Begin Began Begun

[A2] Begin Began Begun: English verb usage explained. Learn how to use begin, began, and begun correctly in everyday English with examples and common irregularities.

🇬🇧 English 🇪🇸 Español 🇨🇳 中文

Begin forms

“Begin” is an irregular verb with three key forms: the base form begin, the past simple began, and the past participle begun. Use begin for present and infinitives, began for finished past events, and begun with auxiliary verbs to build perfect tenses and passive voice. Learning which situations need began versus begun is the main point of this set.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: Begin 的各种形式

“Begin”是一个不规则动词，具有三种关键形式：基本形式 begin、过去式 began，以及过去分词 begun。使用 begin 表示现在时和不定式，使用 began 表示已完成的过去事件，使用 begun 搭配助动词来构成完成时态和被动语态。学习在何种情境下应使用 began 与 begun，是本组的核心要点。

选择题

Review

Which set lists the three main forms of the verb 'begin' correctly?

begin — begun — began

began — begun — begin

begin — began — begun

begin — began — began

Base: begin

Use begin for the present tense with I, you, we, they, and after modals like will, can, should. It also appears in the infinitive to begin and in the -ing form beginning for progressive tenses. The base form does not show past time by itself.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 基本形式：begin

在第一人称单数 I、you、we、they 以及在情态动词如 will、can、should 之后，使用 begin。它也出现在不定式 to begin 中，以及进行时态的 -ing 形式 beginning 中。基本形式本身并不表示过去时间。

填空题

Review

Complete: She will(to begin, base form).

Past: began

Use began as the simple past form for actions that started in the past and are viewed as completed or as a past fact. It does not need an auxiliary verb and should not follow have or be. If you can replace the verb with another simple past form like went or saw, began usually fits.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 过去时：began

将 began 用作简单过去时，用于在过去开始并被视为已完成或是过去事实的动作。它不需要助动词，且不应跟在 have 或 be 之后。如果你可以把动词替换成其他简单过去时形式，如 went 或 saw，那么 began 通常更合适。

填空题

Review

Complete: They(to begin, past simple) yesterday.

Participle: begun

Use begun as the past participle, which requires an auxiliary such as have, has, had, or be. It commonly appears in perfect tenses to connect a past start to another time reference. Begun cannot stand alone as the main verb without an auxiliary.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 分词：begun

将 begun 作为过去分词使用，这需要像 have、has、had 或 be 这样的助动词。它通常出现在完成时态中，将过去的起始与其它时间参照连接起来。没有助动词时，begun 不能单独作为主要动词使用。

填空题

Review

Choose the correct completion: They(to begin, present perfect).

Perfect tenses

Use have or has with begun to form the present perfect when the start matters now, or when the exact time is not the focus. Use had with begun for the past perfect when one past start happened before another past event. The auxiliary carries the tense, and begun stays the participle.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 完成时态

在开始现在很重要，或不以确切时间为重时，使用 begun 搭配 have 或 has 形成现在完成时；在过去完成时中，若一个过去的起始发生在另一个过去事件之前，则用 begun 搭配 had。助动词承担时态，而 begun 仍然是分词。

Subject	🇨🇳 中文主语	Form	🇨🇳 中文形式	Example	🇨🇳 中文示例
I	👤 我	have begun	🧩 已经开始	I have begun the project.	💬 我已经开始了这个项目。
you	👤 你	have begun	🧩 已经开始	You have begun to understand.	💬 你已经开始理解了。
he	👤 他	has begun	🧩 已经开始了	He has begun a new job.	💬 他已经开始了一份新工作。
she	👤 她	has begun	🧩 已经开始了	She has begun to cook.	💬 她已经开始做饭。
it	👤 它	has begun	🧩 已经开始了	It has begun to rain.	💬 它已经开始下雨了。
we	👤 我们	have begun	🧩 已经开始了	We have begun the meeting.	💬 我们已经开始了会议。
they	👤 他们	have begun	🧩 已经开始了	They have begun work.	💬 他们已经开始工作。

填空题

Review

Complete with the correct perfect form: I(to begin, present perfect).

Progressive forms

Use beginning with be to show an action in progress: am, is, are beginning in the present; was, were beginning in the past. This focuses on the process of starting rather than the fact that it started. Beginning is not interchangeable with began or begun because it expresses ongoing action.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 进行时形式

使用 be + beginning 来表示正在进行的动作：现在时态用 am、is、are beginning；过去时态用 was、were beginning。这强调开始的过程，而不是它已经开始的事实。beginning 不能与 began 或 begun 互换，因为它表达的是正在进行的动作。

填空题

Review

Complete: She is(to begin, present participle).

Passive voice

Use begun with be to form the passive when the subject receives the action of starting. This is common in formal or informational writing about events, projects, or processes. The agent can be omitted if it is unknown or unimportant.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 被动语态

在主语承受“开始”这个动作时，使用 be + begun 构成被动语态。这在关于事件、项目或过程的正式或信息性写作中很常见。如果行动者未知或不重要，可以省略。

Rule	🇨🇳 中文规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文示例
Use be + begun for passive	📌 使用 be + begun 构成被动	The ceremony was begun at noon.	💬 仪式在中午开始了。
Use get + begun for informal passive	📌 使用 get + begun 表示非正式的被动	The project got begun late.	💬 这个项目晚些时候才开始。
Keep begun with an auxiliary in passive	📌 在被动语态中继续使用带助动词 begun	The work has been begun already.	💬 这项工作已经开始了。

选择题

Review

Choose the grammatically correct passive sentence.

The ceremony begun at noon.

The ceremony has began at noon.

The ceremony was begun at noon.

The ceremony began at noon.

Time markers

Certain time expressions strongly suggest a specific form. Simple past markers like yesterday or last night usually go with began. Perfect markers like already, just, and yet often go with have begun or had begun, depending on the time frame.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 时间标记

某些时间表达强烈暗示特定形式。简单过去时标记如 yesterday 或 last night 通常与 began 搭配。完成时标记如 already、just、yet 常与 have begun 或 had begun 搭配，取决于时间范围。

Rule	🇨🇳 中文规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文示例
Finished past time often uses began	📌 已完成的过去时间通常使用 began	We began yesterday.	💬 We began yesterday.
Result up to now often uses have begun	📌 直到现在的结果通常使用 have begun	We have already begun.	💬 We have already begun.
Earlier past start uses had begun	📌 早些过去的起始使用 had begun	They had begun before I arrived.	💬 They had begun before I arrived.

选择题

Review

Which sentence correctly matches the time marker 'already' with the correct form?

We begun already.

We already begin.

We have already begun.

We began already.

Fixed patterns

Begin appears in several common grammatical patterns that control what follows. Begin to + verb is frequent in careful writing, while begin + -ing is also common and sometimes feels more natural in conversation. Begin with + noun describes what you do first in a sequence.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 固定搭配

Begin 出现在若干常见的语法结构中，用来控制后续用法。Begin to + 动词在写作中较为谨慎时常见，begin + -ing 也很常见，在口语中有时听起来更自然。Begin with + 名词描述你在一个序列中首先要做的事。

Rule	🇨🇳 中文规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文示例
begin to + verb	📌 begin to + 动词	She began to speak.	💬 She began to speak.
begin + verb-ing	📌 begin + 动词现在分词	She began speaking.	💬 She began speaking.
begin with + noun	📌 begin with + 名词	Begin with the basics.	💬 从基础开始。

选择题

Review

Which sentence shows 'begin to + verb' (infinitive) pattern?

She began the speaking.

She began with to speak.

She began to speak.

She began speaking.

Pronunciation

Begin has stress on the second syllable, which affects vowel clarity and rhythm in connected speech. The -un in begun sounds like a short vowel similar to the vowel in fun in many accents. Listening for stress helps you distinguish begin from begun in fast speech.

🇨🇳中文 Translation: 发音

Begin 在第二个音节上有重音，这会影响连读中的元音清晰度和节奏。 begu n 的 -un 在许多口音中发音类似 fun 的短元音。留意重音有助于你在快速语音中区分 begin 与 begun。

Rule	🇨🇳 中文规则	Description	🇨🇳 中文描述	Notation	🇨🇳 中文记号	Example	🇨🇳 中文示例
Stress pattern	🔊 重音模式	Second syllable is stressed	第二个音节被重读	bi GIN	bi GIN	Begin the lesson.	Begin the lesson.
Past vowel change	🔊 过去时元音变化	Past simple changes the middle vowel sound	过去简单时改变中间的元音音质	bi GAN	bi GAN	They began at six.	They began at six.
Participle vowel	🔊 分词元音	Participle uses the -un vowel like fun	分词使用像 fun 的 -un 元音	bi GUN	bi GUN	It has begun.	It has begun.