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SPANISH VERB

iniciar

to begin, to start up

  • #164 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: iniciando
  • Past participle: iniciado

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 iniciar

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

  1. Present

    El curso inicia la próxima semana.

    The course starts next week.

  2. Past

    Inicié sesión, pero la página no cargó.

    I logged in, but the page didn't load.

  3. Imperfect

    La clase iniciaba siempre con una canción.

    The class always used to start with a song.

  4. Future

    El tren iniciará su recorrido a las seis.

    The train will begin its route at six.

  5. Conditional

    Yo iniciaría el proyecto con un equipo pequeño.

    I'd start the project with a small team.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Apaga el teléfono antes de que inicie la función.

    Turn off your phone before the show starts.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Esperamos a que iniciara la película para entrar.

    We waited for the movie to start to go in.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Inicia el coche, que ya vamos tarde!

    Start the car, we're already late!

Good to know

  • "Iniciar sesión" is to log in. "Iniciar" is more formal than "empezar".

Verbs like this one

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