Cominciare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

cominciare — to begin — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to begin and to start, and it is completely regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final i drops before e and i, so the io form is comincio and the future is comincerò. It is the twin of iniziare, which means the same thing. On this page you will find cominciare 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 cominciare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the cominciare present tense page.

Example sentences with cominciare

In the present tense

  • “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I begin the work”
  • “Tu cominci il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You begin the work”
  • “Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He begins the work”
  • “Noi cominciamo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “We begin the work”
  • “Voi cominciate il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You begin the work”
  • “Loro cominciano il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “They begin the work”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “I have begun the work”
  • “Tu hai cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “You have begun the work”
  • “Lui ha cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “He has begun the work”
  • “Noi abbiamo cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “We have begun the work”
  • “Voi avete cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “You have begun the work”
  • “Loro hanno cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “They have begun the work”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io cominciavo il lavoro una volta.” — “I used to begin the work”
  • “Tu comincerai il lavoro domani.” — “You will begin the work”
  • “Lui comincerebbe il lavoro un giorno.” — “He would begin the work”
  • “È importante che noi cominciamo il lavoro.” — “It is important that we begin the work”
  • “Comincia il lavoro!” — “Begin the work!”

How cominciare is used

The first thing to know about cominciare is its core meaning: to begin. It means to begin and to start, and it is completely regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final i drops before e and i, so the io form is comincio and the future is comincerò. It is the twin of iniziare, which means the same thing. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, 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 cominciare keeps. The present io form is comincio, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho cominciato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana 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 cominciare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need comincio, never cominciare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho cominciato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle cominciato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Cominciare in context

Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno. Tu cominci il lavoro ogni giorno. Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno. Noi cominciamo il lavoro ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of cominciare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — comincio, cominci, comincia, cominciamo — while the meaning stays the same: to begin. Io ho cominciato il lavoro questa settimana. Tu hai cominciato il lavoro questa settimana. Lui ha cominciato il lavoro questa settimana. Noi abbiamo cominciato il lavoro questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of cominciare 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: “Io cominciare il lavoro.”

✓ Right: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.”

The infinitive cominciare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form comincio.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io cominci il lavoro.”

✓ Right: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.”

cominci is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is comincio — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io comincio il lavoro ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho cominciato here, not the present comincio.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono cominciato il lavoro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.”

cominciare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho cominciato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. What is the tu form of cominciare in the Present indicative?

    • A) comincio
    • B) cominci
    • C) comincia
    • D) cominciamo

  2. What is the io form of cominciare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai cominciato
    • B) ha cominciato
    • C) ho cominciato
    • D) abbiamo cominciato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of cominciare in the Imperfect?

    • A) cominciavo
    • B) cominciavi
    • C) cominciavamo
    • D) cominciava

  4. What is the noi form of cominciare in the Future?

    • A) cominceremo
    • B) comincerò
    • C) comincerai
    • D) comincerà

  5. What is the tu form of cominciare in the Conditional?

    • A) comincerei
    • B) cominceresti
    • C) comincerebbe
    • D) cominceremmo

  6. What is the io form of cominciare in the Passato remoto?

    • A) cominciasti
    • B) cominciò
    • C) cominciai
    • D) cominciammo

  7. What is the noi form of cominciare in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) cominci
    • B) cominciate
    • C) comincino
    • D) cominciamo

  8. What is the gerund of cominciare?

    • A) cominciando
    • B) cominciato
    • C) cominciare
    • D) comincio

  9. What is the past participle of cominciare?

    • A) cominciando
    • B) cominciato
    • C) cominciare
    • D) comincio

  10. What does cominciare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to begin
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) cominci — the correct form is cominci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho cominciato — the correct form is ho cominciato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) cominciava — the correct form is cominciava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) cominceremo — the correct form is cominceremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) cominceresti — the correct form is cominceresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) cominciai — the correct form is cominciai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) cominciamo — the correct form is cominciamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) cominciando — the correct form is cominciando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) cominciato — the correct form is cominciato. 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 cominciare mean in English?

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

Is cominciare regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of cominciare?

The gerund is cominciando and the past participle is cominciato. The perfect tenses use avere + cominciato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of cominciare?

On the cominciare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The cominciare 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 cominciare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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