Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Ellos van a participar en el festival de cine. - They are going to participate in the film festival.

Yes. In Spanish the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, ella, ellos, etc.) is often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Ellos van a participar… = Van a participar…
Both mean They are going to participate…

You keep ellos when you want to:

Emphasize they (as opposed to someone else):
- Ellos van a participar, no nosotros.
Clarify who you’re talking about when the context is unclear.

What exactly does van mean here, and why isn’t it van a one word?

Van is the present tense, third person plural form of the verb ir (to go).

ir (to go)
- yo voy
- tú vas
- él/ella/usted va
- nosotros vamos
- ustedes/ellos/ellas van

In van a participar, we have:

van = they go / they are going
a = the preposition to
participar = to participate (infinitive)

Together ir + a + infinitive expresses a future action, like English “be going to + verb.”

Why do we say van a participar instead of participarán?

Both are grammatically correct and refer to the future, but there’s a nuance:

Ellos van a participar en el festival de cine.
- Very common in spoken Spanish.
- Often used for plans, intentions, or things that are already decided.
- Similar to English “They’re going to participate …”
Ellos participarán en el festival de cine.
- Simple future tense.
- A bit more formal or neutral; can sound more like a prediction or a statement of fact.
- Similar to “They will participate …”

In everyday Latin American Spanish, ir a + infinitive (van a participar) is more frequent in conversation.

Why is participar in the infinitive form and not conjugated, like participan?

Because it’s part of the ir a + infinitive future structure:

ir (conjugated) + a + infinitive

Examples:

Ellos van a participar – They are going to participate.
Nosotros vamos a comer – We are going to eat.

If you conjugate participar instead, you change the grammar and the meaning:

Ellos participan en el festival de cine.
- Present tense: They participate / They take part (habitually or as a scheduled fact).
Ellos van a participan ❌ – This is incorrect; you can’t conjugate both verbs here.

Could I just say Ellos participan en el festival de cine to talk about a future event?

Yes, in some contexts. Spanish present tense can be used for near future events, especially when they’re scheduled:

Ellos participan en el festival de cine mañana.
= They’re participating in the film festival tomorrow.

However:

van a participar puts more focus on the plan/intention or future action.
participan can sound either habitual (they usually participate) or refer to a scheduled future, depending on context and time expressions (like mañana, este año).

If you clearly want a “be going to” feeling, van a participar is the safest choice.

What is the function of a in van a participar?

Here a is the preposition that connects ir with another verb in the infinitive:

ir + a + infinitive = to be going to + verb

Examples:

Voy a estudiar. – I’m going to study.
Vamos a viajar. – We’re going to travel.

Without a, the structure would be wrong:

Van participar ❌
Van a participar ✅

Why do we use en in participar en el festival, and not a?

The verb participar normally takes the preposition en:

participar en algo = to participate in something

So you say:

participar en el festival – participate in the festival
participar en un concurso – participate in a contest

Using a here would be incorrect in standard Spanish:

participar a el festival ❌
participar en el festival ✅

Could I say al festival de cine instead of en el festival de cine?

Not with participar. The preposition needed is en:

participar en el festival ✅

Al = a + el (to the). You use a / al with verbs that naturally take a, for example:

Voy al festival de cine. – I’m going to the film festival.

So:

Voy al festival de cine. ✅
Participo en el festival de cine. ✅

Why do we say el festival and not just festival, since in English we don’t say “the festival” every time?

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) more frequently than English. With specific events, it’s very common to include the article:

Ellos van a participar en el festival de cine.
= They’re going to participate in the film festival (a specific one).

Leaving out the article:

…en festival de cine ❌ sounds wrong in standard Spanish in this sentence.

You would normally drop the article only in certain fixed expressions or titles, not in a sentence like this.

Why is it el festival and not la festival?

Because festival is a masculine noun in Spanish. Its article is therefore el:

el festival – the festival
un festival – a festival

There is no rule from the ending alone that always tells you gender, but many nouns ending in -al are masculine (el hospital, el animal, el carnaval). You generally need to learn the gender with the noun.

Plural:

los festivales de cine – film festivals

What does de do in festival de cine?

De is linking two nouns in a “Noun + de + Noun” structure, which often corresponds to a compound noun or an X festival type phrase in English:

festival de cine – film festival (festival of cinema)
festival de música – music festival
clase de español – Spanish class

So de here is like saying “of”, but the whole phrase translates more naturally as “film festival.”

Why is it festival de cine and not festival del cine?

Both can exist, but the nuance is slightly different:

festival de cine (most common)
- general: a film festival, a festival of cinema in general.
festival del cine
- more specific: a festival of the cinema (for example, tied to a particular institution, era, or style). It sounds more formal/specific and is less common as a generic name.

In everyday use, for a typical film festival, festival de cine is the normal, neutral way to say it.

Is there any difference between Ellos van a participar and Ellas van a participar?

Yes, it’s about gender:

Ellos
- Group of only males, or a mixed group (males and females).
Ellas
- Group of only females.

So:

Ellos van a participar en el festival de cine.
- They (men or mixed group) are going to participate…
Ellas van a participar en el festival de cine.
- They (only women) are going to participate…

The verb form van is the same for ellos and ellas.

How would this sentence change with other subjects, like yo, nosotros, or ustedes?

You only change the subject pronoun and the form of ir; a participar en el festival de cine stays the same:

Yo voy a participar en el festival de cine.
I am going to participate in the film festival.
Tú vas a participar en el festival de cine.
You (informal singular) are going to participate in the film festival.
Él/Ella va a participar en el festival de cine.
He/She is going to participate in the film festival.
Nosotros vamos a participar en el festival de cine.
We are going to participate in the film festival.
Ustedes van a participar en el festival de cine.
You (plural) are going to participate in the film festival.

In most of Latin America, ustedes is used for you all (both formal and informal).

How would I say this formally to one person: “You are going to participate in the film festival”?

Use usted, the formal you:

Usted va a participar en el festival de cine.

Here va (third person singular) is used with usted, even though it means you. That’s how formal usted works in Spanish grammar.

Where can I put time expressions like mañana or este año in this sentence?

Time expressions are flexible in Spanish. Common options:

Mañana ellos van a participar en el festival de cine.
Ellos van a participar mañana en el festival de cine.
Ellos van a participar en el festival de cine mañana.

All are correct.

Typical patterns:

[Time] + subject + verb + rest
subject + verb + [Time]
- rest
subject + verb + rest + [Time]

Choose the one that sounds most natural to you; Spanish allows this word order flexibility.

How is cine different from película?

They’re related but not the same:

cine
- cinema as an art form: Me gusta el cine. – I like cinema.
- also the movie theater: Vamos al cine. – Let’s go to the movies.
película
- a specific film/movie: Esa película es muy buena. – That movie is very good.

So festival de cine is film festival / cinema festival, not festival de películas. The focus is on cinema as a whole, not on one specific movie.

How do you pronounce cine and festival in Latin American Spanish?

Approximate pronunciation (Latin American):

cine → SEE-neh
- ci = "see"
- ne = "neh"
festival → feh-stee-VAL
- Stress on the last syllable -val.

Key points:

In Latin America, c before i/e (like in cine) sounds like s, not like English th.
The letter v is pronounced very similarly to b in Spanish; van sounds close to ban in English (but with Spanish vowels).

Can I say festival de películas instead of festival de cine?

You can say festival de películas, and people will understand: it literally means festival of movies.

However, as a standard term, festival de cine is much more common and idiomatic for “film festival.”

festival de cine – usual, natural expression.
festival de películas – understandable, but less standard and might sound a bit off as a name.