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Sono in anticipo: la lezione inizia fra venti minuti.

Sono in anticipo: la lezione inizia fra venti minuti.
I am early: the lesson starts in twenty minutes.
From Lesson 82:Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Sono in anticipo: la lezione inizia fra venti minuti.

Why does it say in anticipo instead of using a word like presto for early?
In Italian, describing a person or thing arriving ahead of schedule uses the phrase essere in anticipo (literally 'to be in advance'). You can't use presto here, because presto is an adverb that means 'early in the day' (like waking up early) or 'soon'.
Why is 'in twenty minutes' translated with fra instead of in?
When talking about how much time will pass before a future event happens, Italian uses fra (or tra). If you said in venti minuti, it would mean it takes exactly twenty minutes to complete the lesson, rather than starting twenty minutes from now.
Could I use tra instead of fra here?
Yes! Fra and tra mean exactly the same thing. Italians usually pick whichever one sounds better with the words around it to avoid repeating sounds. Both fra venti minuti and tra venti minuti are perfectly correct.
Why use the present tense inizia if the lesson hasn't started yet?
Just like in English ('the lesson starts'), Italian often uses the present tense for scheduled events in the near future. You could technically use the future tense here (inizierà), but the present tense is very common and sounds completely natural for a set schedule.

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