La tercera película empieza a las ocho.

In Spanish, the definite article usually comes first: la + noun phrase.

So la tercera película = the third film.

Also, ordinal numbers like primero, segundo, tercero, tercera often go before the noun in normal, neutral Spanish:

• la primera vez
• el segundo libro
• la tercera película

You can sometimes see ordinals after the noun in more formal or literary styles, but for everyday Spanish, la tercera película is the natural choice.

Because película is a feminine singular noun, and adjectives must agree with it.

• película is feminine
• singular noun -> singular adjective

So:

• tercera película = feminine singular
• tercer libro = masculine singular before a noun
• tercero is the full masculine form, but before a masculine singular noun it usually shortens to tercer

Examples:

• la tercera película
• el tercer día
• el tercero = the third one

The article tells you: la película.

Even though película ends in -a, which often suggests a feminine noun, the safest way is to learn nouns together with their article:

• la película
• el libro
• la mesa

That way you automatically learn the gender.

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: pe-LÍ-cu-la.

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would make you stress it differently. The written accent tells you the correct pronunciation.

A good way to think of it is:

• película -> stress on lí

Spanish uses accent marks much more systematically than English.

Empezar is the infinitive, meaning to begin / to start.

In the sentence, the verb has to be conjugated because it matches the subject la tercera película:

• empezar = to begin
• empieza = it begins / it starts

Here, la tercera película is a third-person singular subject, so you use empieza.

A few forms:

• yo empiezo = I begin
• tú empiezas = you begin
• la película empieza = the film begins

Because empezar is a stem-changing verb.

In many present-tense forms, the e in the stem changes to ie:

• empezar
• empiezo
• empiezas
• empieza
• empezamos
• empezáis
• empiezan

Notice that nosotros and vosotros do not change:

• empezamos
• empezáis

This is a very common Spanish pattern.

To talk about clock time, Spanish uses:

• a la
  • hour for one o’clock
• a las
  • hour for all other hours

So:

• a la una = at one
• a las dos = at two
• a las ocho = at eight

The a here means at, and las is used because the idea is plural for most hours.

Because una is singular, while the other hours are treated as plural.

So:

• Es la una = It is one o’clock
• Es a la una / empieza a la una = It starts at one

But:

• Son las ocho = It is eight o’clock
• empieza a las ocho = It starts at eight

This is one of the first time expressions Spanish learners usually memorize.

Yes. Comienza and empieza both mean begins / starts.

• La tercera película empieza a las ocho.
• La tercera película comienza a las ocho.

Both are correct. In everyday speech, empezar is often very common and natural. Comenzar can sound a little more formal in some contexts, though both are widely used.

Yes, in this sentence la is the normal and correct choice.

La tercera película means the third film. Without the article, tercera película would sound incomplete in most normal contexts unless it appeared in a special style, like a headline, note, or list.

So for a full sentence:

• La tercera película empieza a las ocho. ✅

A little, but the standard order is:

La tercera película + empieza + a las ocho

That is the most neutral word order in Spanish.

You might also hear:

• Empieza a las ocho la tercera película.

This can be used for emphasis or in certain contexts, but it is less neutral. For learners, the original order is the best model.

A natural Spain pronunciation would be roughly:

la ter-SE-ra pe-LI-cu-la em-PIE-tha a laz O-cho

A few notes:

• tercera -> stress on se
• película -> stress on lí
• empieza -> stress on pie
• In much of Spain, the z sound in empieza is pronounced like the th in thin
• ocho = OH-cho

If you use Latin American pronunciation instead, empieza would sound with an s sound rather than that Spain th sound. Both are valid in the Spanish-speaking world, but for Spain Spanish, the th-like sound is standard.

Yes, very often, especially in schedules, cinemas, transport, TV listings, and formal contexts.

So you might also see:

• La tercera película empieza a las 20:00.

In speech, many people would still simply say:

• a las ocho

But in writing, especially for timetables, 20:00 is very common in Spain.