El verbo to begin puede traducirse como empezar, comenzar o iniciar. Es un verbo irregular: su forma en el pasado es began y su participio pasado es begun.
- Una actividad o un evento puede comenzar. Por ejemplo, "The class begins at eight" puede traducirse como "La clase comienza a las ocho".
- Podemos usarlo cuando una acción empieza. Por ejemplo, "It began to rain" puede traducirse como "Empezó a llover".
- Con los tiempos perfectos usamos begun. Por ejemplo, "The meeting has begun" puede traducirse como "La reunión ha comenzado".
Después de begin, podemos usar un verbo terminado en -ing o un infinitivo con to. Por ejemplo, "It began raining" y "It began to rain" pueden traducirse como "Empezó a llover".
Begin y start muchas veces tienen el mismo significado. Sin embargo, para hablar de encender o arrancar una máquina o un vehículo, normalmente usamos start: "Start the car", no "Begin the car".
Recuerda estas tres formas: begin /bɪˈɡɪn/, began /bɪˈɡæn/ y begun /bɪˈɡʌn/. La forma beginning se escribe con dos letras n.
Simple Tense
Simple Present Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I begin | We begin |
| 2ª | You begin | You begin |
| 3ª | He/She/It begins | They begin |
Begin: /bɪˈɡɪn/, begins: /bɪˈɡɪnz/
Simple Past Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I began | We began |
| 2ª | You began | You began |
| 3ª | He/She/It began | They began |
Began: /bɪˈɡæn/
Simple Future Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will begin | We will begin |
| 2ª | You will begin | You will begin |
| 3ª | He/She/It will begin | They will begin |
Will begin: /wɪl bɪˈɡɪn/
Continuous Tense
Present Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I am beginning | We are beginning |
| 2ª | You are beginning | You are beginning |
| 3ª | He/She/It is beginning | They are beginning |
Beginning: /bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/
Past Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I was beginning | We were beginning |
| 2ª | You were beginning | You were beginning |
| 3ª | He/She/It was beginning | They were beginning |
Was beginning: /wəz bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/, Were beginning: /wɜr bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/
Future Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will be beginning | We will be beginning |
| 2ª | You will be beginning | You will be beginning |
| 3ª | He/She/It will be beginning | They will be beginning |
Will be beginning: /wɪl bi bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/
Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I have begun | We have begun |
| 2ª | You have begun | You have begun |
| 3ª | He/She/It has begun | They have begun |
Have begun: /hæv bɪˈɡʌn/, Has begun: /hæz bɪˈɡʌn/
Past Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I had begun | We had begun |
| 2ª | You had begun | You had begun |
| 3ª | He/She/It had begun | They had begun |
Had begun: /hæd bɪˈɡʌn/
Future Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will have begun | We will have begun |
| 2ª | You will have begun | You will have begun |
| 3ª | He/She/It will have begun | They will have begun |
Will have begun: /wɪl hæv bɪˈɡʌn/
