La votación empieza ahora.

The voting starts now.

Breakdown of La votación empieza ahora.

• ahora: now
• empezar: to start
• la votación: the vote

Questions & Answers about La votación empieza ahora.

Why is it la votación and not just votación?

In Spanish, abstract or specific events are often used with the definite article, so la votación is the natural way to say the vote / the voting.

In this sentence, it refers to a specific voting process that everyone knows about, so la is expected.

• La votación empieza ahora. = The voting starts now.

If you remove la, it sounds incomplete or unnatural in most normal contexts.

Why is votación feminine?

Votación is feminine because nouns ending in -ción are almost always feminine in Spanish.

So you get:

• la votación
• una votación
• esta votación

This is a very useful pattern to remember:

• la nación
• la canción
• la información
• la decisión

What exactly does votación mean here?

Votación means voting, the vote, or the voting process, depending on context.

It comes from the verb votar = to vote.

So:

• votar = to vote
• la votación = the vote / the voting

In this sentence, la votación empieza ahora most naturally means that the process of voting is beginning now.