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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
begin/start
The funeral is about to start/begin
The movie has just started/began.
The construction work will start/begin next month.
Are begin and start always interchangable? To me, both choices are possible in the examples above.
Thanks in advance!
The movie has just started/began.
The construction work will start/begin next month.
Are begin and start always interchangable? To me, both choices are possible in the examples above.
Thanks in advance!
Top answer
They have the same meaning. The register of begin is just a little higher than the register of start . ) CJ
- They have the same meaning.
- The register of begin is just a little higher than the register of start .
- ) CJ
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11 Answers
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They have the same meaning. The register of begin is just a little higher than the register of start. (That is, start is a more commonly used word; begin is less often used and very slightly more formal.)
CJ
CJ
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How about this:
If you say START you should say then FINISH instead of END
If you say BEGIN you should say END or OVER
If you say START you should say then FINISH instead of END
If you say BEGIN you should say END or OVER
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Those are common pairings, but there is no requirement to pair them like that.
CJ
CJ
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Would it be possible to say "When does the meeting start" to mean "When does the meeting begin"?
Would it be possible to say "The meeting began late" to mean "The meeting started late"?
Would it be possible to say "The meeting began late" to mean "The meeting started late"?
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HUBLOTWould it be possible to say "When does the meeting start" to mean "When does the meeting begin"?Yes and yes.
Would it be possible to say "The meeting began late" to mean "The meeting started late"?
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Thanks, AG.
Would it be possible to say "The engine began" to mean "The engine started"?
Would it be possible to say "Who began the rumor" to mean "Who started the rumor"?
Would it be possible to say "The engine began" to mean "The engine started"?
Would it be possible to say "Who began the rumor" to mean "Who started the rumor"?
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HUBLOTWould it be possible to say "The engine began" to mean "The engine started"?No, it has to be started in this case. This is one example of the difference between the words. You can learn more of their uses from a good dictionary.
http://dictionary.re
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Thank you, AG.
Can we say "The engine began to run" to mean "The engine started"?
Can we say "The engine began to run" to mean "The engine started"?
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HUBLOTCan we say "The engine began to run" to mean "The engine started"?This would be highly unusual. To me, the first one suggests that there's something wrong with the engine. A Google search of the sentence resulted in mostly "The engine began to run rough(ly)."
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