Il video dura circa un minuto.

In Italian, it is very common to use the definite article where English might not emphasize it as much. Il video means the video.

• il = the for a singular masculine noun
• video is treated as a masculine singular noun

So Il video dura circa un minuto literally starts with The video...

Video is masculine, so it takes masculine forms such as:

• il video = the video
• un video = a video

Its plural is usually i video. Unlike many Italian nouns, video does not change form in the plural.

Dura comes from the verb durare, which means to last.

So:

• il video dura = the video lasts
• in natural English, we often say the video is about one minute long

Here, dura is the third-person singular form, because the subject is il video, which is singular.

Italian often uses durare to talk about the length of time of events, videos, films, lessons, meetings, and so on.

Examples:

• Il film dura due ore = The film lasts two hours
• La lezione dura 45 minuti = The lesson lasts 45 minutes

You could sometimes express the idea differently, but durare is the most normal and direct verb for duration.

Circa means about, approximately, or around.

In this sentence:

• circa un minuto = about a minute

It usually comes right before the amount:

• circa un minuto
• circa due ore
• circa dieci persone

So the placement is very similar to English about one minute.

Italian uses un before most masculine singular nouns.

You use uno only before certain masculine nouns that begin with:

• s + consonant: uno studente
• z: uno zaino
• ps, gn, x, and similar sounds

Since minuto begins with a simple m, the correct form is:

• un minuto

Italian and English structure this idea differently.

In English, we often say:

• It lasts for a minute

In Italian, the duration can be expressed directly after durare without a preposition:

• dura un minuto
• dura circa un minuto

So the idea of for is built into how durare works in the sentence.

That would not be the most natural choice here. The standard and idiomatic way is:

• Il video dura circa un minuto

Italian normally uses durare for the duration of something like a video, film, class, or meeting.

A phrase with essere di... can appear in some contexts, but for basic everyday Italian, durare is the form you should learn and use here.

Because the quantity is still understood as one minute.

• un minuto = one minute
• circa un minuto = about one minute

If the amount were more than one, you would use the plural:

• circa due minuti = about two minutes

So circa does not change the number; it only makes it approximate.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

eel VEE-deh-o DOO-ra CHEER-ka oon mee-NOO-to

A few useful notes:

• il sounds like eel
• video in Italian has 3 syllables: VI-de-o
• dura has the stress on du
• circa has a hard c before i, so it sounds like cheer-ka
• un is pronounced like oon
• minuto has the stress on nu: mi-NOO-to

The most natural position is right before the time expression:

• Il video dura circa un minuto

That is the standard phrasing. You may sometimes hear other ways of expressing approximation, such as:

• Il video dura un minuto circa

but this is less common and sounds more marked. For learners, it is best to use:

• circa + number/time expression

To make it negative, put non before the verb:

• Il video non dura circa un minuto = The video does not last about a minute

However, depending on meaning, a more natural sentence might be:

• Il video non dura un minuto = The video does not last a minute

In Italian, non normally goes directly before the conjugated verb.

Dura is in the present indicative of durare.

The relevant forms are:

• io duro = I last
• tu duri = you last
• lui/lei dura = he/she/it lasts
• noi duriamo = we last
• voi durate = you all last
• loro durano = they last

Here, il video is equivalent to it, so Italian uses dura.