beginnen
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch beginnen, from Old Dutch biginnan, from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bəˈɣɪnə(n)/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: be‧gin‧nen
- Rhymes: -ɪnən
Inflection
Conjugation of beginnen (strong class 3a, prefixed) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | beginnen | |||
past singular | begon | |||
past participle | begonnen | |||
infinitive | beginnen | |||
gerund | beginnen n | |||
present tense | past tense | |||
1st person singular | begin | begon | ||
2nd person sing. (jij) | begint | begon | ||
2nd person sing. (u) | begint | begon | ||
2nd person sing. (gij) | begint | begont | ||
3rd person singular | begint | begon | ||
plural | beginnen | begonnen | ||
subjunctive sing.1 | beginne | begonne | ||
subjunctive plur.1 | beginnen | begonnen | ||
imperative sing. | begin | |||
imperative plur.1 | begint | |||
participles | beginnend | begonnen | ||
1) Archaic. |
Synonyms
Antonyms
German
Etymology
From Middle High German beginnen, from Old High German biginnan, from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną. Cognate with Low German beginnen, Dutch beginnen, West Frisian begjinne, and English begin.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bəˈɡɪnən/, [bəˈɡɪnən], [bəˈɡɪnn̩]
audio (Germany) (file) audio (Germany) (file) audio (Austria) (file)
Verb
beginnen (class 3 strong, third-person singular present beginnt, past tense begann, past participle begonnen, past subjunctive begänne or begönne, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive) to begin; to commence; to be started
- Der Vortrag hat begonnen. ― The lecture has begun.
- (chiefly literary, transitive or with mit) to start something; to begin something
- Er hat den Vortrag begonnen. ― He has started the lecture.
- Er hat mit dem Vortrag begonnen. ― He has started the lecture.
Usage notes
- Beginnen is relatively rare in colloquial German and is most often replaced with anfangen. This is particularly true of the sense “to start something”.
- In literary German, beginnen is often preferred to anfangen, though both are perfectly acceptable.
Conjugation
infinitive | beginnen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | beginnend | ||||
past participle | begonnen | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich beginne | wir beginnen | i | ich beginne | wir beginnen |
du beginnst | ihr beginnt | du beginnest | ihr beginnet | ||
er beginnt | sie beginnen | er beginne | sie beginnen | ||
preterite | ich begann | wir begannen | ii | ich begänne1 ich begönne1 |
wir begännen1 wir begönnen1 |
du begannst | ihr begannt | du begännest1 du begännst1 du begönnest1 du begönnst1 |
ihr begännet1 ihr begännt1 ihr begönnet1 ihr begönnt1 | ||
er begann | sie begannen | er begänne1 er begönne1 |
sie begännen1 sie begönnen1 | ||
imperative | beginn (du) beginne (du) |
beginnt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Related terms
Middle Dutch
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Derived terms
- beginninge
- beginsel
Further reading
- “beghinnen (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “beginnen”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Middle English
Etymology
Inherited from Old English beginnan, from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan.
Verb
beginnen
- start; begin
- 1474, Caxton, Game and Playe of the Chesse:
- And than we wyll begynne at the pawne whiche standeth to fore the rooke on the right side of the kinge for as moche as this pawne apperteyneth to serue the vicaire or lieutenant of the kynge and other officers vnder hym of necessaryes of vitayll
- And then we will begin at the pawn which stands before the rook on the right side of the king, for as much as this pawn appertains to serve the vicar or lieutenant of the king and other officers under him of vital necessity
Derived terms
Further reading
- “biginnen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Middle High German
Verb
beginnen (class 3 strong, third-person singular present beginnet, past tense began, past participle begunnen, past subjunctive begüne, auxiliary hân)
- to begin
Conjugation
infinitive | beginnen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
genitive gerund | beginnennes beginnenes | ||||
dative gerund | beginnenne beginnene | ||||
present participle | beginnende | ||||
past participle | begunnen | ||||
auxiliary | hân | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich beginne | wir beginnen | i | ich beginne | wir beginnen |
du beginnest | ir beginnet | du beginnest | ir beginnet | ||
ër beginnet | sie beginnent | ër beginne | sie beginnen | ||
preterite | ich began | wir begunnenen | ii | ich begünne | wir begünnen |
du begünne | ir begunnenet | du begünnest | ir begünnet | ||
ër began | sie begunnenen | ër begünne | sie begünnen | ||
imperative | begin (du) | beginnet (ir) |
Descendants
- German: beginnen