O movimento começou hoje.

O is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So o movimento = the movement.

In Portuguese, articles are used more often than in English. In a sentence like this, leaving out o would usually sound incomplete or unnatural unless you were speaking in a very special context, like a headline or note.

Movimento is a noun meaning things like movement, motion, or sometimes movement in the political or social sense, depending on context.

Here, movimento is simply the noun used as the subject of the sentence.

• movimento = movement / motion
• movimentação often refers more to activity, traffic, bustle, or movement of people/things

So O movimento começou hoje means that the movement itself began today, not just that there was some activity today.

Because nouns in Portuguese have grammatical gender, and movimento is a masculine noun.

That is why it takes:

• o movimento for the movement
• not a movimento

A lot of nouns ending in -o are masculine, though this is not an absolute rule.

Começou is the pretérito perfeito do indicativo, which is the normal simple past tense in Portuguese.

It is the 3rd person singular form of começar = to begin / to start.

So:

• eu comecei = I started
• tu começaste = you started
• ele/ela/você começou = he/she/you started

Since o movimento is singular, the verb is also singular:

• O movimento começou

That is a very common question.

In Portuguese, começou hoje is completely natural. Portuguese often uses the simple past in situations where English might prefer the present perfect.

So:

• O movimento começou hoje = The movement started today / The movement has started today

Both English translations may fit, depending on context, but the Portuguese sentence itself is very normal.

There are two different things happening here:

1. ç

   • The ç is called cedilha.
   • It makes the c sound like s before a, o, or u.
   • So começar is pronounced with an s sound in that part.

2. ou

   • In começou, the ending -ou is the normal ending for many -ar verbs in the 3rd person singular of the simple past.
   • Example:
     • falou = spoke
     • trabalhou = worked
     • começou = started

The written accent in começou shows the stressed syllable.

Roughly, começou sounds like kuh-meh-SOH in European Portuguese, though the unstressed vowels are often reduced.

A rough breakdown:

• co often sounds weaker than an English co
• me is also fairly light
• the stress falls on the last part: çou

And ç sounds like s.

So the whole sentence O movimento começou hoje in European Portuguese is pronounced more tightly and with more reduced vowels than many learners expect.

Because that is a very natural position for a time expression in Portuguese.

• O movimento começou hoje. = neutral, standard word order

You can also move hoje for emphasis:

• Hoje, o movimento começou.

That puts more focus on today.

So the end position is not the only possibility, but it is a very common and natural one.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are correct:

• O movimento começou hoje.
• Hoje o movimento começou.

The difference is mainly one of emphasis and information flow:

• O movimento começou hoje. → sounds more neutral
• Hoje o movimento começou. → gives more prominence to today

Yes. Movimento is a broad word, and its exact meaning depends on context.

It can mean:

• physical movement
• motion
• a movement in society or politics
• traffic or activity in a place
• a move in a game or strategy context

So although the grammar is simple, the exact meaning of O movimento começou hoje depends on what kind of movement the surrounding context is talking about.

Yes, but it is less common in everyday speech.

• O movimento começou hoje is the most natural and common way to say it.
• O movimento iniciou hoje is understandable, but may sound more formal, institutional, or less idiomatic in many contexts.

Also, iniciar is often used transitively:

• A organização iniciou o projeto hoje. = The organisation started the project today.

For a general statement like this, começar is usually the safer choice.

Because começou here is being used on its own: began / started.

There is no second verb after it.

Compare:

• O movimento começou hoje. = The movement started today.
• O movimento começou a crescer hoje. = The movement started to grow today.

In the second sentence, you need a before the infinitive crescer.

The verb would also need to be plural.

For example:

• O movimento começou hoje. = The movement started today.
• Os movimentos começaram hoje. = The movements started today.

So:

• singular subject → começou
• plural subject → começaram

This is standard subject-verb agreement in Portuguese.

Yes, but only if the subject is already clear from context.

Portuguese often allows omitted subjects, but here the verb form começou only tells you it is he/she/it/you (formal). It does not tell you exactly what the subject is.

So:

• O movimento começou hoje. = clear on its own
• Começou hoje. = possible, but only if everyone already knows what it is

Without context, the full sentence is much clearer.