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

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Empezar”

The preterite tense of empezar is used to express the exact moment when something began in the past, for example, “The movie started at 8 PM.” This tense helps you pinpoint the specific time when an action commenced.

This is a stem-changing verb that follows an e-ie pattern in many forms, but in the preterite tense, it maintains regular -ar endings with a spelling change. The ‘z’ changes to ‘c’ before ‘e’ to maintain pronunciation.

How to Use Empezar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of empezar marks the exact moment when something began in the past. This verb is similar to comenzar but often used more colloquially.

To start an action: Indicates the beginning point of an activity, for example empecé a estudiar a las tres (I started studying at three).

To begin a process: Used for the initiation of longer processes, for example empezó a nevar en la mañana (it started snowing in the morning).

Informal beginnings: Often used in casual contexts, for example empezaron a discutir por nada (they started arguing over nothing).

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

Empecé el curso de yoga la semana pasada. (I started the yoga course last week.)

¿A qué hora empezó la reunión? (What time did the meeting start?)

Los niños empezaron a llorar. (The children started crying.)

Empezamos el proyecto en marzo. (We started the project in March.)

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

La lluvia empezó de repente. (The rain started suddenly.)

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

El concierto empezó con retraso. (The concert started late.)

Empecé a estudiar francés este año. (I started studying French this year.)

La película empezó a las ocho. (The movie started at eight.)

Empezamos mal el día. (We started the day badly.)

¿Por qué empezaste sin mí? (Why did you start without me?)

Los problemas empezaron cuando él llegó. (The problems started when he arrived.)

Empezó a nevar al anochecer. (It started snowing at dusk.)

El negocio empezó con poco capital. (The business started with little capital.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

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

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.