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Conjugation Chart

“Empezar” (to begin) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Empezar”

The preterite of empezar is used to express when something began at a specific point in the past. For example, when you want to say “The movie began at 8:00” – “La película empezó a las 8:00.”

This verb follows the -zar spelling-changing pattern in the preterite. Like other -zar verbs, the ‘z’ changes to ‘c’ before ‘e’ to maintain the same sound, which occurs in the yo form (empecé).

How to Use Empezar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of empezar indicates a specific point of beginning in the past.

To start/begin (specific moment): Used for marking the exact moment something began, for example Empecé el proyecto en marzo (I started the project in March), or Empezaron a llover (It started to rain).

To commence an activity: Describes beginning a new action or phase, for example Empezó su nuevo trabajo el lunes (She started her new job on Monday).

Real Life Examples of Empezar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Empecé a estudiar italiano el mes pasado. (I started studying Italian last month.)

La película empezó con una escena impactante. (The movie started with a striking scene.)

¿Cuándo empezaste tu nuevo trabajo? (When did you start your new job?)

Empezamos el día con una reunión importante. (We started the day with an important meeting.)

Los problemas empezaron cuando se fue la luz. (The problems started when the power went out.)

Empezó a llover durante el partido. (It started raining during the game.)

Empezaste muy bien el proyecto. (You started the project very well.)

La construcción empezó hace dos semanas. (Construction started two weeks ago.)

Empezamos a preocuparnos por su tardanza. (We started to worry about their delay.)

Los estudiantes empezaron a reír. (The students started to laugh.)

Empecé a sentirme mejor después de tomar la medicina. (I started feeling better after taking the medicine.)

¿Por qué empezaste sin nosotros? (Why did you start without us?)

La fiesta empezó a medianoche. (The party started at midnight.)

Empezaron las vacaciones de verano. (Summer vacation started.)

Empecé el curso con mucho entusiasmo. (I started the course with a lot of enthusiasm.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Empezar (to begin) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.