kaigi ga hazimaru mae ni, douryou ni siryou wo watasimasu.

When a verb modifies a noun in Japanese, it usually appears in its plain form, not its polite -ます form.

Here, 前 means before, and the clause 会議が始まる directly modifies 前:

• 会議が始まる前 = the time before the meeting starts

So:

• 始まる前に = before it starts
• 始まります前に is not natural Japanese

This is very common:

• 寝る前に = before sleeping
• 食べる前に = before eating
• 行く前に = before going

The main sentence can still be polite:

• 資料を渡します is polite
• but 始まる stays plain because it is inside a modifying clause

前 means before or in front, depending on context. In this sentence, it means before (a time/event).

• 会議が始まる前 = the time before the meeting starts
• 会議が始まる前に = before the meeting starts

The に marks the time point at which the main action happens. In many time expressions, に can mark when something happens.

So the structure is:

• A 前に B = B happens before A

In this sentence:

• 会議が始まる前に = before the meeting starts
• 同僚に資料を渡します = I will give the materials to my colleague

In 会議が始まる, the meeting is the thing that starts, so it is the grammatical subject of 始まる.

• 会議が始まる = the meeting starts

This is why が is used.

A useful point: 始まる is an intransitive verb, meaning something starts by itself.

Compare:

• 会議が始まる = the meeting starts
• 先生が会議を始める = the teacher starts the meeting

So:

• 始まる pairs naturally with が
• 始める can take を

These two verbs are related, but they are used differently:

• 始まる = to begin, to start
  
  • intransitive
  • something starts
• 始める = to start something
  • transitive
  • someone starts something

Examples:

• 会議が始まる。 = The meeting starts.
• 部長が会議を始める。 = The manager starts the meeting.

In your sentence, the meeting is not actively starting something else; it is the thing that begins, so 始まる is correct.

With 渡す (to hand/give), Japanese usually marks:

• the thing being given with を
• the recipient with に

So:

• 資料を = the materials/documents
• 同僚に = to a colleague / to my colleague

This gives:

• 同僚に資料を渡します = give the materials to a colleague

This pattern is very common with giving verbs:

• 友だちに本をあげる = give a book to a friend
• 先生にレポートを出す = submit a report to the teacher

Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are clear from context.

So even though English usually needs I in a sentence like this, Japanese often does not say it if the speaker is obviously the one doing the action.

• 同僚に資料を渡します。 naturally means something like I will give / give the materials to my colleague, depending on context.

If you wanted to make the subject explicit, you could say:

• 私は会議が始まる前に、同僚に資料を渡します。

But in normal conversation, 私は is often unnecessary.

This is a very common pattern in Japanese.

The main verb of the sentence is often where politeness is shown:

• 渡します = polite

But verbs inside a subordinate clause, like the clause before 前に, stay in plain form:

• 会議が始まる前に

So the sentence mixes:

• plain form in the modifying clause
• polite form at the end of the sentence

This is completely normal Japanese.

You will see the same thing in many sentences:

• 家に帰る前に、買い物をします。
• 映画を見る前に、夕飯を食べます。

Not necessarily. It usually means before the meeting starts, but it does not by itself say exactly how long before.

Depending on context, it could mean:

• just a few minutes before
• earlier that morning
• any time before the start, as long as it is understood to be relevant

If you wanted to be more specific, Japanese could add time expressions such as:

• 会議が始まる10分前に = 10 minutes before the meeting starts
• 会議の前に = before the meeting

So the original sentence simply gives the general timing: the handoff happens before the meeting begins.

Both can often be translated as before the meeting, but the nuance is slightly different.

• 会議が始まる前に = before the meeting starts
• 会議の前に = before the meeting

The first one focuses on the event of starting.
The second one is shorter and more general.

In many contexts, both are fine. But 会議が始まる前に can feel a bit more precise, because it clearly refers to the point before the meeting begins.

Yes. Japanese word order is more flexible than English, as long as the particles make the roles clear.

So these are both natural:

• 同僚に資料を渡します。
• 資料を同僚に渡します。

Because:

• に marks the recipient
• を marks the thing being given

The basic meaning stays the same.

That said, word order can slightly change emphasis. Putting 資料を earlier may give a bit more focus to the materials, while 同僚に earlier may slightly foreground the recipient.

The standard readings are:

• 会議 = かいぎ
• が = が
• 始まる = はじまる
• 前に = まえに
• 同僚 = どうりょう
• に = に
• 資料 = しりょう
• を = を (pronounced お)
• 渡します = わたします

So the full sentence is read:

かいぎ が はじまる まえ に、どうりょう に しりょう を わたします。

Japanese nouns usually do not explicitly mark singular vs. plural the way English does.

So 資料 can mean:

• material
• materials
• document
• documents

The exact meaning depends on context.

In a business context, 資料 often means:

• handouts
• documents
• reference materials
• presentation materials

So even if the English translation says the materials, the Japanese itself does not force plural in the same way English does.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Because 渡します is non-past polite form, it can express:

• a future action: I will hand the materials to my colleague before the meeting starts
• a habitual action: I hand the materials to my colleague before meetings start or before the meeting starts in a repeated situation

Japanese non-past forms often cover both present/habitual and future meanings. Context tells you which one is intended.