Breakdown of Le premier acte va finir dans vingt minutes.
vingt
twenty
aller
to go
la minute
the minute
finir
to finish
premier
first
dans
in (after a period of time)
l'acte
the act (theater) (m)
Questions & Answers about Le premier acte va finir dans vingt minutes.
Why do we use dans for 'in' here? Could I use en?
In French, dans followed by a time expression means an event will happen after that amount of time has passed from now (meaning '20 minutes from now'). If you used en, it would mean the action takes exactly 20 minutes to complete from start to finish. Because we are talking about a specific point in the future, dans is the correct choice.
How does va finir translate to 'is going to finish'?
This uses the near future tense, which is built just like its English equivalent. You take the present tense of the verb aller (to go) — which is va for Le premier acte (it) — and add the infinitive, or dictionary form, of the action verb, finir (to finish).
premier means 'first', but does it change spelling depending on the noun?
Does the number vingt need an 's' because minutes is plural?
No, vingt does not take an 's' here. Numbers in French are generally invariable, meaning they don't change to match plural nouns. The only exception for vingt is when it is multiplied and sits at the very end of a larger number, like in quatre-vingts (eighty).
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