Breakdown of Komm schon, das Date fängt bald an!
kommen
to come
anfangen
to start
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
bald
soon
Questions & Answers about Komm schon, das Date fängt bald an!
Why is the word schon used here? Doesn't it usually mean "already"?
While schon literally means "already", here it acts as a modal particle. In commands like Komm schon, it adds a sense of impatience or urgency, translating perfectly to the English phrase "Come on!"
Since Date is an English loanword, how does it get the neuter gender (das Date)?
English loanwords often take the gender of their closest German equivalent. Here, the closest equivalent is das Treffen (the meeting), so Date takes the neuter das. It is also pronounced exactly like the English word.
The translation says the date "is starting" soon, but the German uses the present tense fängt an. Why not the future tense?
In German, the present tense is standard for future events as long as there is a time marker that makes the future context clear. Here, the adverb bald (soon) makes it obvious, so you do not need to use the future tense (wird anfangen).
Could I say das Date beginnt bald instead of fängt bald an?
Yes, absolutely! Anfangen and beginnen are interchangeable synonyms. However, anfangen (a separable verb) is generally preferred in everyday spoken German, while beginnen sounds a tiny bit more formal or written.