empezar Conditional Conjugation
empezar — to start
The conditional of empezar is regular: empezaría, empezarías, empezaría, empezaríamos, empezaríais, empezarían.
empezar Conditional Forms
When to Use the Conditional
Use the conditional to say you 'would start' something if a certain condition were met, or to make a polite suggestion.
Notes on empezar in the Conditional
Empezar is regular in the conditional. Like the future, it uses the infinitive as the stem.
Example Sentences
Yo empezaría el curso si tuviera más tiempo.
I would start the course if I had more time.
yo
¿Empezarías a trabajar tan temprano?
Would you start working so early?
tú
Ellos empezarían la obra si dejara de llover.
They would start the construction if it stopped raining.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing the conditional with the imperfect (empezaba vs empezaría).
Correct: empezaría
Why: The conditional 'would start' always includes the full 'ar' from the infinitive before the ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: empiezo
Empezar is a stem-changing verb where the 'e' becomes 'ie' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: empecé
Empezar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (empecé) but is otherwise regular in the preterite.
Imperfect
yo: empezaba
Empezar is regular in the imperfect: empezaba, empezabas, empezaba, empezábamos, empezabais, empezaban.
Future
yo: empezaré
The future tense of empezar is completely regular: empezaré, empezarás, empezará, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: empiece
The present subjunctive of empezar features both a stem change (ie) and a spelling change (z to c).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: empezara
The imperfect subjunctive of empezar is based on the 3rd person plural preterite: empezara, empezaras, empezara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: empieza
The imperative uses 'empieza' for informal commands and 'empiece' for formal ones.
Negative Imperative
yo: no empieces
Negative commands for empezar always use the present subjunctive forms: no empieces, no empiece, no empecemos.