Introduction

Cominciare means “to begin”, and this page covers exactly one thing: cominciare in the present tense. The present is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for cominciare, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passato prossimo, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about cominciare in the present. 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. For example: “Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He begins the work.” Everything on this page uses the forms of cominciare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Cominciare in the Present — full table

Person Form
io comincio
tu cominci
lui/lei comincia
noi cominciamo
voi cominciate
loro cominciano
Gerund: cominciando · Past participle: cominciato
The gerund is cominciando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Cominciando il lavoro, imparo molto.” — “While beginning the work, I learn a lot.” The past participle is cominciato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho cominciato is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how cominciare is used.
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.

How the present of cominciare is formed

The present tense of cominciare has six forms: io comincio, tu cominci, lui comincia, noi cominciamo, voi cominciate, loro cominciano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. cominciare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb. Because cominciare is a -ciare verb, the stem-final i drops before e and i: io comincio, tu cominci, and the future is comincerò.

Two things about the present of cominciare are worth noticing. First, the noi and voi forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its noi and voi forms from the same stem, so learning cominciamo and cominciate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so comincio can mean both “I begin” and “I am beginning” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because cominciare is regular in the present, the six forms follow the standard -are endings exactly. Once you know the pattern for one regular -are verb, you know it for all of them — only the stem changes. That is why the present of a regular verb is the cheapest tense to learn in the whole language.

When to use the present of cominciare

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use cominciare in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and cominciare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I begin the work.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about cominciare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He begins the work.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Italian often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with cominciare in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Noi cominciamo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “We begin the work.”

4. Scheduled future events

Italian uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu cominci il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You begin the work.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and cominciare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro cominciano il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “They begin the work.”

Present Tense vs Passato Prossimo: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passato prossimo, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passato prossimo describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as ogni giorno or sempre, while the passato prossimo sentences use ieri or la settimana scorsa. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He begins the work”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “He has begun the work”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I begin the work”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “I have begun the work”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Tu cominci il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You begin the work”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “You have begun the work”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

Example sentences: cominciare in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I begin the work”
  2. “Tu cominci il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You begin the work”
  3. “Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He begins the work”
  4. “Noi cominciamo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “We begin the work”
  5. “Voi cominciate il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You begin the work”
  6. “Loro cominciano il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “They begin the work”
  7. “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I begin the work”
  8. “Lui comincia il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He begins the work”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io cominci il lavoro.” Right: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is comincio, not cominci. cominci is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Noi comincio il lavoro.” Right: “Noi cominciamo il lavoro ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form cominciamo. comincio belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho cominciato il lavoro questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho cominciato for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io cominciare il lavoro.” Right: “Io comincio il lavoro ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive cominciare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form comincio.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. What is the noi form of cominciare in the Present indicative?

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

  5. What is the voi form of cominciare in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the loro form of cominciare in the Present indicative?

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

  7. What is the io form of cominciare in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. B) comincio — the correct form is comincio. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) cominci — the correct form is cominci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) comincia — the correct form is comincia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) cominciamo — the correct form is cominciamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) cominciate — the correct form is cominciate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) cominciano — the correct form is cominciano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) comincio — the correct form is comincio. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) cominci — the correct form is cominci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does cominciare mean in English?

cominciare means “to begin”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.

How is the present tense of cominciare formed?

The six present forms are: io comincio, tu cominci, lui comincia, noi cominciamo, voi cominciate, loro cominciano. cominciare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

When do I use the present instead of the passato prossimo?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

What are the gerund and past participle of cominciare?

The gerund is cominciando and the past participle is cominciato.

Related pages