russian word
to begin or start in Russian: начать
verbperfectivelevel A1#198 by frequency
every form stress-marked · levels from the official TORFL lexical minimum
Мы начали работу рано утром. We started work early in the morning.
Я начну новую книгу завтра вечером. I'll start a new book tomorrow evening.
Aspect pair
This verb is perfective: a completed one-time result. Its imperfective partner, for ongoing or repeated action, is
Conjugation of начать
Stress marks show the stressed vowel; it moves between forms more often than learners expect.
| future | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| я / мы | начну | начнём |
| ты / вы | начнёшь | начнёте |
| он / они | начнёт | начнут |
| past | |
|---|---|
| masc | начал |
| fem | начала |
| neut | начало |
| plural | начали |
| imperative | |
|---|---|
| ты | начни |
| вы | начните |
Participles and gerunds
past activeначавший
past passiveначатый
gerund (perfective)начав
gerund (perfective)начавши