Breakdown of Empiezo a tocar el piano en la escuela.
en
in / on / at
la escuela
school
tocar
to play (an instrument)
a
to
empezar
to start / to begin
el piano
piano
Questions & Answers about Empiezo a tocar el piano en la escuela.
Why is there an a between empiezo and tocar?
In Spanish, the verb empezar (to start/begin) always requires the preposition a when it connects to an infinitive verb (an unconjugated verb like tocar). The formula is always empezar a + [infinitive].
Why is it empiezo and not empezo?
Empezar is a stem-changing verb in the present tense. For the 'yo' (I) form, the e in the stem changes to ie, making it empiezo. This vowel change happens for all present tense subjects except nosotros/nosotras.
I thought 'to play' was jugar. Why is it tocar here?
The translation is 'I am starting', but empiezo is simple present tense. Shouldn't it be estoy empezando?
In Spanish, the simple present tense (empiezo) is frequently used to express actions happening right now or ongoing situations, which English expresses with 'am/is/are' + '-ing'. While you could say estoy empezando, the simple present is very common and completely natural here.
Why is it en la escuela instead of just en escuela for 'at school'?
English often drops the word 'the' for institutions like school, college, or church (e.g., 'at school'). Spanish almost always keeps the definite article for these places, so you have to say en la escuela (literally 'in the school').
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