I teach ESL. I need to know the real difference between BEGIN and START.?

Answer 1

See the answer below from http://www.english-test.net/articles/24

Where shall we start? Where shall we begin? Shall we begin at the start, start at the beginning, start at the start or even begin at the beginning? That last one was good enough for the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas in his famous play for voices, Under Milk Wood first broadcast in February 1954 a few weeks after the poet's death. The actor Richard Burton intoned the lines:

«To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black…» The two verbs «start» and «begin» are like so many couples in the English language a really troublesome pair because of the problem of choosing the right one for the appropriate use and occasion. Take these two sentences for example:

«I've started to learn English and I've begun to learn English». Which one would you choose? Well, I have a theory about these verbs which I want to try out in order to test its validity. The difference really lies in the nature of the two words. «Begin» has a sense of leisure and «start» has the idea of urgency. They both obviously indicate the idea of commencing — don't ask me to explain that word's relationship with the pair, suffice it to say that it covers both meanings — but there is a difference in interpretation. «Start» gives the idea of suddenness. In fact if you were sitting in a room and say half asleep and you were unaware that there was anybody else there, you would say if you unexpectedly heard or saw them:

«Oh, you did give me a start» or as an extension of the verb: «You startled me». Then again you could say: «My car starts straightaway in the morning». If you said: «My car begins in the morning», people would wonder what it was going to do next. As a further use you could look at the English translation of the Bible and go to the New Testament John 1:1, to read:

«In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God». It would be ludicrous here to use the word «start». If you want to get on with a meeting because nobody is paying attention, you might say:

«Shall we start?» And thus indicate that there is a lot to do and time is important. «Shall we begin?» is much more relaxed. There is a sort of uniqueness in idea behind the verb «start» as if it hasn't happened before, take these two sentences for example:

«Charlie (baby) started speaking at the age of two and Charlie (chairman) began speaking at two o'clock». Back to my original question concerning the learning of English. «I've started to learn English» suggests possibly «I have to for my job» or «I've thought about it for a long time and now decided the time is right». Whereas «I've begun to learn English» gives the idea that you've taken up this as a hobby and it might be of interest to other people.

If you had to give the two verbs a personality, you might well describe start as «impetuous, decisive and efficient». Begin can perhaps be described as «relaxed, unhurried and good-natured». And that's probably where I'll have to finish or should I say «end»? Now there's yet another irritating pair that I'll have to go into another time…

Answer 2

While the two words mean exactly the same thing, the KEY difference is that begin is a process, while start is not.

With begin, there's some time that passes between when you begin and when you finish. But with start, it's literally over right away.

Answer 3

Well, as an ESL teacher (I am one, too), you probably already know that one of the biggest problems English presents to the ESL learner is that "Words have many meanings."
In most contexts "begin" and "start" would have very similar (but often slightly different - "Gentlemen, start your engines", but not "Gentlemen, begin your engines.")
You could say, "You can start/begin the quiz now", for example.
But "start" is also used as a noun ( I knew right from the start ), whereas it's hard to come up with a context in which begin would be used as a noun (Unless you said, "Begin is not a noun.")
Bottom line: the two words are often synonyms, but as we grammar teachers know: "Context is everything."

Answer 4

There are differences on foreign policy. Republicans seem to like to see the best in America and the worst in our adversaries while the Democrats see the worst in America and the best in our adversaries. Domestically, both are interested in buying the votes of the people with their own money. The problem is that the two parties have codified their existence. They are both extra-Constitutional entities. Yet the taxpayers pay for their primaries and their political operations in Congress. (Only the Speaker's Office is a Constitutional office. The Majority/Minority Leaders and their Whips are pure partisan politics.) For a third party to form and break that hold would be very difficult.

Answer 5

"People, and most dictionaries, consider start and begin to be synonyms, as in the following pairs of sentences:

(a)
It’s starting to rain.


(b)
It’s beginning to rain.


(c)
When Katherine heard the news, she started to cry.

(d)
When Katherine heard the news, she began to cry.


(e)
The movie starts at 7:00.

(f)
The movie begins at 7:00.


However, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin, 1996) notes that only start, not begin, can imply setting out from a specific point, frequently following inaction, as in sentence (g) below:

(g)
Stand here and visit with me for a few minutes until the train starts.


The same source notes that begin often means to take the first step in performing or to come into being.

Michael Swan (Practical English Usage, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1995) lists these instances in which start, but NOT begin, is used:

“1. start a journey:

I think we ought to start at six, while the roads are empty.

2. start working (for machines):

The car won’t start.

3. make (machines) start:

How do you start the washing machine?”

So, while in most instances start and begin are interchangeable, in a few cases, such as those described above, only start is possible."

Answer 6

You never begin the car.
you never begin the engine.

you are never a starting flute player
you are always a beginning flute player

the book has a beginning
not a starting

most of the time the words are interchangeable but
i thought of these few times when usage is different.

Answer 7

Begin is used in cases that imply a lengthy or ongoing process. Start is used to imply a binary event (off/on) - you start a car for instance, you begin a degree program.

Answer 8

There is not a lot of difference. However you start a car. You don't begin a car.

Answer 9

You start a car you don't begin it.

Answer 10

U BEGIN a new day, and START planning for ur future.