empezar Preterite Conjugation
empezar — to start
Empezar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (empecé) but is otherwise regular in the preterite.
empezar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you are talking about the specific moment a task, event, or period of time began. It marks the definitive starting point in the past.
Notes on empezar in the Preterite
The 'yo' form changes 'z' to 'c' (empecé) to maintain the soft 's' sound before the letter 'e'. All other forms follow the regular -ar pattern.
Example Sentences
Empecé mi nueva dieta el lunes pasado.
I started my new diet last Monday.
yo
La película empezó hace diez minutos.
The movie started ten minutes ago.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros empezamos las clases en septiembre.
We started classes in September.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'empezé' with a z.
Correct: empecé
Why: In Spanish, the letter 'z' almost never appears before 'e' or 'i'; it changes to 'c' to keep the sound consistent.
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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.
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.
Conditional
yo: empezaría
The conditional of empezar is regular: empezaría, empezarías, empezaría, empezaríamos, empezaríais, empezarían.
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.