Meaning
to begin; start
- to begin, to start
In a sentence
La lezione comincia tra cinque minuti.
The lesson starts in five minutes.
Hai già cominciato a studiare per l'esame?
Have you already started studying for the exam?
Non cominciare senza di me, arrivo subito.
Don't start without me, I'm coming right away.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| cominciare | infinitive |
| cominciamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| comincio | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| cominciate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| cominci | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| cominciano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| comincia | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| cominciavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| cominciavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| cominciavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| cominciavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| cominciavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| cominciava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| cominciammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| cominciai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| cominciaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| cominciasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| cominciarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| cominciò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| cominceremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| comincerò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| comincerete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| comincerai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| cominceranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| comincerà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| cominciamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| cominci | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| cominciate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| cominci | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| comincino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| cominci | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| cominciassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| cominciassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| cominciaste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| cominciassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| cominciassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| cominciasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| cominceremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| comincerei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| comincereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| cominceresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| comincerebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| comincerebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| cominciamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| cominciate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| comincia | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| cominciando | gerund |
| cominciato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use 'cominciare' for actions with a clear starting point; 'iniziare' is more formal and often for events or processes.
- Auxiliary is 'avere' (ho cominciato), but use 'essere' for intransitive or reflexive forms (sono cominciato).
- Common mistake: mixing up 'cominciare a' (to start doing) with 'cominciare da' (to start from/with).