comenzó

Comenzó is the third-person singular form of the Spanish verb comenzar in the pretérito indefinido (simple past). It translates as “he began” or “she began,” and can also be used for formal “you began.” It is used to describe actions or events that started in the past and are treated as completed within the timeframe of the narrative.

Comenzar, the infinitive, is a regular -ar verb. In the pretérito indefinido, its principal forms are: yo comencé, tú comenzaste, él/ella/usted comenzó, nosotros comenzamos, vosotros comenzasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes comenzaron. The yo form comencé shows the orthographic change typical of -zar verbs in this tense, where the z before a vowel is kept by spelling after the e, yielding comenzé/comencé. The third-person singular form begins with comien- plus -ó, giving comenzó.

Usage notes: comenzó is commonly followed by time expressions such as a las cinco, ayer, or other past markers. It can be followed by a to-infinitive to indicate the start of another action, for example: La reunión comenzó a las cinco. It also appears in reported or narrative speech: Dijo que comenzó a llover. While comenzar and empezar are near-synonyms, empezar is often perceived as more informal or conversational, whereas comenzar can carry a slightly more formal or neutral tone, though both are widely used in everyday Spanish.

See also: comenzar, empezar.