Breakdown of On s'échauffe, l'étape commence dans cinq minutes !
on
one / we (informal)
commencer
to start
cinq
five
la minute
the minute
Questions & Answers about On s'échauffe, l'étape commence dans cinq minutes !
Why use dans instead of en for "in five minutes"?
Why is it On s'échauffe instead of Nous nous échauffons?
In spoken and everyday French, on is much more common than nous to say "we". Notice that on takes the singular il/elle verb form, which is why the reflexive pronoun is s' (instead of nous).
Does étape refer to a stage in a theater?
Can I use a future tense instead of the present tense commence?
Yes, you could say va commencer (is going to start) or commencera (will start). However, just like in English, French frequently uses the present tense for scheduled events in the near future to make them feel immediate and certain.