Começasse

Começasse is the imperfect subjunctive form of the Portuguese verb começar, meaning to begin. This tense is used in subordinate clauses to express hypothetical, uncertain, or non-real actions in the past, or in reported speech, where the main clause is in a past tense or a conditional mood.

Conjugation and forms: as a form of começar, the imperfect subjunctive endings are -asse, -asses, -asse, -ássemos, -ásseis, -assem. Therefore, the singular forms are eu começasse and ele começasse (with identical spelling), and the plural forms are nós começássemos, vós começásseis, eles começassem. The form começasse appears in the first and third person singular, while the plural differs.

Usage examples: common patterns include with se for hypothetical past: Se eu começasse hoje, terminaria amanhã. In temporal clauses: Quando ele começasse, todos aguardariam. In indirect speech: Ela disse que eu começasse o projeto logo. In many contexts, the imperfect subjunctive conveys a past-oriented condition or a reported past statement.

Orthography and notes: the verb is of the -çar class, which uses the diacritic ç to indicate the soft /s/ sound before a, o, u. The spelling começasse reflects this orthography rule and the regular formation of the imperfect subjunctive for -ar verbs. The form is widely understood in both Brazilian and European Portuguese, though usage can vary with regional and stylistic preferences.