Comenzar Conjugation 101: Conjugate Comenzar In Spanish

Comenzar conjugation patterns can help you practice E to IE and consonant changes. Additionally, this is a common -AR verb that you’ll use in many situations. So, since knowing how to conjugate comenzar is a must for Spanish learners, in this guide, you’ll learn:

• Comenzar Overview 
• Indicative Tenses of Comenzar Conjugations
  • Present tense
  • Preterite tense
  • Imperfect tense
  • Near Future tense
  • Future tense
  • Conditional tense
  • Present Perfect tense
  • Past Perfect tense
  • Future Perfect tense
  • Conditional Perfect tense
  • Progressive tenses
• Subjunctive Tenses of Comenzar Conjugations 
  • Present Subjunctive tense
  • Present Perfect Subjunctive tense
  • Imperfect Subjunctive tense
  • Past Perfect Subjunctive tense
• Imperative (Commands) of Comenzar Conjugations
  • Affirmative Commands
  • Negative Commands
• Uses & Examples
• Download Comenzar Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets
• Comenzar Conjugation Practice Quiz

Take Note: There are many tenses in Spanish. However, we don’t use them all. Many are simply old and outdated. As a result, in this guide, you’ll only learn the tenses you need to know to become fluent in Spanish. 

Overview of Comenzar

Indicative Conjugations of Comenzar

Present tense

The present tense conjugation of comenzar has a stem change from E to IE. However, this change isn’t applied to ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’. In this tense, ‘comenzar’ communicates the moment an action starts in the present. For example: Las clases comienzan a las 8.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comienzo	I begin
Tú	Comienzas	You begin
Él / Ella Usted	Comienza	He/She begins You (formal) begin
Nosotros	Comenzamos	We begin
Vosotros	Comenzáis	You begin
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comienzan	They begin You (plural) begin

Preterite tense

In the past preterite, comenzar is a verb with consonant changes for the pronoun yo. With this pronoun, we must replace the ‘z’ for a ‘c’. Use comenzar preterite conjugations to express that an action started at a specific moment in the past. For instance, comencé a trabajar hace dos años.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comencé	I began
Tú	Comenzaste	You began
Él / Ella Usted	Comenzó	He/She began You (formal) began
Nosotros	Comenzamos	We began
Vosotros	Comenzasteis	You began
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comenzaron	They began You (plural) began

Imperfect tense

 In the past indicative imperfect tense, comenzar is a regular verb. Use this tense to point out when a past ongoing event used to start. For example: mis clases comenzaban a las 3.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comenzaba	I began I used to begin
Tú	Comenzabas	You began You used to begin
Él / Ella Usted	Comenzaba	He/She began  He/She used to begin You (formal) began You (formal) used to begin
Nosotros	Comenzábamos	We began We used to begin
Vosotros	Comenzabais	You began You used to begin
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comenzaban	They began They used to begin You (plural) began You (plural) used to begin

Near future

 Ir (present) + a + infinitive (in this case, ‘comenzar’) is the formula to conjugate the near future. In this tense, ‘comenzar’ communicates that an action is about to start at some point in the immediate future. La película ya va a comenzar.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Voy a comenzar	I’m going to begin
Tú	Vas a comenzar	You’re going to begin
Él / Ella Usted	Va a comenzar	He/She is going to begin You (formal) are going to begin
Nosotros	Vamos a comenzar	We’re going to begin
Vosotros	Vais a comenzar	You’re going to begin
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Van a comenzar	They’re going to begin You (plural) are going to begin

Future simple tense

As shown on the conjugation chart below, comenzar is a regular verb in the future tense. In the future simple, you can use ‘comenzar’ to explain that an action or event will begin at some point in the future. Las clases comenzarán en unos días.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comenzaré	I will begin
Tú	Comenzarás	You will begin
Él / Ella Usted	Comenzará	He/She will begin You (formal) will begin
Nosotros	Comenzaremos	We will begin
Vosotros	Comenzaréis	You (formal) will begin
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comenzarán	They will begin You (plural) will begin

Conditional tense

 The conditional conjugations of comenzar express that an event or action would begin if certain circumstances are met. It’s also used to ask someone if they would start doing something. ¿Comenzarías a ver la película conmigo?

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comenzaría	I would begin
Tú	Comenzarías	You would begin
Él / Ella Usted	Comenzaría	He/She would begin You (formal) would begin
Nosotros	Comenzaríamos	We would begin
Vosotros	Comenzaríais	You would begin
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comenzarían	They would begin You (plural) would begin

Present perfect tense

Haber in the present tense + comenzado (past participle) is the formula of the Spanish present perfect tense. Use these conjugations to talk about the actions someone has or hasn’t started. For example: todavía no he comenzado a limpiar.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	He comenzado	I have begun
Tú	Has comenzado	You have begun
Él / Ella Usted	Ha comenzado	He/She has begun You (formal) have begun
Nosotros	Hemos comenzado	We have begun
Vosotros	Habéis comenzado	You have begun
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Han comenzado	They have begun You (plural) have begun

Past perfect

Comenzar in the past perfect tense communicates that an action or event started before some other reference point in the past. Cuando llegué, ya habían comenzado a abordar. To form the past perfect, use the imperfect form of ‘haber’ and the past participle form of ‘comenzar’.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Había comenzado	I had begun
Tú	Habías comenzado	You had begun
Él / Ella Usted	Había comenzado	He/She had begun You (formal) had begun
Nosotros	Habíamos comenzado	We had begun
Vosotros	Habíais comenzado	You had begun
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Habían comenzado	They had begun You (plural) had begun

Future perfect

The future perfect of ‘comenzar’ expresses that something will begin by or before a certain time in the future. For instance: para entonces, ya habré comenzado otro libro.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Habré comenzado	I will have begun
Tú	Habrás comenzado	You will have begun
Él / Ella Usted	Habrá comenzado	He/She will have begun You (formal) will have begun
Nosotros	Habremos comenzado	We will have begun
Vosotros	Habréis comenzado	You will have begun
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Habrán comenzado	They will have begun You (plural) will have begun

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect conjugations of comenzar are used to convey that an event would have started as long as a past condition had been met. For example: si hubiera podido, habría comenzado a estudiar español antes.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Habría comenzado	I would have begun
Tú	Habrías comenzado	You would have begun
Él / Ella Usted	Habría comenzado	He/She would have begun You (formal) would have begun
Nosotros	Habríamos comenzado	We would have begun
Vosotros	Habríais comenzado	You would have begun
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Habrían comenzado	They would have begun You (plural) would have begun

Progressive tenses

The progressive tenses of comenzar express that an action is starting at the moment of speaking. Or, in the case of past forms, to communicate that a past action was in progress when something else happened. Cuando llegué, estaban comenzado a abordar.

Progressive Tense	Formula	Translation Example
Present	Estar (present) + comenzando	I am beginning
Preterite	Estar (preterite) + comenzando	You were beginning
Imperfect	Estar (imperfect) + comenzando	He was beginning
Future	Estar (future) + comenzando	We will be beginning
Conditional	Estar (conditional) + comenzando	They would be beginning

Comenzar Subjunctive Conjugations

In Spanish, the subjunctive is used to talk about wishes, hypothetical situations or express uncertainty. The conjugation charts below show the subjunctive forms of comenzar.

Present subjunctive

The subjunctive conjugations of comenzar have an E to IE stem change for all subjects except ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’. Additionally, all conjugations have a consonant change (z to c). In the subjunctive, ‘comenzar’ can be used to request someone to start something. For example: niños quiero que comiencen a guardar sus cosas.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comience	I begin
Tú	Comiences	You begin
Él / Ella Usted	Comience	He/She begin You (formal) begin
Nosotros	Comencemos	We begin
Vosotros	Comencéis	You begin
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comiencen	They begin You (plural) begin

Present perfect subjunctive

Haber in the present subjunctive + comenzado is the formula to build the present perfect subjunctive of ‘comenzar’. When using this tense, ‘comenzar’ conveys doubt about the start of an action. No creo que hayas comenzado hace dos horas.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Haya comenzado	I have begun
Tú	Hayas comenzado	You have begun
Él / Ella Usted	Haya comenzado	He/She has begun You (formal) have begun
Nosotros	Hayamos comenzado	We have begun
Vosotros	Hayáis comenzado	You have begun
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Hayan comenzado	They have begun You (plural) have begun

Imperfect subjunctive

You can use the imperfect subjunctive of ‘comenzar’ to talk about past suggestions you made about starting an action. Si comenzaras a trabajar temprano, terminarías más pronto. 

The imperfect subjunctive has two conjugation models depending on which type of Spanish you’re using:

Latin American Spanish version

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comenzara	I began
Tú	Comenzaras	You began
Él / Ella Usted	Comenzara	He/She began You (formal) began
Nosotros	Comenzáramos	We began
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comenzaran	They began You (plural) began

Note: This table doesn’t include the conjugation for vosotros because this pronoun is not used in Latin American Spanish.

Castilian Spanish version

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Comenzase	I began
Tú	Comenzases	You began
Él / Ella Usted	Comenzase	He/She began You (formal) began
Nosotros	Comenzásemos	We began
Vosotros	Comenzaseis	You began
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Comenzasen	They began You (plural) began

Past perfect subjunctive

In the past perfect subjunctive, comenzar communicates that someone would have started doing something if a past circumstance was met. You can also use these conjugations to express regrets or hypothetical results if someone had begun something. 
For example: ojalá la película hubiera comenzado más temprano.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Hubiera comenzado	I had begun
Tú	Hubieras comenzado	You had begun
Él / Ella Usted	Hubiera comenzado	He/She had begun You (formal) had begun
Nosotros	Hubiéramos comenzado	We had begun
Vosotros	Hubierais comenzado	You had begun
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Hubieran comenzado	They had begun You (plural) had begun

Comenzar Imperative Conjugations

The imperative is used to give commands in Spanish. In other words, it’s used to tell people what to do (affirmative imperative) and what not to do (negative imperative).

Affirmative commands

The affirmative commands of ‘comenzar’ are used to order someone to start doing something. Comienza con este proyecto, por favor. In the imperative, ‘comenzar’ also has E to IE changes, which do not affect ‘vosotros’.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Tú	Comienza	Begin
Usted	Comience	Begin
Vosotros	Comenzad	Begin
Ustedes	Comiencen	Begin

Negative commands

The negative imperative is used to order someone to not start an action. For example: no comiences la película sin mí.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Tú	No comiences	Don’t begin
Usted	No comience	Don’t begin
Vosotros	No comencéis	Don’t begin
Ustedes	No comiencen	Don’t begin

Meanings of Comenzar & Examples

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate comenzar, you should check these examples to see how to apply this verb correctly. 

Comenzar is the direct translation of ‘to begin’ or ‘to start’. As a result, it’s used to talk about the start or beginning of something. 

[Comenzar conjugated] + [complement]

La película comenzó hace 10 minutos. 
The movie started 10 minutes ago. 

Todavía no hemos comenzado a comer. 
We haven’t begun to eat. 

Espero que el concierto comience pronto. 
I hope the concert begins soon. 

Take Note: Comenzar + a + infinitive verb expresses that someone starts doing something. 

Download Comenzar Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets

Practice Quiz: Comenzar Conjugation

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate comenzar, take the comenzar conjugation practice quiz to test your knowledge on the various tenses with stem-changes.