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Whether you are diving into a new project at work or just kicking off your morning routine, you often need to describe the moment an action begins. In Arabic, verbs used to express the onset of an action belong to a special category called **أفعال الشروع** (verbs of beginning).

### The Formula for Starting (بدأ)

To say someone "started doing" or "began to do" something, Arabic uses a straightforward two-verb structure:

**بدأ** (started) + [Subject] + **Present Tense Verb**

The most important rule for **أفعال الشروع** is that you do *not* use a connecting word like "to" between the two verbs. While in English you might say "he started *to* eat," in Arabic, you simply follow the past tense "starting" verb directly with the present tense action.

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If the subject is explicitly named in the sentence, it typically sits right after the verb **بدأ**. Notice how the second verb always matches the subject in the present tense:

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### Using (شرع) as a Synonym

Another very common verb of beginning is **شرع** (to begin / to commence). It carries the same meaning as **بدأ** and follows the exact same grammatical rule: it is immediately followed by a present tense verb.

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Just like any other verb, **شرع** and the action that follows it must agree with the gender of the subject. If a female subject starts an action, both verbs take their feminine forms:

{{item:1122123}}

### Building a Narrative

These verbs of beginning are incredibly useful for telling stories or recounting a sequence of events. You can smoothly tie them into your narrative using time phrases like **عندما** (when) or simple conjunctions like **و** (and).

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As you describe a busy morning or the first day on a new team, use these verbs to bring your narrative to life and show exactly when the action takes off.

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Starting actions (بدأ)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
breakfast	فطورfutûr
He started eating breakfast early.	بدأ يأكل الفطور مبكرا.bada'a ya'kulu al-futûra mubakkiran.
enthusiasm	حماسhamâs
After breakfast, he started reading the news with enthusiasm.	بعد الفطور، بدأ يقرأ الأخبار بحماس.ba'da al-futûri, bada'a yaqra'u al-akhbâra bi-ḥamâsin.
to begin (to do something)	شرعshara'a
The team began working together.	شرع الفريق يعمل معا.shara'a al-farîqu ya'malu ma'an
The new employee started arranging the files.	بدأ الموظف الجديد يرتب الملفات.bada'a al-muwazhzhafu al-jadîdu yurattibu al-malaffâti.
He began reading the report now.	شرع يقرأ التقرير الآن.shara'a yaqra'u at-taqrîra al-âna.
to bathe	اغتسلightasala
When he woke up, he started bathing with cold water.	عندما استيقظ، شرع يغتسل بماء بارد.'indamâ istayqadha, shara'a yaghtasilu bimâ'in bâridin
tooth	سنsinn
brush	فرشاةfurshâh
He was bathing, then he started cleaning his teeth with the brush.	كان يغتسل ثم بدأ ينظف أسنانه بالفرشاة.kâna yaghtasilu thumma bada'a yunazzifu asnânahu bilfurshâti
The girl started washing her face.	شرعت البنت تغسل وجهها.shara'ati l-bintu taghsilu wajhahâ
to shave	حلقhalaqa
beard	ذقنdhaqan
He stood in front of the mirror and started shaving his beard.	وقف أمام المرآة وشرع يحلق ذقنه.waqafa amâma al-mir'âti wa sharaʼa yahliqu dhaqnahu.
He used to shave his beard every day.	كان يحلق ذقنه كل يوم.kâna yahliqu dhaqnahu kulla yawmin
to join	انضم إلىindamma ilâ
He began working after he joined the company.	شرع يعمل بعد أن انضم إلى الشركة.shara'a ya'malu ba'da anindamma ilâ ash-sharikah
When he joined the team, he started helping everyone.	عندما انضم إلى الفريق، بدأ يساعد الجميع.indamâ indamma ilâ al-farîqi, bada'a yusâ'idu al-jamî'a
task	مهمةmahamma
He started to wash his teeth with the brush before the task.	بدأ يغسل أسنانه بالفرشاة قبل المهمة.bada'a yaghsilu asnânahu bilfurshâti qabla almuhimmati
The employee began to work on the new task with enthusiasm.	شرع الموظف يعمل في المهمة الجديدة بحماس.sharaa al-muwadhdhafu yamalu fee al-muhimmati al-jadeedati bihamasin