Calibramos el audífono antes de que empiece la audiometría.

to start

Breakdown of Calibramos el audífono antes de que empiece la audiometría.

• antes de que: before
• la audiometría: the hearing test
• el audífono: the hearing aid

Questions & Answers about Calibramos el audífono antes de que empiece la audiometría.

Why is it empiece and not empieza?

Because antes de que normally triggers the subjunctive in Spanish when you are talking about an action that has not happened yet.

So:

• antes de que empiece la audiometría = before the audiometry starts
• not antes de que empieza...

Here, the start of the audiometry is seen as a future or pending event relative to the calibration, so Spanish uses the subjunctive.

A very common pattern to remember is:

• antes de que + subjunctive

Examples:

• Te llamo antes de que salgas.
• Cerramos la puerta antes de que entren.

What tense/mood is empiece?

Empiece is the present subjunctive form of empezar.

Its forms are:

• yo empiece
• tú empieces
• él/ella/usted empiece
• nosotros empecemos
• vosotros empecéis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes empiecen

Notice the stem change e → ie, just like in the present indicative:

• empiezo
• empiezas
• empieza

Why is calibramos in the present, not the past or future?