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SPANISH VERB

comenzar

to begin

  • #112 most used
  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: comenzando
  • Past participle: comenzado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I begin
  2. tú you begin
  3. usted, él, ella he/she begins
  4. nosotros we begin
  5. vosotros Spain you all begin
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they begin

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I began
  2. tú you began
  3. usted, él, ella he/she began
  4. nosotros we began
  5. vosotros Spain you all began
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they began

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to begin
  2. tú you used to begin
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to begin
  4. nosotros we used to begin
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to begin
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to begin

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will begin
  2. tú you will begin
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will begin
  4. nosotros we will begin
  5. vosotros Spain you all will begin
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will begin

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would begin
  2. tú you would begin
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would begin
  4. nosotros we would begin
  5. vosotros Spain you all would begin
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would begin

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I begin
  2. tú (that) you begin
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she begin
  4. nosotros (that) we begin
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all begin
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they begin

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I began
  2. tú (if) you began
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she began
  4. nosotros (if) we began
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all began
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they began

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú begin!
  2. usted begin! (formal)
  3. nosotros begin! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain begin! (all of you)
  5. ustedes begin! (all of you)

How to use comenzar

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

  1. Present

    La película comienza en diez minutos.

    The movie starts in ten minutes.

  2. Past

    Comencé a estudiar español el año pasado.

    I began studying Spanish last year.

  3. Imperfect

    Las clases comenzaban a las siete de la mañana.

    Classes used to start at seven in the morning.

  4. Future

    El concierto comenzará cuando deje de llover.

    The concert will begin when it stops raining.

  5. Conditional

    Yo comenzaría por la sopa, está muy buena.

    I'd start with the soup, it's very good.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Siéntate antes de que comience la reunión.

    Sit down before the meeting begins.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Llegamos antes de que comenzara el partido.

    We arrived before the game started.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Comienza tú, yo todavía estoy pensando!

    You start, I'm still thinking!

Good to know

  • "Comenzar a" plus a verb is to start doing it; "empezar" is the more common word.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ar verb.