“Comenzar” Conjugation: Let’s Get It Started!

We’re sure you had a long list of things to start on this year in your New Year’s resolution. It might be too late to get those in Spanish, but we are giving you enough time for next year. Today, we are looking at the verb comenzar (to start/begin) in Spanish.

We’ll start by explaining what type of verb this is and move on to the comenzar conjugation basics. Then, we’ll make our way to more challenging tenses. Finally, we’ll go through some other verbs with a similar meaning. Let’s get a head start!

What kind of verb is comenzar?

Comenzar is a stem-changing verb with a double irregularity. Stem-changing verbs don’t follow the standard conjugation for verbs ending in “-ar.” Don’t worry, though; it is pretty easy to get a handle on this irregularity.

There are three types of verbs in Spanish according to their ending: “-ar,” “-er,” or “ir.” The first part of the verb—the one before this ending—is called a stem. Stem-changing verbs change the last vowel of the stem in some conjugations.

Comenzar (like cerrar and empezar) changes the “e” to an “ie” in some cases, as we’ll see below. Moreover, this verb also changes the “z” to a “c” in some tenses. These changes can also happen together and are highlighted in bold below.

If you need clarification about stem-changing verbs, this article has more information.

Verbals of comenzar: infinitive, gerund, and participle

We’ll start our comenzar conjugation by looking at its verbals: the infinitive, the gerund, and the participle. Spanish verbals are verb forms that work as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs instead of actual verbs. We know that sounds like a lot to take in, but it’s pretty straightforward, as these forms are completely regular. We’ll also share some examples to show you how the comenzar conjugation verbals work.

Infinitive

Comenzar (to start)

• Vamos a comenzar la clase. (We’re going to start the class.)

Gerund

Comenzando (starting)

• El partido estaba comenzando cuando el árbitro se desmayó. (The match was starting when the umpire fainted.)

Participle

Comenzado (started)

• Si hubiese comenzado en hora, no tendríamos problemas. (Had it started on time, we wouldn’t be having any issues.)

Comenzar conjugation for all levels

Step one: comenzar conjugation for beginners

There are ten tenses in the Spanish indicative mood—the one we use to discuss facts. In this section, we’ll go over the four most common forms of the comenzar conjugation in this mood. These are presente (present), pretérito imperfecto (imperfect preterite, a form of the past tense), pretérito perfecto (perfect preterite, another form of the past tense), and futuro (future).

Subject	Present	Imperfect Preterite	Perfect Preterite	Future
Yo (I)	comienzo	comenzaba	comencé	comenzaré
Tú (You) Vos (Latin America)	comienzas comenzá	comenzabas	comenzaste	comenzarás
Usted (You, formal) El/Ella (He/She/It)	comienza	comenzaba	comenzó	comenzará
Nosotros (We)	comenzamos	comenzábamos	comenzamos	comenzaremos
Vosotros (You, plural) Ustedes (Latin America)	comenzáis comienzan	comenzabais comenzaban	comenzasteis comenzaron	comenzaréis comenzarán
Ellos (Them)	comienzan	comenzaban	comenzaron	comenzarán

Comenzar conjugation examples for beginners

• Present: ¿Comienzo la presentación? (Shall I start the class?)
• Imperfect preterite: Comenzábamos siempre con una plegaria. (We always used to start with a prayer.)
• Perfect preterite: Comenzó a llover. (It started raining.)
• Future: El curso comenzará en noviembre. (The course will start in November.)

Step two: comenzar conjugation for intermediate students

We’re off to a great start! It’s time to challenge ourselves. In this section, we’ll focus on the compound tenses of the comenzar conjugation in the same indicative mood.

To learn compound tenses, we need to master the haber conjugation. The only form of comenzar included here is the participle comenzado, which we saw earlier.

Compound tenses in Spanish are made up of two parts. The first is the verb haber conjugated in the relevant tense. This is followed by the past participle of the verb in question, which is the one that carries the meaning.

The table below includes the pretérito perfecto (preterite perfect), pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect), and futuro compuesto (future perfect) tenses for comenzar. You may also benefit from reading our article on the haber conjugation.

Subject	Preterite Perfect	Pluperfect	Future Perfect
Yo (I)	he comenzado	había comenzado	habré comenzado
Tú/Vos (You)	has comenzado	habías comenzado	habrás comenzado
Usted (You, formal) El/Ella (He/She/It)	ha comenzado	había comenzado	habrá comenzado
Nosotros (We)	hemos comenzado	habíamos comenzado	habremos comenzado
Vosotros (You, plural) Ustedes (Latin America)	habéis comenzado han comenzado	habíais comenzado habían comenzado	habréis comenzado habrán comenzado
Ellos (Them)	han comenzado	habían comenzado	habrán comenzado

Comenzar conjugation examples for intermediate level

• Preterite perfect: Han comenzado las inscripciones. (Enrollments have started.)
• Pluperfect: Habías comenzado sin nosotros. (You had started without us.)
• Future perfect: ¿Habrá comenzado tarde? (Would it have started late?)

Step three: comenzar conjugation for advanced learners

Can you believe we are midway through? It’s time to explore the subjunctive mood. This mood is used to express doubts, emotions, desires, and the unknown. Below, we’ll look at its presente (present), imperfecto (imperfect), and futuro (future) tenses for the comenzar conjugation. As you can see, the subjunctive present is where the two comenzar irregularities work together.

Subject	Present	Imperfect	Future
Yo (I)	comience	comenzara or comenzase	comenzare
Tú (You) Vos (Latin America)	comiences comencés	comenzaras or comenzases	comenzares
Usted (You, formal) El/Ella (He/She/It)	comience	comenzara or comenzase	comenzare
Nosotros (We)	comencemos	comenzáramos or comenzásemos	comenzáremos
Vosotros (You, plural) Ustedes (Latin America)	comencéis comiencen	comenzarais or comenzaseis comenzaran or comenzasen	comenzareis comenzaren
Ellos (Them)	comiencen	comenzaran or comenzasen	comenzaren

Comenzar conjugation examples for advanced learners

• Present: ¡Qué comience la función! (Let the show begin!)
• Imperfect: Si comenzaras hoy, terminarías antes. (If you started today, you would finish earlier.)

It would be rare to hear the subjunctive future in conversation nowadays. It is more likely to appear in literature or legal contexts, so we haven’t added a conjugation example for the comenzar subjunctive future here. However, it is still useful to know what it looks like!

Bonus comenzar conjugation: conditional tenses and imperative

Is this the beginning of the end? Here is the last batch of the comenzar conjugation for you. Below, you’ll find the condicional simple (simple conditional), the condicional compuesto (conditional perfect), and the imperative.

Subject	Simple Conditional	Conditional Perfect	Imperative
Yo (I)	comenzaría	habría comenzado
Tú (You) Vos (Latin America)	comenzarías	habrías comenzado	¡comienza! ¡comenzá!
Usted (You, formal) El/Ella (He/She/It)	comenzaría	habría comenzado	¡comience!
Nosotros (We)	comenzaríamos	habríamos comenzado	¡comencemos!
Vosotros (You, plural) Ustedes (Latin America)	comenzaríais comenzarían	habríais comenzado habrían comenzado	¡comenzad! ¡comiencen!
Ellos (Them)	comenzarían	habrían comenzado	¡comiencen!

Comenzar conjugation examples in the conditional tenses

• Simple conditional: Si tuviese tiempo, comenzaría la cena. (If I had time, I’d get started on dinner.)
• Conditional perfect: ¿Habrían comenzado antes? (Would they have started earlier?)
• Imperative: ¡Comiencen! (Start!)

If your conditional tenses are a bit rusty, you should read this article.

How many synonyms of comenzar can you find?

We have already seen the verb empezar in a previous article. But there are several other verbs with a similar meaning. We will list seven of these below.

Iniciar

This verb can mean to start, to initiate, or even to introduce someone to something. For example:

• Vamos a iniciar un nuevo proyecto. (We are going to start a new project.)
• Lo iniciaron en las artes marciales. (They introduced him to/initiated him into martial arts).

Entablar

In addition to meaning start, entablar expressed that you struck up a conversation:

• Entablaba conversaciones muy fácilmente. (He/She struck up conversations quite easily.)

In quite a different context, it can also mean to lay or cover something with wooden boards. And, in chess, it means to put the pieces on the board!

Arrancar

The meaning of arrancar also changes quite a bit depending on the context. You can use it to say you are starting a car or a computer. It might also mean to pull out or remove something from where it’s attached. Let’s look at it in context:

• No hay caso. El auto no arranca. (There’s no use. The car won’t start.)
• ¡El dentista me arrancó todos los dientes! (The dentist pulled out all of my teeth!)
• Arranco mi nuevo trabajo el lunes. (I start my new job on Monday.)

Surgir

This verb is closer in meaning to appear or arise. Here are a couple of examples:

• Me surgió un problema y no puedo ir a tu casa mañana. (A problem came up and I can’t make it to your house tomorrow.)
• Me surgen muchas dudas constantemente. (I get many doubts all the time.)

Originar

Originar can mean to cause or come from, as we’ll see below.

• Esto puede originar muchos problemas. (This can cause many problems.)
• El Renacimiento se originó en Italia. (The Renaissance originated in Italy.)

Principiar

You won’t hear the verb very often as it is more formal, closer to the verb commence.

• Principiaron la reunión a las 9. (They started the meeting at 9 am.)

Incoar

Incoar is also quite formal and often used in the context of official paperwork or legal actions.

• Se incoan los trámites de este proceso. (The paperwork for this process has started.)

Final thoughts on the comenzar conjugation

We hope this guide on the comenzar conjugation has inspired you to tackle those tasks you have been neglecting. And speaking of getting things started, have a look at this article on Spanish greetings.