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ITALIAN VERB

cominciare

to begin, to start

  • #53 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: cominciato
  • Gerund: cominciando

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I begin
  2. tu you begin
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she begins
  4. noi we begin
  5. voi you all begin
  6. loro they begin

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I began
  2. tu you began
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she began
  4. noi we began
  5. voi you all began
  6. loro they began

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to begin
  2. tu you used to begin
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to begin
  4. noi we used to begin
  5. voi you all used to begin
  6. loro they used to begin

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will begin
  2. tu you will begin
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will begin
  4. noi we will begin
  5. voi you all will begin
  6. loro they will begin

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would begin
  2. tu you would begin
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would begin
  4. noi we would begin
  5. voi you all would begin
  6. loro they would begin

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I begin
  2. tu (that) you begin
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she begin
  4. noi (that) we begin
  5. voi (that) you all begin
  6. loro (that) they begin

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu begin!
  2. Lei begin! (formal)
  3. noi begin! (let’s)
  4. voi begin! (all of you)

How to use cominciare

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    La lezione comincia alle dieci.

    The class starts at ten.

  2. Past

    Ho cominciato a lavorare a diciotto anni.

    I started working at eighteen.

  3. Imperfect

    Cominciavo sempre la giornata con una corsa.

    I always began the day with a run.

  4. Future

    Comincerò la dieta lunedì, promesso.

    I'll start the diet on Monday, promise.

  5. Conditional

    Comincerei dal bagno, è il lavoro più lungo.

    I'd start with the bathroom, it's the longest job.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È ora che cominci a studiare sul serio.

    It's time you started studying seriously.

  7. Imperative

    Comincia pure senza di me.

    Go ahead and start without me.

Good to know

  • Cominciare a + infinitive: comincio a capire. Iniziare means the same.
  • With essere when something begins, il film è cominciato; with avere when you begin something, ho cominciato il libro.

Where you hear cominciare

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Advanced Level 1

  • I lavori cominciano lunedì. The work starts on Monday.
  • Ho cominciato un libro nuovo. I've started a new book.
  • Cominceremo in primavera. We'll start in spring.

Italian · Advanced Level 2

  • I lavori cominciano lunedì. The work starts on Monday.
  • Ho cominciato un libro nuovo. I've started a new book.
  • Cominceremo in primavera. We'll start in spring.
28
The First Workers

Advanced Level 1 · Allora, i lavori cominciano lunedì?

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Writing a Leaflet

Advanced Level 2 · Allora, come cominciamo il volantino?

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Preparing the Speech

Advanced Level 2 · Comincerei con la storia della casa.

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The Health Inspector

Advanced Level 3 · Prego. Da dove cominciamo?

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Three Hundred Loaves

Advanced Level 3 · Allora cominciamo venerdì mattina.

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Proverbs at Gino's

Fluency Level 2 · Volentieri. Un caffè, e cominciamo.

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Nonna Tells the Children

Fluency Level 3 · Zitti tutti. Adesso comincia la storia.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -are verb.