începeam

Începeam is the imperfect tense, first-person plural form of the Romanian verb "a începe," which means "to begin" or "to start." This grammatical form is used to describe an action that was ongoing or habitual in the past. It conveys a sense of continuity, a state of being in the process of starting something, or a repeated action that occurred in the past.

When "începeam" is used in a sentence, it indicates that the speaker and at least one other person were in the process of beginning something at a particular time in the past, or that they habitually began something over a period of time. For example, "Începeam să învățăm limba română anul trecut" translates to "We were beginning to learn Romanian last year," suggesting an ongoing process of learning. Alternatively, "Începeam să mergem la școală devreme în fiecare dimineață" would mean "We used to begin going to school early every morning," indicating a past habit.

The imperfect tense in Romanian, including "începeam," is crucial for depicting past narratives and describing situations that were in progress. It differs from the perfect compus tense, which denotes a completed action in the past. The use of "începeam" emphasizes the duration or repetition of the action rather than its completion. It is a common and essential verb form in spoken and written Romanian for recounting past experiences and events.