The word “begin” performs the role of a verb in English parts of speech. Let us check the ways to use “begin” in different forms of tense.
The verb “begin” has four different forms. The root form “begin” is the present form, while the past form of the word “begin” is “began”. The term “begun” can be marked as the past participle form, and the term “beginning” is the present participle form of the word “begin”.
Now, we will learn how to use the word “begin” in different tense forms.
“Begin” in present tense –
The verb “begin” becomes “begins” if the subject is third person singular number. Let us learn the use of “begin” in the present tense.
In the present tense, we must use the root form “begin” with first, second, singular, and plural numbers, while “begins” is used with third person singular numbers. The term “beginning” must be used in present progressive mode while the term “begun” must be used in present perfect mode.
When we can use “begin” in the present tense?
| Type of Present Tense Form | When to use “begin” in various present tense forms? |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | The root form of the verb “begin” can be used in the simple present tense to show the general starting of any incident, event, occasion etc. |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense | The verb form “beginning” in the present continuous tense or present progressive tense mainly refers to the start of any incident, event, occasion, learning etc., which is in progressive mode. |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | The term “has/have begun” is mainly used to denote the commencement of any incident, event, occasion etc. that has started in the past but has its effect in the present time. |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | The verb form ” has/have been beginning” in the present perfect continuous tense mainly refers to the commencement of any incident, event, occasion etc. that has already started in the past but is still continuing at the present time. |
Sentence structure in the present tense with “begin”-
| Type of Tense | Sentence formation structure with “begin” |
| 1.Simple Present Tense | Subject + begin / begins + object |
| 2.Present Continuous Tense / Present Progressive Tense | Subject + am/is/are + beginning (in the Present Participle Form) + object |
| 3.Present Perfect Tense | Subject + have/has + begun ( Past Participle Form ) + object |
| 4.Present Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + have/has + been + beginning ( Present Participle Form ) + object |
Examples of “begin” in the present tense –
| Type of Tense | Example with “begin” | Explanation |
| 1.Simple Present Tense | I begin to learn traditional instrumental music to fulfill a wish of my mother’s. | The root form of the verb “begin” is in use after the subject to mark the simple present tense mode of the sentence. |
| 2.Present Continuous Tense | I am beginning traditional instrumental music learning to fulfill a wish of my mother’s. | The continuous form “beginning” is in use because instrumental music learning is in progressive mode. |
| 3.Present Perfect Tense | I have begun traditional instrumental music learning since my childhood days to fulfill a wish of my mother’s. | The past participle form “begun” has been placed after the subject because the subject is a first person singular number and the sentence is in present perfect mode. |
| 4.Present Perfect Continuous Tense | I have been beginning to learn instrumental music for the last five years to fulfil a wish of my mother’s. | The term “been” has been placed before the subject and presents a progressive mode as the act of learning has been in continuous mode for the last five years. |
“Begin” in past tense –
There are four different types of past tense forms, which serve meanings in four different ways. Let us see how we can use the word “begin” in the past tense.
The term “began” can be marked as the simple past form of the word “begin”. We must not be confused between “began” and “begun”. The difference between both of them is that “begun” is the past participle form, while “began” is the simple past form.
When we can use “begin” in the past tense?
| Type of Past Tense Form | When to use “begin” in various past tense forms? |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | The past form “began” must be used in the simple past tense to mark the commencement of work, act, activity , learning, etc. in the past few days. |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | The progressive term “beginning” must be used along with “was/were” to show the continuous mode of any act, learning, activity, etc. in the past. |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | The past participle form “begun” along with ‘had’ in the past perfect tense must be used to show a sequence of commencement of work, act, activity , learning etc. in the past few days. |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | The present participle form “beginning” along with “had been” must be used to show the continuous form of any activity, learning, work which had started in the past and continued for specific predefined time. |
Sentence structure in the past tense with “begin”-
| Type of Tense | Sentence formation structure with “believe” |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | Subject + began ( past form ) + Object |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | Subject + was/were + beginning ( Present Participle Form ) + Object |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | Subject + had + begun ( Past Participle Form ) + Object |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + had + been + beginning ( Present Participle Form ) + Object |
Examples of “begin” in the past tense –
| Type of Tense | Examples | Explanation |
| 1.Simple Past Tense | Sandip began to help his mother with domestic household chores. | The form “began” is in use to refer to the act of Sandip helping his mother in the past. |
| 2.Past Continuous Tense | Sandip was beginning to help his mother with domestic household chores due to his mother’s inability to perform all the work alone. | The addition of ‘ing’ to the word “begin” just after the past form ‘were’ has been deliberately done to create the past continuous mode of the sentence. |
| 3.Past Perfect Tense | Sandip had begun to help his mother with domestic household chores since his early days, before he even started going to school. | The addition of ‘had’ before the past form “begun” has been done to show the sequence of the events as the sentence is in past perfect mode. |
| 4.Past Perfect Continuous Tense | Sandip had been beginning to help his mother with domestic household chores since the last five years due to his mother’s inability to perform all the work alone. | The term “had been” has been placed before the present participle form “beginning” to show the past perfect continuous mode. |
“Begin” in future tense –
Most of the time, we use the root form of the verb and the present participle or past participle form in the future tense. Let us check how we can use “begin” in the future tense.
The word “begin” in the future tense can predict the probability of starting any event, act, incident, interaction, possibility, etc. in the coming days.
When we can use “begin” in the future tense?
| Type of Future Tense Form | When to use “begin” in various future tense forms? |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | We must use the root form of the verb “begin” along with will or shall to mark any act, learning, work, etc. that is going to commence in the coming days. |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | The present participle form “beginning” is in use to show the working or running condition of any act, learning, or work that is going to commence in the coming days. |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | The term “shall/will have begun” can be used in the future perfect tense to mark an activity, learning, work etc., which is going to be commenced in the future. |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | The term “will/shall have been arriving” must be used to show continuation or running mode of any act, learning, work, etc., which is in running or working condition in a predefined specific time frame in the future. |
Sentence structure in the future tense with “begin”-
| Type of Tense | Sentence formation structure with “believe” |
| 1.Simple Future Tense | Subject + shall/will + begin + object |
| 2.Future Continuous Tense | Subject + will + be + beginning( present participle form) + object |
| 3.Future Perfect Tense | Subject + will + have + begun ( Past Participle Form ) + object |
| 4.Future Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + will + have + been + beginning ( Present Participle) + Object |
Examples of “begin” in the future tense –
| Type of Tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | Mina will begin my fashion design course after completing her graduation. | The root form “begin” is in use to show the probability or commencement of any work, event, act, learning etc. in the future. |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | Mina will be beginning my fashion design course after completing her graduation. | The progressive term “beginning” is in use to show the running condition or to show the active mode of any work, event, act, learning, etc. in the future. |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | Mina will have begun my fashion designing course after three years as my graduation will be completed by that time. | We have placed the past participle form “begun” after “will have” to show the probability or commencement of any work, event, act, learning, etc. at a specific time in the future. |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | Sandip will have been beginning his song on the stage for three hours by six o’clock. | The present participle form “beginning” is in use just after “will have been” to show the running condition or to show the active mode of any work, event, act, or learning etc. at a specific predefined time in the future. |
Conclusion:
We are going to conclude our learning with some of the word groups which describe the meaning of the word “beginning” and they are: lay foundation for, get going, set about, enter on, bring to pass, etc.
Hey! I am Arpita Bose Roy. My qualifications are M.A. in English with B. Ed. in both general education and special education. I have 2 years of experience as a “language analyst” at IIT Kharagpur and 4 years of experience as an “Academic Content Developer” at IIT Kharagpur. Currently, I am working as an academic writer at Lambdageeks.