Sudden starts with "romper a"
The verb romper usually means "to break". However, when you combine it with the preposition a and an infinitive verb, it takes on a whole new meaning.
This structure (romper a + infinitive) is used to describe an action that begins very suddenly and intensely. It translates perfectly to the English phrases "to burst into" or "to burst out".
| Yesterday the tension was huge, and suddenly he burst into tears. | Ayer la tensión era enorme y repentinamente rompió a llorar. |
| It was in the hospital where the woman burst out sobbing out of anguish. | Fue en el hospital donde la mujer rompió a sollozar por la angustia. |
While you will most often hear this phrase used with crying (romper a llorar or romper a sollozar), it is also the natural way to describe other sudden, emotional reactions like bursting out laughing or breaking into applause.
| The anguish disappeared and, suddenly, we burst out laughing out of relief. | La angustia desapareció y, de repente, rompimos a reír de alivio. |
| Last night, because of the emotion, everyone burst out applauding in the theatre. | Anoche, por la emoción, todo el mundo rompió a aplaudir en el teatro. |
You can use this structure in any tense. Whether you are recounting a dramatic past event or describing something happening right now, just conjugate romper to match the subject and the timeline, and leave the second verb in its infinitive form.
| Suddenly, the boy bursts into tears inconsolably. | Repentinamente, el niño rompe a llorar desconsoladamente. |
