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¿Cuándo vas a empezar a aprender fotografía?

¿Cuándo vas a empezar a aprender fotografía?
When are you going to start learning photography?
From Lesson 86:Starting actions (empezar a)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of ¿Cuándo vas a empezar a aprender fotografía?

ir
to go
a
to
cuándo
when
aprender
to learn
empezar
to start / to begin
la fotografía
photography

Questions & Answers about ¿Cuándo vas a empezar a aprender fotografía?

Why are there two 'a's in this sentence (vas a and empezar a)?
This sentence stacks two different rules together. First, we have the 'going to do something' formula: ir a + infinitive verb, which gives us vas a empezar (you are going to start). Second, the verb empezar (to start) always requires the preposition a when it connects to another action. So, empezar a aprender means 'to start learning'.
Could I use comenzar instead of empezar here?
Yes! Comenzar and empezar both mean 'to start' and are completely interchangeable here. Just like empezar, comenzar also needs the word a before an infinitive verb. So, you could perfectly say ¿Cuándo vas a comenzar a aprender fotografía?
Why isn't it 'aprender la fotografía'? Doesn't Spanish usually require articles for general nouns?
While Spanish does use articles for general nouns more often than English, we usually drop the article when referring to fields of study, academic subjects, or skills directly after verbs like aprender (to learn), estudiar (to study), or enseñar (to teach).
How do native speakers pronounce all these repeated 'a' sounds next to each other?
In natural, spoken Spanish, adjacent identical vowels blend together into a single, slightly longer sound. So empezar a aprender won't sound like three separate, chopped-up 'a' sounds. It will sound more like one continuous flow of speech.

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