El almuerzo empieza en un minuto.

Question

[Title's sentence] Is this really how would spanish say that?

Can i say "El almuerzo es / será en un minuto?"

Which is most natural and which is not correct?

Thanks for responses.

Answer 1

The more natural way will depend on the region. I'd probably say "El almuerzo va a empezar en un minuto" but "El almuerzo empieza en un minuto" sounds natural to me. I'm from Argentina.

"El almuerzo es en un minuto" also is fine. This is implying a sense of urgency, like "you've got to get there right now!". Again, all this may be regional.

empieza or va a empezar is perfect. - polenta1, Jul 18, 2017

Answer 2

Hello Daniel,

You asked:

El almuerzo empieza en un minuto. [Title's sentence] Is this really how would spanish say that? Can i say "El almuerzo es / será en un minuto?"Which is most natural and which is not correct? Thanks for responses

It sounds better /more natural in English to say: "Is this really how the Spanish would say this?

I am not a native Spanish speaker but just an experienced student of Spanish and I would say: El almuerzo va a estar listo en un minuto = Lunch will be ready in a minute.

You can also say: El almuerzo comienza / va a comenzar en un minuto.

I would not use the verb ser at all in your sentence/ this context! I stand corrected about the use of ser ...please see Guillermo's thread

It is true that será is the future indicative of ser in this semtence but the near /immediate future would be more likely to be used here as the event/activity refers to something that is just about to happen ie: lunch.

The future indicative is more often used to talk about something that will take place at some unspecified, indefinite or uncertain time in the future eg in 3 months time, or next year!

Corrijan mi español si es necesario, por favor

..listo en un minuto." - 00fac92a, Jul 18, 2017

Muchas gracias por tu corrección, Guillermo :) - FELIZ77, Jul 18, 2017

Ken, while you are correct about the use of the verb ser for lovation, there is no specific mention of a location here! While some people Night assume that it is in the kitchen, others might disagree and say the garden but it does not mention where the - FELIZ77, Jul 18, 2017

lunch will take place: only the time: in a minute! :) - FELIZ77, Jul 18, 2017

Correction above: location - FELIZ77, Jul 18, 2017

Feliz: I deleted my comment above but I thought better of it because it sort of ruins the flow of the comments you made afterwards, so I will copy it below and explain myself. :) - DilKen, Jul 18, 2017

Feliz: As Guillermo pointed out, ser is OK here. I think of it as the rule to use ser for the location of an event. Probably applies to the time of an event as well, since ser is used with time. I think ser is OK, even if not the most common. - DilKen, Jul 18, 2017

I didn't say that a location was mentioned. I went on to explain the use of ser for time, which is present in the sentence "es en un minuto" It is in one minute. - DilKen, Jul 18, 2017

When I say "I think of it as" I am only attempting to explain how I try to remember certain things, in the hope that it might be helpful to someone. If my "little tips" are not helpful to you, please ignore them or tell me how you try to remember things. - DilKen, Jul 18, 2017

...differently, in which case I can learn from you...we can all learn from each other. OK amigo? ") - DilKen, Jul 18, 2017

And now that I think about it the "event" aspect that I mentioned before may not even apply to a informal family lunch, which this could be. An "event" is probably better defined as something with a ticket or an invitation. - DilKen, Jul 18, 2017