Breakdown of Ana começou a rir quando viu o gato subir na cadeira.
Ana
Ana
o gato
the cat
quando
when
ver
to see
Questions & Answers about Ana começou a rir quando viu o gato subir na cadeira.
Why does the sentence use começou a rir instead of just riu?
Começou a rir means started to laugh or began laughing, so it focuses on the beginning of the action.
- Ana riu = Ana laughed
- Ana começou a rir = Ana started laughing
Portuguese often uses começar a + infinitive to show that an action began.
Why is there an a in começou a rir?
After começar, Portuguese normally uses the pattern começar a + infinitive.
So:
- começar a rir = to start laughing
- começar a falar = to start speaking
- começar a chover = to start raining
That a is part of the verb pattern. It does not mean to in a one-word, direct way like in English, but the whole structure works like to start doing something.
What form is começou?