La reunión empieza en un minuto.

The meeting starts in one minute.

Breakdown of La reunión empieza en un minuto.

• en: in
• la reunión: the meeting
• empezar: to start
• el minuto: the minute

Questions & Answers about La reunión empieza en un minuto.

Why is the present tense used to talk about a future event?

Spanish often uses the present indicative for near-future, scheduled events. La reunión empieza en un minuto is as natural as English The meeting starts in a minute. Alternatives:

• La reunión va a empezar en un minuto: planned/near future.
• La reunión empezará en un minuto: more formal or predictive; also common in announcements.
  All three are correct; the present feels immediate and matter-of-fact.

Should I say en un minuto or dentro de un minuto?

Both are correct and mean in one minute (from now). En un minuto is short and common; dentro de un minuto slightly emphasizes the idea of within/from now. In rapid speech, en un minuto is very typical.

Why is it en with a duration but a with clock times?

• Use en with durations: en cinco minutos, en una hora.
• Use a with clock times: a la una, a las cinco.
  So you’d say La reunión empieza en cinco minutos, but La reunión empieza a las cinco.

Does en un minuto mean exactly 60 seconds?