Van a planear la reunión.

Van a + infinitive is a very common way to talk about the near future in Spanish, similar to are going to plan in English.

• Van a planear la reunión = They are going to plan the meeting
• Planean la reunión usually means They plan the meeting or They are planning the meeting, depending on context.

So van a planear focuses more clearly on a future action.

Van is the ellos/ellas/ustedes form of the verb ir (to go).

In this sentence, ir is not being used with its literal meaning of movement. Instead, it is part of the future structure:

• ir + a + infinitive

So:

• van = they/you all go
• but van a planear = they/you all are going to plan

The a is required in the structure:

• ir + a + infinitive

Examples:

• Voy a comer = I am going to eat
• Vamos a salir = We are going to leave
• Van a planear = They are going to plan

You cannot normally leave out this a in this construction.

Because after ir + a, Spanish uses the infinitive of the main verb.

So the pattern is:

• van a + planear
• not van a planean
• not van a planeando

This is similar to English are going to plan, where plan stays in its base form.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Van is used for:

• ellos = they (masculine or mixed group)
• ellas = they (feminine group)
• ustedes = you all

So Van a planear la reunión could mean:

• They are going to plan the meeting
• You all are going to plan the meeting

In Spain, everyday informal you all is usually vosotros, so many learners will most often read van as they unless the context suggests ustedes.

Reunión is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la.

• el = masculine singular
• la = feminine singular

So:

• la reunión = the meeting

You need the article here because Spanish often uses articles where English also does, and reunión is a countable noun referring to a specific meeting or to the meeting in context.

Reunión has a written accent because of Spanish stress rules.

The word is pronounced with the stress on the last syllable:

• reu-nión

Without the accent, the natural stress pattern would be different. The accent mark shows the correct pronunciation.

Also, the ending -ión is very common in Spanish nouns:

• nación
• decisión
• información
• reunión

Planear is correct and understood in Spain. It means to plan.

That said, depending on context, Spanish speakers might also say:

• organizar la reunión = to organize the meeting
• preparar la reunión = to prepare the meeting

These are not exact replacements in every situation, but they are often used in similar contexts. Planear is perfectly fine grammatically.

Yes. Planear can also mean to glide or to soar, especially in other contexts.

For example:

• El águila planea = The eagle glides

But in Van a planear la reunión, the meaning is clearly to plan, because the object is la reunión.

Yes, that is a natural sentence, but it means something slightly different.

• Van a planear la reunión = they are going to plan the meeting
• Van a organizar la reunión = they are going to organize the meeting

Planear focuses on making plans.
Organizar often suggests arranging or managing the practical details.

Sometimes the difference is small, but they are not always identical.

Grammatically, van is present tense, but the whole expression van a planear refers to the future.

This is called the periphrastic future in Spanish:

• present form of ir
• plus a
• plus infinitive

So even though part of it is present tense, the meaning is future:

• They are going to plan the meeting

Yes. You could also say:

• Planearán la reunión

This means They will plan the meeting.

Both are correct, but there can be a slight difference in tone:

• Van a planear often sounds more immediate or conversational
• Planearán can sound a bit more formal, neutral, or less immediate

In everyday speech, ir a + infinitive is extremely common.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb form already gives enough information.

• Van already tells you the subject is ellos/ellas/ustedes

So instead of saying:

• Ellos van a planear la reunión

Spanish very often just says:

• Van a planear la reunión

The pronoun is usually only added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

You would change van to vamos:

• Vamos a planear la reunión = We are going to plan the meeting

The pattern stays the same:

• ir + a + infinitive

Examples:

• Voy a planear = I am going to plan
• Vas a planear = you are going to plan
• Va a planear = he/she is going to plan
• Vamos a planear = we are going to plan
• Van a planear = they/you all are going to plan

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• pla-ne-AR

And the full sentence sounds roughly like:

• bahn ah pla-neh-AR lah reh-oo-nee-ON

A few notes:

• v and b sound very similar in Spanish
• the stress in planear falls on the last syllable: -ar
• the stress in reunión also falls on the last syllable: -ón

So the rhythm is:

• Van a planear la reunión