How to use START and BEGIN in English - Vocabulary

Hi guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on "start" and "begin".

These are two incredibly common words in the English language, and while most of the time

there is no real difference between one or the other, there are some situations where

one or the other is preferred, or when there is a certain grammatical structure that is

preferred after "start" or "begin". So let's see what I'm talking about here.

In the beginning, we have, "He began/started working here two years ago." Which one of

these should we use in this situation? Should we use "begin"? Should we "start"? Does it

matter? It really doesn't, right? So for the most part -- I mean, you can say, "He began

working here two years ago." "He started working here two years ago." But usually, there is

little to no difference in most situations.

In most situations, you can use one or the

other, so: "The concert started at nine." "The concert began at nine." Whatever you

want to say, okay? However, there is a level of -- or an issue with formality when it comes

to "start" and "begin". When you are talking about a formal situation, "begin" is actually

preferred. So if you look at these two sentences: "Let us begin this meeting with a message

from our president." It is possible to say, "Let us start this meeting", but in formal

situations, "begin" is the one that's actually preferred. He's starting to annoy me!" "He's

beginning to annoy me." "Beginning to annoy me," sounds a little more formal. Like, you're

just a little more upset. So in informal situations, we use "start" more often than not. Again,

"begin" is preferred in formal situations. I'll just leave it as "S"; it means "situations".

Now, when we're talking about machines, or when we are talking about making something

"start" or "begin", there's only one word that really works, and that word is "start".

So you can't "begin" your car. You can't "begin" your washing machine. When it comes to machines

or making something start or begin, we can only use "start", okay? So, "My car won't

start." We don't say, "My car won't begin." "I started the washing machine an hour ago."

Not, "I began the washing machine an hour ago." So again, we use "start" for machines

and for making something start. And I'm just going to put "S/T" for something. Okay, so

if you're the person who's making something start, you "start", not "begin". If a machine

doesn't work, it means that it won't "start", not it won't "begin". So you can say, "My

laptop won't start." "My lawnmower won't start." "My car won't start." Not "begin". Okay, guys?

Finally, let's look at a grammatical structure that is often followed after "start" or "begin".

So as we mentioned, most situations -- little to no difference however, if you want to add

-- let's look at this sentence. "He's starting improving", or "He's starting to improve":

Which one of these sentences sounds better? "He is starting improving", or "He is starting

to improve"? Well, if you said, "He's starting to improve", you're right. Basically, when

you are using a continuous form, like "he is starting", "she is starting", when somebody

is doing something, the infinitive form of the verb is preferred after "start" or "begin",

okay? I'm running out of room here, guys, so let's go over here. Infinitive is preferred

after "start" or "begin" when used in continuous -- in the continuous form. So, "It's starting

to rain", not, "It is starting raining." "It is starting to rain." "It is beginning to

rain." Not, "It is beginning raining." Okay. Finally, we "began to realize/understand/know",

these three verbs in particular, to "realize", "understand", "know" -- if you use "realize",

"understand" or "know" after "begin" or after "start", the infinitive form is also preferred.

So again, not "We began realizing", "We began understanding", "We began knowing" -- You

can say it in informal speech. It is possible. However, the preference is to use the infinitive

form, okay? So remember, use infinitives if you're using a continuous form of "start"

or "begin", or if you're following it with "realize", "understand", or "know".

Okay, guys, just as a quick review of the other lessons that we've learned here today

-- most situations -- there's really no difference between "start" and "begin". However, there

is a level of formality that becomes an issue. So if you are in a formal situation, "begin"

is preferred -- informally, we use "start". When you're talking about machines, you use

"start", not "begin". When you're talking about "making something start", you also use

"start" and not "begin". That's it. Okay, guys, to test your understanding of

the knowledge that you see on the board here, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com,

and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Good luck, and take care.