Conjugations
Present Presente
Habits, current states, and general facts.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empiezo | |
| tú | empiezas | |
| él / ella / usted | empieza | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empezamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empezáis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empiezan |
Preterite Pretérito perfecto simple
Actions viewed as completed events in the past.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empecé | |
| tú | empezaste | |
| él / ella / usted | empezó | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empezamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empezasteis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empezaron |
Imperfect Pretérito imperfecto
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empezaba | |
| tú | empezabas | |
| él / ella / usted | empezaba | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empezábamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empezabais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empezaban |
Future Futuro simple
Future events; also used to express a guess about the present.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empezaré | |
| tú | empezarás | |
| él / ella / usted | empezará | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empezaremos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empezaréis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empezarán |
Conditional Condicional simple
Hypothetical events and some polite requests.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empezaría | |
| tú | empezarías | |
| él / ella / usted | empezaría | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empezaríamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empezaríais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empezarían |
Present subjunctive Presente de subjuntivo
Used in certain clauses expressing wishes, doubt, feelings, and other non-asserted situations.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empiece | |
| tú | empieces | |
| él / ella / usted | empiece | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empecemos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empecéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empiecen |
Use ustedes for plural “you” in Latin America. Its verb form matches ellos / ellas. Vos forms are not included. Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback.
Meaning & usage
- to start, begin, to get started
- to start
- to start, to begin
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and conjugation data adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations