Sortean un premio hoy.

Because Spanish often uses the third-person plural with an unspecified subject.

So sortean un premio hoy can mean something like:

• They’re raffling off a prize today
• A prize is being raffled off today
• They draw a prize today, where they means people/the organizers/the company, etc.

The subject is understood from context and does not need to be stated.

Sortean is the present indicative of sortear.

It is the ellos/ellas/ustedes form:

• yo sorteo
• tú sorteas
• él/ella sortea
• nosotros sorteamos
• vosotros sorteáis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes sortean

In this sentence, the present tense is being used for something happening today, so in English it may be translated as either a simple present or a present continuous, depending on context.

Spanish often uses the simple present where English would naturally use the present continuous.

So sortean un premio hoy can sound very natural in Spanish, even if English might prefer:

• They’re raffling off a prize today

Using están sorteando is also possible, but it puts more emphasis on the action being in progress right now.

Compare:

• Sortean un premio hoy = they are raffling off a prize today / today is the day of the raffle
• Están sorteando un premio ahora = they are raffling off a prize right now

Here, sortear means to raffle off, to draw by lot, or to award by a random draw.

So un premio is not just any prize in general — it is a prize that is being given through some kind of random selection.

In other contexts, sortear can also mean other things, such as to draw lots or even to overcome/avoid an obstacle, but in this sentence the raffle/draw meaning is the relevant one.

Un premio means a prize, so it introduces the prize as new or unspecified information.

If you said el premio, it would usually mean the prize, referring to a specific prize already known from context.

Compare:

• Sortean un premio hoy = They’re raffling off a prize today
• Sortean el premio hoy = They’re drawing/awarding the prize today

So un is the normal choice if you are just announcing that there will be some prize.

Yes, hoy can move.

Spanish word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions like hoy.

All of these are possible:

• Sortean un premio hoy
• Hoy sortean un premio
• Un premio sortean hoy — grammatically possible, but much less natural in normal speech

The most natural versions are usually:

• Sortean un premio hoy
• Hoy sortean un premio

Putting hoy first often gives a bit more emphasis to today.

Yes, the hidden subject would be ellos or a general they, but Spanish usually drops subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

So:

• Sortean un premio hoy = normal
• Ellos sortean un premio hoy = possible, but more emphatic

You would normally include ellos only if you want to contrast them with someone else, for example:

• Nosotros no; ellos sortean un premio hoy

In standard Spanish from Spain, sortean is pronounced as sor-TE-an.

It has three syllables:

• sor
• te
• an

The stress falls on te because it is a regular verb form ending in -an.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• sor-TEH-an

The r is tapped lightly, and the vowels are pronounced clearly.

Because of hoy, the sentence is understood as something happening today, not as a general habit.

Without hoy, sortean un premio could mean:

• They raffle off a prize
• They raffle off prizes in some repeated or habitual context, depending on the situation

But once you add hoy, the sentence points to a specific time: today.

Yes, it is natural and understandable, especially in announcements, promotions, or informal reporting.

That said, in everyday Spanish from Spain, you might also hear:

• Hoy sortean un premio
• Hoy hacen un sorteo
• Hoy rifan un premio — depending on region and context

Sortear is perfectly standard, and in Spain it is very commonly used for draws, raffles, and lotteries.

They are similar, but not always identical.

• Sortear = to draw by lot / to raffle off / to award randomly
• Rifar = to raffle, often with the idea of selling raffle tickets

In many everyday contexts they can overlap, but sortear is often the broader and more neutral term.

So sortean un premio hoy sounds like a general statement that a prize will be decided by chance today, while rifan un premio hoy may sound more specifically like a raffle.