empezar preterite conjugation
Empezar (to begin, start) in the preterite: empecé, empezaste, empezó, empezamos, empezasteis, empezaron.
Pretérito indefinido Preterite
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the preterite
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the past tense for completed actions with a clear start or end: “Ayer hice la cena.” For background, habits and ongoing states in the past, Spanish uses the imperfect instead.
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron. Many common verbs use an irregular stem (hic-, tuv-, estuv-, pud-, quis-, dij-) with unstressed endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Empezar is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Empezar in a sentence
- Empiezo a trabajar a las nueve.I start working at nine.
- La clase empezó tarde ayer.The class started late yesterday.
e→ie stem change; z→c before e (empecé); followed by 'a' + infinitive.
FAQ
What is the preterite of empezar?
Empezar in the Spanish preterite: yo empecé, tú empezaste, él/ella/usted empezó, nosotros empezamos, vosotros empezasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes empezaron.
Is empezar irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite empezar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so empecé follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish preterite?
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the past tense for completed actions with a clear start or end: “Ayer hice la cena.” For background, habits and ongoing states in the past, Spanish uses the imperfect instead.
How is the preterite formed?
Regular endings: -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron. Many common verbs use an irregular stem (hic-, tuv-, estuv-, pud-, quis-, dij-) with unstressed endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Full empezar conjugation, all tenses →
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