comenzar Present Subjunctive Conjugation
comenzar — to start
The present subjunctive of comenzar follows the e>ie stem change and the z>c spelling change: comience, comiences, comience, comencemos, comencéis, comiencen.
comenzar Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this after expressions of doubt, desire, or impersonal phrases, like 'Espero que comience pronto' (I hope it starts soon).
Notes on comenzar in the Present Subjunctive
This tense combines two changes: the e>ie stem change (except nosotros/vosotros) and the z>c spelling change (in all forms) to keep the soft 'c' sound before 'e'.
Example Sentences
Espero que la película comience pronto.
I hope the movie starts soon.
él/ella/usted
Es importante que comencemos a tiempo.
It is important that we start on time.
nosotros
Dudo que ellos comiencen hoy.
I doubt they will start today.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'z' instead of 'c' (comienze).
Correct: comience
Why: In the subjunctive, the endings start with 'e', so the 'z' from the infinitive must change to 'c'.
Mistake: Stem-changing the nosotros form (comiencemos).
Correct: comencemos
Why: -ar verbs do not have a stem change in the nosotros/vosotros forms of the subjunctive.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: comienzo
Comenzar is a stem-changing verb where 'e' becomes 'ie': comienzo, comienzas, comienza, comenzamos, comenzáis, comienzan.
Preterite
yo: comencé
The preterite of comenzar has a spelling change in the first person: comencé, comenzaste, comenzó, comenzamos, comenzasteis, comenzaron.
Imperfect
yo: comenzaba
The imperfect of comenzar is regular: comenzaba, comenzabas, comenzaba, comenzábamos, comenzabais, comenzaban.
Future
yo: comenzaré
The future of comenzar is regular: comenzaré, comenzarás, comenzará, comenzaremos, comenzaréis, comenzarán.
Conditional
yo: comenzaría
The conditional of comenzar is regular: comenzaría, comenzarías, comenzaría, comenzaríamos, comenzaríais, comenzarían.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: comenzara
The imperfect subjunctive of comenzar is regular based on the third-person preterite: comenzara, comenzaras, comenzara, comenzáramos, comenzarais, comenzaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: comienza
The imperative of comenzar uses the stem change for informal commands: comienza (tú), comience (usted), comencemos (nosotros), comenzad (vosotros), comiencen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no comiences
The negative imperative of comenzar uses the present subjunctive forms: no comiences, no comience, no comencemos, no comencéis, no comiencen.