Começar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

começar — to begin — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to begin and to start, and it is completely regular in the verified tables: começo, começas, começa, começamos, começais, começam. It is the twin of iniciar, which means the same thing. On this page you will find começar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the começar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the começar present tense page.

Example sentences with começar

In the present tense

  • “Eu começo o trabalho todos os dias.” — “I begin the work”
  • “Tu começas o trabalho todos os dias.” — “You begin the work”
  • “Ele começa o trabalho todos os dias.” — “He begins the work”
  • “Nós começamos o trabalho todos os dias.” — “We begin the work”
  • “Vós começais o trabalho todos os dias.” — “You begin the work”
  • “Eles começam o trabalho todos os dias.” — “They begin the work”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu comecei o trabalho ontem.” — “I began the work”
  • “Tu começaste o trabalho ontem.” — “You began the work”
  • “Ele começou o trabalho ontem.” — “He began the work”
  • “Nós começámos o trabalho ontem.” — “We began the work”
  • “Vós começastes o trabalho ontem.” — “You began the work”
  • “Eles começaram o trabalho ontem.” — “They began the work”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu começava o trabalho antigamente.” — “I used to begin the work”
  • “Tu começarás o trabalho amanhã.” — “You will begin the work”
  • “Ele começaria o trabalho um dia.” — “He would begin the work”
  • “É importante que nós comecemos o trabalho.” — “It is important that we begin the work”
  • “Começa o trabalho!” — “Begin the work!”

How começar is used

The first thing to know about começar is its core meaning: to begin. It means to begin and to start, and it is completely regular in the verified tables: começo, começas, começa, começamos, começais, começam. It is the twin of iniciar, which means the same thing. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company começar keeps. The present eu form is começo, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho começado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what começar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need começo, never começar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho começado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle começado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Começar in context

Eu começo o trabalho todos os dias. Tu começas o trabalho todos os dias. Ele começa o trabalho todos os dias. Nós começamos o trabalho todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of começar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — começo, começas, começa, começamos — while the meaning stays the same: to begin. Eu comecei o trabalho ontem. Tu começaste o trabalho ontem. Ele começou o trabalho ontem. Nós começámos o trabalho ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of começar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to begin — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu começar o trabalho.”

✓ Right: “Eu começo o trabalho todos os dias.”

The infinitive começar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form começo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu começas o trabalho.”

✓ Right: “Eu começo o trabalho todos os dias.”

começas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is começo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu começo o trabalho ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu comecei o trabalho ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito comecei here, not the present começo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou começado o trabalho.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho começado o trabalho esta semana.”

começar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho começado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on começar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of começar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) começo
    • B) começas
    • C) começa
    • D) começamos

  2. What is the eu form of começar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens começado
    • B) tem começado
    • C) tenho começado
    • D) temos começado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of começar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) começavas
    • B) começávamos
    • C) começáveis
    • D) começava

  4. What is the nós form of começar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) começaremos
    • B) começarei
    • C) começarás
    • D) começará

  5. What is the tu form of começar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) começaria
    • B) começarias
    • C) começaríamos
    • D) começaríeis

  6. What is the eu form of começar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) começaras
    • B) começáramos
    • C) começara
    • D) começáreis

  7. What is the nós form of começar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) comece
    • B) comeces
    • C) comeceis
    • D) comecemos

  8. What is the gerund of começar?

    • A) começando
    • B) começado
    • C) começar
    • D) começo

  9. What is the past participle of começar?

    • A) começando
    • B) começado
    • C) começar
    • D) começo

  10. What does começar mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to begin
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) começas — the correct form is começas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho começado — the correct form is tenho começado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) começava — the correct form is começava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) começaremos — the correct form is começaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) começarias — the correct form is começarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) começara — the correct form is começara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) comecemos — the correct form is comecemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) começando — the correct form is começando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) começado — the correct form is começado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to begin — the correct form is to begin. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does começar mean in English?

começar means “to begin”. You use it whenever you talk about to begin in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is começar regular or irregular?

começar is regular. começar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of começar?

The gerund is começando and the past participle is começado. The perfect tenses use ter + começado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of começar?

On the começar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The começar present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for começar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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