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Start, begin, commence



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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Start, begin, commence #1 (permalink) Mon Nov 21, 2005 15:41 pm   Start, begin, commence
 

Hello everybody!

Could you please tell me, what's the difference between these three verbs: to start, to begin and to commence?

Thank you in advance.
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Begin/start/commence #2 (permalink) Mon Nov 21, 2005 16:50 pm   Begin/start/commence
 

Hi Sidle Jinks,

Always a good question! Start and begin can be interchanged without much difficulty:

When does the show start/begin?
When do we begin/start our holiday/journey?

School begins/starts at 8 am

Commence is usually used as a sort of official sounding word: The prize giving ceremony commences at 2 pm
The parliamentary session commences in October.

Hope this helps

Alan
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Thank you! #3 (permalink) Mon Nov 21, 2005 16:55 pm   Thank you!
 

Hi Alan!

Thank you very much for your explanation! It really helped!
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Start, begin, commence #4 (permalink) Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:52 am   Start, begin, commence
 

What do I say a new life has started or a new life has begun? Appreciate
Yemel
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Start, begin, commence #5 (permalink) Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:32 am   Start, begin, commence
 

Hi Yemel,
The answer is that both are correct.But actually the thing is that when in conversation one time we use "begin" so at the other time we use "start".Why? due to variety of words.E.G Our new life has begun that is why I am not in the mood to start any quarrel.
Naz.
(I hope it may be useful) : Cool
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Joined: 02 Jul 2009
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