Confusing words: Begin vs. Start, End vs. Finish

BEGIN vs. START 

There isn't much difference in meaning between begin and start. 
Begin is more frequently used in written English and is often used when you are describing a series of events. Start, on the other hand, is more common in spoken English and in business contexts.

We can use the verbs begin and start to mean the same thing but begin is more formal than start. 

BEGIN

Begin is an irregular verb. 
begin - began - begun 

Remember: 
beginning (double 'n') 

Begin means to start doing something. 

Examples: 

• Shall I begin? (When you want to ask whether to start doing something.) 
• I have so much to tell you, I don't know where to begin. 
• begin something - We began work on the project in May. 
• I began (= started reading) this novel last month and I still haven't finished it. 
• Selena Gomez began her career in show business in 2001. 
• begin something with something - Let's begin today's lesson with a game. 
• She began to cry. 
• She looked at us nervously before she began to speak. 
• begin doing something - She began acting at a young age. 
• Chris has just begun learning to drive. 

Begins means to start to happen or exist, especially from a particular time.  

Examples: 

• When does the conference begin? 
• The film we want to watch begins at seven. 
• The new project is due to begin in May. 
• The evening began well. 

Begin as something - to be something first, before becoming something else. 

Example: 

• He began as an actor, before starting to direct films. 

Begin is used when you have something as the first part or the point where something starts. 

Examples: 

• Where does Europe end and Asia begin? 
• "I'm thinking of a country in Asia." "What does it begin with (= what is the first letter)?"  
• Each lesson begins with a warm-up activity. 

Begin is used when you start speaking. 

Examples: 

• "Well," he began, "I don't know how to tell you this." 
• "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "welcome to our 5th Annual Conference." 

​
Idiom 
to begin with = first or most importantly (It's used when you give the first important reason for something.) 

Examples: 

• To begin with, I don't have enough money to take a trip to Europe this summer. 
• The hotel was awful. To begin with, our room was far too small. 

START 

Start is a regular verb. 
start - started - started 

Start means to begin doing something. 

Examples: 

• It's a long story. Where shall I start? 
• start something - When do you start your new job? 
• Can you start (= a new job) on Monday? (job interview) 
• The kids start school next week. 
• start to do something - It started to rain. 
• start doing something - She started laughing. 

Another meaning of this verb is to start happening or to make something start happening. 

Examples: 

• When does the class start? 
• When does the next season of Game of Thrones start? 
• Do you start the day with a good breakfast? 

This verb is also used when you start a machine or a vehicle. 

Examples: 

• My car won't start in cold weather. 
• The car won't start. 
• I can't get the car started. What should I do? 
• Press this button to start the printer. 

Start is used when you make something begin to exist. Start is used to talk about creating a new business. 

Examples: 

• start (up) - There are a lot of small businesses starting up in that area. 
• He started his own software company. 
• She started a new restaurant and it's been going really well. 
• She started a yoga class at work. 

​
Idiom 
to start with = at the beginning; It is also used when you are giving the first and most important reason for something.  

Examples: 

• The group had only 5 members to start with. 
• To start with, it's too expensive. 

​
END vs. FINISH 

END 

End is a regular verb. 
end - ended - ended 
​
End means to finish or to make something finish - 'to come to a stop'. 

Examples: 

• The road ends here. 
• How does the story end? 
• They decided to end their relationship. 
• Their marriage ended in 2010. 
• Andre Agassi ended his tennis career in 2006 with over $30 million in prize money. 
• I think that his contract ends this month. 

FINISH 

Finish is a regular verb. 
finish - finished - finished 

Finish means to complete something or come to the end of an activity.  

Examples: 

• Haven't you finished your homework yet? 
• She finished law school last year. 
• I'm reading at the moment. I'll just finish the chapter and then I'll come. 
• finish doing something - Be quiet! He hasn't finished speaking. 
• Call me when you've finished writing the report. 
• She finished second (= in second place) in the finals. 
• They've already run out of money and the building isn't even half-finished yet. (= half of it has not been completed) 
• The meeting should finish around four o'clock. 
• School starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at 3:30 p.m. 
• I thought you'd never finish. 

Finish is used when you talk about food and drinks. It means to eat, drink or use something completely so that none remains. 

Examples: 

• finish something (up) - He finished his drink, paid the bill and left the restaurant. 
• He finished his meal in ten minutes. 
• We finished the pie last night. (= We ate all of it.) 
• We might as well finish up the cake. 

Exercise 

Complete the sentences with begin, start, end and finish in the correct forms. 

1. Let's ................ by writing down a few ideas. 
2. The show was due to ................ at 8:30. 
3. Their problems are only ................ There's a lot more to come. 
4. In 1993, Angelina Jolie ................ her professional film career with her first major part in the sci-fi film "Cyborg 2". 
5. Angelina Jolie has ................ an advocate for children's education and protecting the interests of child immigrants and other vulnerable children. 
6. I didn't save the file I was working on and now I need to ................ from scratch. (= from the very beginning) 
7. If you want to learn more about marketing, this book is an excellent place to ................ 
8. It's time to ................ thinking about next year. 
9. He's just ................ a new job. 
10. Hotel prices ................ at $65 a night for a double room.
11. They decided to ................ their trip from Saigon. 
12. The show last night ................ with a song. 
13. Carolina Rodriguez, a Spanish gymnast, competed at the 2016 European Championships where she ................ in 9th place. 
14. Rodriguez ................ her career after the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 
​15. Have you ................ reading that magazine? 
16. Have you ................ with the vacuum cleaner yet? I need it. 


Answers: 
​1. begin; 2. begin; 3. beginning; 4. began; 5. begun; 6. start; 7. start; 8. start; 9. started; 10. start; 11. start; 12. ended; 13. finished; 14. ended; 15. finished; 16. finished;