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 #2 (permalink) Fri Oct 15, 2004 14:59 pm Start begin |
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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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Torsten
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| #4 (permalink) Mon Jul 14, 2008 0:28 am Start and begin |
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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.
.
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Yankee
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| #5 (permalink) Mon Jul 14, 2008 0:32 am Start and begin |
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Hello Anon,
| Anonymous wrote: |
| what is the difference between START and BEGIN? |
Etymologically, "to start" is "to leap up". In its various idiomatic uses, it retains something of this sense of sudden movement.
Best wishes,
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| #6 (permalink) Thu Aug 28, 2008 16:19 pm Start and begin |
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Hello Torsten :D
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 :D |
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| #7 (permalink) Thu Aug 28, 2008 20:29 pm Start and begin |
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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
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| #8 (permalink) Thu Aug 28, 2008 23:19 pm Start and begin |
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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 |
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| #9 (permalink) Sat Feb 21, 2009 20:29 pm Start / Begin |
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Dear Torsten
the test about the Start and Begin was very important and I answered 9/10 correctly
Best,
Nizar Hani |
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 Nizar_Hani
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| #10 (permalink) Sat Feb 21, 2009 23:16 pm Start / Begin |
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| 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!) |
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Ksenka
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| #11 (permalink) Mon Feb 23, 2009 16:07 pm Start and begin |
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| 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..... |
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Praveen123
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| #12 (permalink) Mon Mar 02, 2009 19:06 pm Start and begin |
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| 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 |
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Antir Olfa
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| #13 (permalink) Mon Mar 02, 2009 19:22 pm Start and begin |
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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 |
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Antir Olfa
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| #14 (permalink) Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:57 am start & begin. |
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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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| #15 (permalink) Mon Mar 09, 2009 13:17 pm Start and begin |
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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 |
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