What does comenzar mean in English?

Comenzar means "to begin" in English.

How do you conjugate comenzar in Spanish?

Comenzar is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with comenzar?

Common idiomatic expressions using comenzar include: "comenzar de cero" (to start from scratch), "para comenzar" (to begin with / first of all). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using comenzar?

Comenzar is a stem-changing verb: e→ie (comienzo, comienzas)

How do you use comenzar in a sentence?

Example: "La película comienza a las ocho." which means "The movie begins at eight." in English.

What are synonyms for comenzar?

Spanish synonyms for comenzar include: empezar, iniciar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Comenzar

to begin

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

comenzar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

comenzando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

comenzado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comienzo I begin	I begin
tú	comienzas you begin	you begin
él/ella/usted	comienza he/she/you begins	he/she/you begins
nosotros	comenzamos we begin	we begin
vosotros	comenzáis you all begin	you all begin
ellos/ustedes	comienzan they/you all begin	they/you all begin

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comenzaba I used to begin	I used to begin
tú	comenzabas you used to begin	you used to begin
él/ella/usted	comenzaba he/she/you used to begin	he/she/you used to begin
nosotros	comenzábamos we used to begin	we used to begin
vosotros	comenzabais you all used to begin	you all used to begin
ellos/ustedes	comenzaban they/you all used to begin	they/you all used to begin

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comenzé I begun	I begun
tú	comenzaste you begun	you begun
él/ella/usted	comenzó he/she/you begun	he/she/you begun
nosotros	comenzamos we begun	we begun
vosotros	comenzasteis you all begun	you all begun
ellos/ustedes	comenzaron they/you all begun	they/you all begun

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comenzaré I will begin	I will begin
tú	comenzarás you will begin	you will begin
él/ella/usted	comenzará he/she/you will begin	he/she/you will begin
nosotros	comenzaremos we will begin	we will begin
vosotros	comenzaréis you all will begin	you all will begin
ellos/ustedes	comenzarán they/you all will begin	they/you all will begin

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comenzaría I would begin	I would begin
tú	comenzarías you would begin	you would begin
él/ella/usted	comenzaría he/she/you would begin	he/she/you would begin
nosotros	comenzaríamos we would begin	we would begin
vosotros	comenzaríais you all would begin	you all would begin
ellos/ustedes	comenzarían they/you all would begin	they/you all would begin

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comience that I begin	that I begin
tú	comiences that you begin	that you begin
él/ella/usted	comience that he/she/you begin	that he/she/you begin
nosotros	comencemos that we begin	that we begin
vosotros	comencéis that you all begin	that you all begin
ellos/ustedes	comiencen that they/you all begin	that they/you all begin

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	comenzara or comenzase that I begun	that I begun
tú	comenzaras or comenzases that you begun	that you begun
él/ella/usted	comenzara or comenzase that he/she/you begun	that he/she/you begun
nosotros	comenzáramos or comenzásemos that we begun	that we begun
vosotros	comenzarais or comenzaseis that you all begun	that you all begun
ellos/ustedes	comenzaran or comenzasen that they/you all begun	that they/you all begun

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he comenzado I have begun	I have begun
tú	has comenzado you have begun	you have begun
él/ella/usted	ha comenzado he/she/you have begun	he/she/you have begun
nosotros	hemos comenzado we have begun	we have begun
vosotros	habéis comenzado you all have begun	you all have begun
ellos/ustedes	han comenzado they/you all have begun	they/you all have begun

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había comenzado I had begun	I had begun
tú	habías comenzado you had begun	you had begun
él/ella/usted	había comenzado he/she/you had begun	he/she/you had begun
nosotros	habíamos comenzado we had begun	we had begun
vosotros	habíais comenzado you all had begun	you all had begun
ellos/ustedes	habían comenzado they/you all had begun	they/you all had begun

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube comenzado I had begun	I had begun
tú	hubiste comenzado you had begun	you had begun
él/ella/usted	hubo comenzado he/she/you had begun	he/she/you had begun
nosotros	hubimos comenzado we had begun	we had begun
vosotros	hubisteis comenzado you all had begun	you all had begun
ellos/ustedes	hubieron comenzado they/you all had begun	they/you all had begun

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré comenzado I will have begun	I will have begun
tú	habrás comenzado you will have begun	you will have begun
él/ella/usted	habrá comenzado he/she/you will have begun	he/she/you will have begun
nosotros	habremos comenzado we will have begun	we will have begun
vosotros	habréis comenzado you all will have begun	you all will have begun
ellos/ustedes	habrán comenzado they/you all will have begun	they/you all will have begun

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría comenzado I would have begun	I would have begun
tú	habrías comenzado you would have begun	you would have begun
él/ella/usted	habría comenzado he/she/you would have begun	he/she/you would have begun
nosotros	habríamos comenzado we would have begun	we would have begun
vosotros	habríais comenzado you all would have begun	you all would have begun
ellos/ustedes	habrían comenzado they/you all would have begun	they/you all would have begun

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya comenzado that I have begun	that I have begun
tú	hayas comenzado that you have begun	that you have begun
él/ella/usted	haya comenzado that he/she/you have begun	that he/she/you have begun
nosotros	hayamos comenzado that we have begun	that we have begun
vosotros	hayáis comenzado that you all have begun	that you all have begun
ellos/ustedes	hayan comenzado that they/you all have begun	that they/you all have begun

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera comenzado that I had begun	that I had begun
tú	hubieras comenzado that you had begun	that you had begun
él/ella/usted	hubiera comenzado that he/she/you had begun	that he/she/you had begun
nosotros	hubiéramos comenzado that we had begun	that we had begun
vosotros	hubierais comenzado that you all had begun	that you all had begun
ellos/ustedes	hubieran comenzado that they/you all had begun	that they/you all had begun

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	comenza	begin! (you)
usted	comenze	begin! (you formal)
nosotros	comenzemos	let's begin!
vosotros	comenzad	begin! (you all)
ustedes	comenzen	begin! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no comenzes	don't begin! (you)
usted	no comenze	don't begin! (you formal)
nosotros	no comenzemos	let's not begin!
vosotros	no comenzéis	don't begin! (you all)
ustedes	no comenzen	don't begin! (you all)

More About "comenzar"

Idiomatic Expressions

comenzar de cero

to start from scratch

💡 Beginning again with nothing

para comenzar

to begin with / first of all

💡 Introducing the first point

Examples in Context

La película comienza a las ocho.

The movie begins at eight.

Present

Comenzamos el trabajo esta mañana.

We started the work this morning.

Preterite

Ha comenzado a llover.

It has started to rain.

Present Perfect

Comenzaré mañana sin falta.

I will start tomorrow without fail.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

empezar(to begin, start)

Completely interchangeable

iniciar(to initiate, start)

More formal

Antonyms:

terminar(to finish)

acabar(to end)

Usage Notes

•Comenzar is a stem-changing verb: e→ie (comienzo, comienzas)
•Spelling change in preterite first person: comencé (z→c before e)
•Completely interchangeable with "empezar"
•Often followed by "a" + infinitive: comenzar a trabajar
•Present subjunctive: comience (with z→c spelling change)

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Comenzar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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