Learn Spanish (Latin America): De repente, la multitud sintió pánico y la gente se echó a gritar. - Suddenly, the crowd felt panic and people started screaming.

While empezó a simply means to start, the structure echarse a + infinitive emphasizes that an action happened very suddenly, unexpectedly, or uncontrollably. It perfectly fits the context of a panicking crowd and translates closer to bursting out screaming. This structure is especially common with verbs of emotion or sound, like llorar (to cry), reír (to laugh), and gritar (to scream).

Why is the singular verb se echó used for la gente when the English translation says people started?

In Spanish, words like la multitud (the crowd) and la gente (the people) are grammatically singular collective nouns. Even though they refer to many individuals, they always take singular verb forms like sintió and se echó.

Why is sintió in the preterite tense here instead of the imperfect (sentía)?

The phrase de repente (suddenly) is the key. It signals an abrupt, distinct event rather than a continuous or background state. Because the crowd being struck by panic happened instantly at a specific moment, the preterite tense is required.

Why is there no article like un or el before pánico?