empecé

Empecé is the first-person singular form of the Spanish verb empezar in the pretérito indefinido (simple past). It translates to “I began” or “I started.” Empezar is an -ar verb that means to begin or to start an action or process.

The yo form empecé is notable for its spelling change. -zar verbs change z to c before e in the preterite first person, and the accent on the final syllable marks this irregular spelling. The other persons in the pretérito indefinido are regular for comenzar with the same -ar endings: tú empezaste, él/ella/usted empezó, nosotros empezamos, vosotros empezasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes empezaron.

Usage: Empezar is frequently used to describe the initiation of an action in the past. It is common in narrative and everyday speech. It can be followed by a verb in the infinitive or by the phrase empezar a + infinitive to express the start of doing something, as in “empecé a leer” (I started to read) or “empecé a estudiar” (I began studying).

Etymology and related forms: Empezar derives from older Spanish forms built on the root empe- with zar spellings that required the c spelling in the yo form. A synonymous verb is comenzar, which tends to be more formal or literary.

In summary, empecé is the standard past-first-person form used to indicate a beginning that occurred in the past, with common usage in phrases that introduce actions started previously.