it en la madrugada and not en madrugada without the article?

In Spanish, parts of the day typically take the definite article la / el when used with en to talk about “at/in [that part of the day]”:

en la mañana (Latin America; in Spain more often por la mañana)
en la tarde / por la tarde
en la noche / por la noche
en la madrugada

Saying en madrugada without la sounds incomplete or incorrect to native speakers.

The article is dropped with some other prepositions, for example:

de madrugada hay un silencio profundo… ✓ (very natural)
esta madrugada ✓ (this early morning)

But with en, you normally keep the article here: en la madrugada.

Could I also say de madrugada or por la madrugada instead of en la madrugada? Do they mean the same?

All three are possible, but there are nuances:

En la madrugada – neutral: “in the early hours”. Focus on the time frame as a setting.
De madrugada – very common and idiomatic in Spain. Often feels a bit more vivid, like “in the (dead of) the early hours” / “at that time of night/early morning”.
Por la madrugada – also possible, emphasizes “during that period”, similar to por la mañana (“in the mornings / during the morning”).

So you could say:

En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo…
De madrugada hay un silencio profundo… (probably the most natural-sounding in Spain)
Por la madrugada hay un silencio profundo… (acceptable, with a “during” feel)

None is wrong; choice depends on style and slight nuance.

Why is it hay un silencio profundo and not es un silencio profundo or el silencio es profundo?

Hay (from haber) is used to say that something exists or is present somewhere:

En la cocina hay una mesa. – “There is a table in the kitchen.”

In your sentence:

En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo…
→ “In the early hours there is a deep silence…”

If you said:

Es un silencio profundo. – “It is a deep silence.”
This describes the type of silence, but doesn’t clearly express its existence in that setting.
El silencio es profundo. – “The silence is deep.”
Here you’re talking about a specific, already known silence and describing its quality.

So:

hay un silencio profundo = introduces the silence as something that appears/exists at that time.
el silencio es profundo = talks about that silence as already identified and then describes it.

In this context, hay is the natural choice.

Why un silencio and profundo (masculine)? Shouldn’t silencio be feminine?

Silencio is a masculine noun in Spanish: el silencio.

Because of that:

The indefinite article must be masculine: un silencio (not una).
The adjective must agree in gender and number: profundo (masculine singular) to match silencio.

So you get:

un silencio profundo ✓
una silencio profunda ✗ (incorrect)

Agreement rule: articles, adjectives, and determiners must match the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun.

Could I also say un profundo silencio instead of un silencio profundo? Is there any difference?

Yes, both are grammatically correct:

un silencio profundo
un profundo silencio

The difference is nuance and style:

un silencio profundo
- More neutral and most common word order: noun + adjective.
- Simply describes the silence as deep.
un profundo silencio
- Slightly more literary or expressive.
- Adjectives placed before the noun often sound more emotional, subjective, or stylistic.

In everyday speech, un silencio profundo is the more standard choice. Un profundo silencio might appear more in narration, literature, or for rhetorical effect.

What is the word que doing here? Is it “that” or “which”?

In …un silencio profundo que a veces me asusta, the word que is a relative pronoun.

It refers back to un silencio profundo (“a deep silence”).
It introduces a relative clause (a mini-sentence that describes that silence):
- que a veces me asusta = “that sometimes frightens me.”

So structurally:

un silencio profundo → noun phrase
que a veces me asusta → relative clause explaining or adding information about that silence

In English you could translate que here as that or which:

“a deep silence that sometimes scares me”
“a deep silence which sometimes scares me”

Functionally, que is the subject of the verb asusta (it’s the silence that does the frightening).

Why is it me asusta and not me asusto? Don’t they both mean “I get scared”?

They are related but not the same grammatically:

asustar (non‑reflexive, transitive) – “to frighten someone”
- Sujet: the thing/person that causes fear.
- Indirect object / direct object pronoun: the person who gets scared.
- Ese silencio me asusta. – “That silence frightens me.”
  - Subject: ese silencio
  - Object: me (“me”)
asustarse (reflexive) – “to get frightened / to become scared”
- The person who gets scared is the grammatical subject and also the object (reflexive).
- Me asusto fácilmente. – “I get scared easily.”

In your sentence:

…un silencio profundo que a veces me asusta.
Literally: “a deep silence that sometimes frightens me.”
- Subject of asusta: que = un silencio profundo
- Object: me

If you said …que a veces me asusto, it would mean “that sometimes I get scared” and would no longer make “that silence” the subject doing the action. It changes the structure and is less natural in this exact sentence.

Why does the pronoun me go before asusta? Could I say que asusta me a veces?

In Spanish, unstressed object pronouns like me, te, le, lo, la, nos, os, les, los, las usually go before a conjugated verb:

me asusta
te veo
nos ayuda

So:

que a veces me asusta ✓
que a veces asusta me ✗ (incorrect in standard Spanish)

Basic rule:

With a simple, conjugated verb (like asusta), pronouns come before the verb.
They only go after and attached to the verb with an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command:
- asustarme, asustándome, asústame.

In your sentence the verb is conjugated (asusta), so me must go in front: me asusta.

Why is the present tense used (hay, asusta)? Does it mean “right now” or “usually”?

Spanish present tense can express:

A general or habitual truth (very common use):
- En verano hace calor. – “In summer it is hot.”
Something happening right now:
- Ahora llueve. – “It’s raining now.”

In your sentence:

En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que a veces me asusta.

This sounds like a general observation or habitual situation:

“In the early hours there is (usually / generally) a deep silence that sometimes scares me.”

Context could make it more “right now”, but as written it most naturally describes something that regularly happens in those hours.

Could I replace me asusta with me da miedo? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

…un silencio profundo que a veces me da miedo.

Both are natural, but they work a bit differently:

me asusta – literally “frightens me”.
- Focus on the action of scaring.
- The silence actively “jumps out” as the cause of fear.
me da miedo – literally “gives me fear / makes me afraid”.
- Slightly more neutral; very common in conversation.
- Focus on the state of feeling fear.

In many everyday contexts they are interchangeable, with me da miedo sounding slightly more colloquial and me asusta sometimes a bit more immediate or vivid.

Where can a veces go in the sentence? Can I move it around?

Yes, a veces (meaning “sometimes”) is quite flexible in position. All of these are grammatically possible, with slightly different rhythm/emphasis:

En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que a veces me asusta. (your version)
En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que me asusta a veces.
En la madrugada, a veces hay un silencio profundo que me asusta.
A veces, en la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que me asusta.

Most natural in this specific sentence are:

En la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que a veces me asusta.
A veces, en la madrugada hay un silencio profundo que me asusta.

The first emphasizes the silence, then adds that that silence sometimes frightens you. The second emphasizes that sometimes this whole situation happens.