Começar
to start / to begin
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | começo | Eu começo o dia com café e silêncio. — I start the day with coffee and silence. |
| você/ele/ela | começa | Ela começa a trabalhar às oito. — She starts work at eight. |
| nós | começamos | Nós começamos a reunião sempre atrasados. — We always start the meeting late. |
| eles/elas | começam | Eles começam o treino às seis da manhã. — They start training at six in the morning. |
Every project has a first step. I always start with the hardest part — get the weight off my mind. My business partner starts with the details and works her way to the whole. We start well together, with different but complementary rhythms. Team meetings always start with a coffee and five minutes of free conversation — that makes a difference.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | comecei | Eu comecei a aprender português ano passado. — I started learning Portuguese last year. |
| você/ele/ela | começou | Ele começou o novo emprego ontem. — He started the new job yesterday. |
| nós | começamos | Nós começamos a reforma em março. — We started the renovation in March. |
| eles/elas | começaram | Eles começaram a empresa do zero. — They started the company from scratch. |
The new year brought real changes. I started running — three times a week, without fail. My friend Débora started therapy after years of putting it off. We started a book club that already has eight members. The work colleagues started the gym together — and some of them even kept it up.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | começava | Eu começava os deveres logo após o jantar. — I used to start my homework right after dinner. |
| você/ele/ela | começava | Ele começava cada manhã com uma oração. — He used to begin each morning with a prayer. |
| nós | começávamos | Nós começávamos o expediente com uma reunião rápida. — We used to start the working day with a quick meeting. |
| eles/elas | começavam | Elas começavam a temporada de festas em novembro. — They used to start the party season in November. |
At the old company, there were rituals. I used to start the day by re-reading the previous day's emails. My manager used to start the week with a motivational phrase — some loved it, others suffered through it. We used to start Fridays with company pizza. The newcomers always used to start out nervous, but soon found their rhythm.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou começar | Vou começar a dieta na segunda. — I'm going to start the diet on Monday. |
| você/ele/ela | vai começar | Ela vai começar o mestrado em agosto. — She's going to start her master's in August. |
| nós | vamos começar | Vamos começar a reunião agora. — We're going to start the meeting now. |
| eles/elas | vão começar | Eles vão começar as obras semana que vem. — They're going to start the works next week. |
January arrived full of plans. I'm going to start writing the book I've put off for three years — for real this time. My husband is going to start guitar lessons. We're going to start saving for the trip of a lifetime. The kids are going to start at a new school and they're excited — and a little scared.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | começarei | Começarei o relatório assim que tiver os dados. — I will start the report as soon as I have the data. |
| você/ele/ela | começará | O evento começará às dezenove horas. — The event will start at seven o'clock. |
| nós | começaremos | Começaremos a nova fase do projeto em maio. — We will start the new phase of the project in May. |
| eles/elas | começarão | As aulas começarão no primeiro dia útil de fevereiro. — Classes will start on the first working day of February. |
The rector announced: "Classes for the new semester will start on the third of March. We will start with an integration week for the new students. The renovated laboratories will start operating from April. I will personally start the series of lectures open to the community."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | começaria | Eu começaria agora se soubesse como. — I would start now if I knew how. |
| você/ele/ela | começaria | Ela começaria mais cedo sem as distrações. — She would start earlier without the distractions. |
| nós | começaríamos | Começaríamos hoje se o orçamento estivesse pronto. — We would start today if the budget were ready. |
| eles/elas | começariam | Eles começariam de novo sem hesitar. — They would start again without hesitation. |
If fear didn't exist, how many things would be different. I would start that business of my own that lives in the drawer of my imagination. My brother would start writing the novel he's been planning since his twenties. We would start many more things — and finish more of them too. People would start really living one day sooner.
Começar across the tenses
A short story using começar in multiple tenses
Aos dezoito anos, Rodrigo começava tudo com entusiasmo e terminava pouco. Começava cursos, projetos, bandas de garagem — a energia era ilimitada, a consistência era outra história.
Hoje tem trinta e sete anos e começa menos coisas, mas termina mais. Ontem começou um curso de marcenaria que já estava no plano há dois anos. Começamos juntos uma horta no terraço — desta vez sem pressa.
No próximo semestre, vai começar a lecionar numa escola técnica. "Se tudo der certo, começarei o doutorado no ano seguinte," ele diz, calmo.
Perguntei se começaria tudo de novo da mesma forma. Ele riu: "Começaria mais devagar. Mas não começaria menos — cada começo me ensinou alguma coisa."
At eighteen, Rodrigo used to start everything with enthusiasm and finish little. He used to start courses, projects, garage bands — the energy was limitless, the consistency was another story. Today he's thirty-seven and starts fewer things, but finishes more. Yesterday he started a woodworking course he'd had in his plans for two years. We started a rooftop vegetable garden together — this time without rushing. Next semester, he's going to start teaching at a technical school. "If all goes well, I will start the doctorate the following year," he says, calmly. I asked if he would start everything again the same way. He laughed: "I would start more slowly. But I wouldn't start less — every beginning taught me something."
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