Today’s Spanish word of the day is “empezar”.
It’s a verb meaning “to start” or “to begin”.
The word “empezar” is thought to come from combining the Spanish words “en” (“in”) and “pieza” (“piece”). It’s thought that the word originally referred to taking a piece of something and starting to use it.
“Empezar” is an irregular verb that’s conjugated according to the same pattern as the verb “acertar” (“to get right”). Here’s the conjugation in the present tense:
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes empiezan – They start, You start (plural)
- Yo empiezo – I start
- Tú empiezas – You start (informal singular)
- Él/Ella/Usted empieza – He/She start, You start (formal singular)
- Nosotros/Nosotras empezamos – We start
- Vosotros/Vosotras empezáis – You start (informal plural, only used in Spain)
Example sentences
¿Cuándo empieza la película?
When does the movie start?
Es difícil empezar algo nuevo sin saber por dónde comenzar.
It’s hard to start something new without knowing where to begin.
Voy a empezar a hacer ejercicio todos los días.
I’m going to start exercising every day.
El mejor momento para empezar a hacer algo importante es ahora, no mañana.
The best time to start doing something important is now, not tomorrow.
El primer paso para empezar a aprender un idioma es aceptar que cometerás errores.
The first step to start learning a language is accepting that you will make mistakes.
