Start and begin

[Umbrella]

Test No. incompl/elem-6 "Start/Begin", question 2

My car very rarely ......... first time when the weather is really cold.

(a) begins
(b) beginning
(c) starting
(d) starts

Test No. incompl/elem-6 "Start/Begin", answer 2

My car very rarely starts first time when the weather is really cold.

Correct answer: (d) starts
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what is the difference between START and BEGIN?

Umbrella

[Alan]

Hi,

A difficult question to answer in a few words. A car starts means functions or works in the sense of the motor comes to life. I would hesitate to give a simple definition of both verbs because there are so many idiomatic expressions which of course cannot be explained logically. All I can say and this is a very general difference is that start very often has a mechanical automatic sense and begin has a more thoughtful human sense. Hope this helps.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Womens' Day

[Torsten]

In addition you might want to read Alan's article containing expressions with 'start' and 'begin':
http://www.english-test.net/articles/24/index.html
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

Is the word 'the' is missing from the test sentence? I'd expect 'the first time' (or alternatively, 'on the first try') in American English.
.

[MrPedantic]

Hello Anon,

[Mdenglish]

Hello Torsten

I really enjoyed reading the article about the troublesome pair 'start' and 'begin'. Thank you. In the article you wrote quote «Begin» has a sense of leisure and «start» has the idea of urgency. I noticed on board games the words ' START' and 'FINISH'... I imagine 'START' is used here to give a sense of 'racing' during the game. What is your opinion on this matter? Thanks a lot and again great article.

mdenglish

[Alan]

Hi,

I'm glad you enjoyed my article. You make a good point but of course you could interpret 'START' as a noun. The equivalent with 'begin' would of course be 'beginning'. 'Finish' is also both verb and noun.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Present Simple

[MrPedantic]

Hello MD,

I like your idea that the use of "start" and "finish" in board games relates to the use of the terms in racing. A story, on the other hand, tends to have "a beginning, a middle, and an end".

Best wishes,

MrP

[Nizar_Hani]

Dear Torsten

the test about the Start and Begin was very important and I answered 9/10 correctly

Best,
Nizar Hani

[Ksenka]

hi? i'm oksana from ukraine!i'd like to improve my english too)) i sometimes can't decide what word to use:start or begin!)

[Praveen123]

nice pic n nice name oksana....this is praveen from india.....well good question but dont worry english is a very flexible language the same word can be used with n number of meaning sso doesnt matter much whether you use start or begin .....enjoy learning the new words and their various synonoms....take care.....

[Antir Olfa]

hello every body.I m olfa from tunis and i m a new member in the forum i m here try to improve my english and search the way which help me to rich my vocabulary and i like to be good speaker in english i wait your ansewers

[Antir Olfa]

Dear sir Torsten
i do the startbegin test is so difficult test and i get in it 8 but the problem still hard to know the difference btween them please help me more to know the difference
Thanks

[Kitosdad]

Start & Begin ... the differences are many, and yet they can have the same meaning in a lot of cases.

You can start to read a book, or
You can begin to read a book.

You can start an engine, but
You cannot begin an engine.

It is just a case of having to become familiar with the many peculiarities in the English language.
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If you need me, I'm here.

[Misskhan]

Test No. incompl/elem-6 "Start/Begin", question 2

My car very rarely ......... first time when the weather is really cold.

(a) begins
(b) beginning
(c) starting
(d) starts

Test No. incompl/elem-6 "Start/Begin", answer 2

My car very rarely starts first time when the weather is really cold.

Correct answer: (d) starts

Dear teacher

why my answer is wrong although it should be right

why the answer is "starting" instead of starts

please explain