Começar (To Begin) — Full Conjugation

Começar means to begin or to start, and it is one of the very first verbs a learner needs: you start a class, start a job, start a book, start a new life. Grammatically, começar is a regular first-conjugation (-ar) verb: its endings are fully predictable. What makes it worth its own reference page is a single spelling quirk — the alternation between ç and c — that trips up almost every learner at least once.

In Portuguese, the letter ç only exists before a, o, and u. Before e or i, the ç changes to plain c, because a c followed by e or i already has the soft /s/ sound. So the infinitive is começar (ç before a), but when the ending starts with e — as in the first-person preterite comecei or the entire present subjunctive (comece, comeces, comece...) — the ç simplifies to c. This is purely orthographic: the pronunciation of the final consonant in the stem is /s/ either way.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

The whole of the present indicative keeps ç, because every ending starts with -o, -as, -a, -amos, -am. No spelling surprises here.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

All endings begin with -a, so ç is retained throughout.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Here is the first spelling change: the eu form is comecei, not começei. The ending -ei starts with e, so ç simplifies to c. Every other form keeps ç because the endings start with -aste, -ou, -ámos, -aram.

Note: European Portuguese writes the nós preterite with an acute accent (começámos) to distinguish it from the present (começamos). Brazilian Portuguese writes them identically.

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

A literary form, one word. All endings start with -a, so ç is retained.

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

The everyday way to say had started.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Describes a repeated or continuous action up to the present. Tenho começado muitos livros ultimamente = I have been starting a lot of books lately.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Here the spelling change appears throughout the whole tense. Every ending in the present subjunctive of an -ar verb starts with -e, so ç systematically simplifies to c: comece, comeces, comece, comecemos, comeceis, comecem. Memorize this as a block — if you get comece right, every other form follows.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Endings start with -a, so ç is retained.

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Endings start with -a, so ç is retained. Use after se, quando, enquanto for future conditions.

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

The spelling rule applies again: the tu affirmative is começa (ç before a), but every other imperative form — since it is drawn from the subjunctive — uses c (before e).

Affirmative:

Negative (identical to the present subjunctive with não):

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Usage: começar a, começar por, começar com

Começar takes different prepositions depending on what kind of complement follows, and the preposition shifts the meaning subtly.

começar a + infinitive — to begin to do something

This is by far the most common pattern. It means to start doing an activity, viewed as a process that unfolds from the moment of beginning.

começar por + infinitive — to start by doing something

Signals the first step in a sequence. Use this when you want to say "first I'll do X, then I'll do Y."

começar com + noun — to start with (to have X at the beginning)

Used when identifying the first element of something — a list, a meal, a story, a word.

Common uses and expressions

• para começar — to begin with, for starters (very common conversational connector)
• começar do zero — to start from scratch
• começar com o pé direito — to get off to a good start (literally "start with the right foot")
• começar mal — to get off to a bad start
• a começar por — starting with (introducing the first item in a list)
• quem começou foi ele — he started it (used in quarrels)
• mal começou — as soon as it started (or: it barely got going)

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Começar is a fully regular -ar verb in its endings. The only wrinkle is orthographic: ç appears before a/o/u, c before e/i.
• The forms where c replaces ç are: first-person preterite comecei; the entire present subjunctive (comece, comeces, comece, comecemos, comecem); and all imperative forms drawn from the subjunctive.
• The most common construction is começar a + infinitive (start doing something). Never use começar directly with a bare infinitive and never use começar de.
• Começar por signals the first step in a sequence; começar com introduces the first element of a list or group.
• The fixed phrase para começar is a staple conversational opener, like English "to start with" or "for starters."