Sastanak počinje za deset minuta, a moj autobus ove nedelje često kasni.

The meeting starts in ten minutes, and this week my bus is often late.

Breakdown of Sastanak počinje za deset minuta, a moj autobus ove nedelje često kasni.

• moj: my
• a: and
• autobus: bus
• ovaj: this

Questions & Answers about Sastanak počinje za deset minuta, a moj autobus ove nedelje često kasni.

Why is počinje in the present tense if the meeting starts in the future?

In Serbian, the present tense is very often used for a scheduled or expected future event, especially when the time is already clear from context.

So:

Sastanak počinje za deset minuta
literally uses a present form, but it means The meeting starts in ten minutes.

This is very natural in Serbian, just like in English when you say The meeting starts in ten minutes instead of The meeting will start in ten minutes.

A future form like će početi is also possible, but počinje sounds very normal for timetabled or imminent events.

What exactly does za deset minuta mean, and why is za used?

Za deset minuta means in ten minutes.

Here, za is used to show that something will happen after a certain amount of time has passed.

So:

• za deset minuta = in ten minutes
• za sat vremena = in an hour
• za dva dana = in two days

This is different from talking about duration:

• deset minuta = ten minutes as a length of time
• za deset minuta = in ten minutes, after ten minutes from now

Why is it deset minuta after ?