How to Conjugate "Beginnen" (to Begin) in German

The German verb beginnen means "to begin," "to start," or "to commence." It's a rather easy verb for English-speakers because it includes the word "begin." The verb's conjugated forms also closely resemble the English forms of begin, began, and begun.

The verb beginnen belongs to the class of strong (irregular) German verbs. Since they don't follow a strict rule, you will need to memorize each form. While this one is easier because it resembles its English counterpart, the different conjugations can trip you up.

Principal Parts:  beginnen - begann - begonnen

Imperative (Commands): (du) Beginne! | (ihr) Beginnt! | Beginnen Sie!

Beginnen vs. Anfangen

It's also important to note that anfangen means "to start" means "to start" as well. The two verbs are often used the same way, though some people prefer to use one or another in certain contexts. If you're hoping that anfangen is easier to conjugate than beginnen, think again. That verb has a separable prefix which poses its own challenges.

Beginnen in the Present Tense (Präsens)

The present tense(präsens) is the easiest place to begin studying any verb conjugation. You will use these forms of beginnen most often, so take some time to study these and add them to your vocabulary.

It will help your studies if you practice each verb form in sentences. It's a little trick that can aid your memorization and can be as simple as short sentences like these.

• Der Film beginnt am Mittwoch. - The film begins on Wednesday.
• Wann beginnen wir? - When do we start?

Beginnen in the Simple Past Tense (Imperfekt)

Once you are comfortable with the present tense, move on to the simple past tense (imperfekt). This is the most common way to say "began" in German, so you should get plenty of practice as your language studies progress.

Beginnen in the Compound Past Tense (Perfekt)

Another way to say "began" is to use the compound past tense, otherwise known as the present perfect (perfekt). You will use this one when something "began" in the past but you have not explicitly said when that was. There are also times when it can be used to say that something had begun and that the action continues.

Beginnen in the Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)

A less frequently used form, the past perfect tense (plusquamperfekt) has its uses as well. This one is reserved for those times when the action of beginning happened before something else in the past. For instance, "I had begun the song before people danced."

Beginnen in the Future Tenses

It's rare that the future tense is used in German. You'll find it more common to use the present tense with an adverb rather than the futur I and futur II forms. For instance, Er beginnt morgen an. can be used to say "He's going to begin tomorrow."

However, it is good to know these forms of beginnen because you might encounter them at some point.

Future Tense (Futur 1)

Future Perfect Tense (Futur II)