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On s'échauffe, l'étape commence dans cinq minutes !

On s'échauffe, l'étape commence dans cinq minutes !
We are warming up, the stage starts in five minutes!
From Lesson 239:Time prepositions of duration (en, dans)·French

Questions & Answers about On s'échauffe, l'étape commence dans cinq minutes !

Why use dans instead of en for "in five minutes"?
In French, dans is used to show when a future action will begin (how much time until it starts). "In five minutes from now" is dans cinq minutes. If you used en cinq minutes, it would mean the stage takes exactly five minutes to complete from start to finish!
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?
No, une étape refers to a stage in a process, a step, or a "leg" of a sporting event (like the Tour de France). If you want to talk about a stage in a theater or at a concert, you would use une scène.
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.

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