Introduction
Learning basic Spanish verbs that express beginning, ending, and continuing is essential for everyday conversations. This article explains how to use empezar, terminar, and seguir in simple, practical contexts for complete beginners. You will see clear rules, conjugation examples, common phrases, beginner tips, and realistic sample sentences you can use right away.
- Overview: What each verb means
- Basic conjugation patterns for beginners
- How to use empezar when introducing actions
- How to use terminar to indicate completion
- How to use seguir for continuing or following
- Comparing the three verbs in practice
- Practical vocabulary and short dialogues
- Common mistakes beginners make
- Beginner tips for practicing these verbs
- Short exercises for beginners
- Real-life scenarios and sample sentences
- Quick reference cheat sheet
- Conclusion
Overview: What each verb means
Empezar means to begin or to start. Use it to say when an action begins.
Terminar means to finish or to end. Use it to say when something is completed.
Seguir means to continue or to follow. Use it to say when an action keeps going or to indicate following someone or something.
Basic conjugation patterns for beginners
These three verbs are regular in many tenses, but beginners will mainly use present, past, and infinitive forms.
Infinitives: empezar, terminar, seguir
Present simple examples: empieza, empiezo; termina, terminamos; sigue, seguimos
Past simple (pretérito) examples: empecé, empezó; terminé, terminaron; seguí, siguió
Present progressive uses: estar + gerund. Gerunds: empezando, terminando, siguiendo
Note on stem change
The verb empezar has a stem change in some forms: e becomes ie in present: yo empiezo, él empieza. In the preterite first person singular it changes spelling: yo empecé.
The verb seguir has an irregular stem in present: e becomes i: yo sigo, tú siges is incorrect—correct is tú siges is not used; proper is tú sigues. In the preterite yo seguí, not irregular like present.
How to use empezar when introducing actions
Use empezar to tell when an event begins, to say you start doing something, or to invite someone to start.
Simple structures:
empezar + a + infinitive — to start to do something
empezar + noun — to start something (an event, class, meeting)
Examples:
La clase empieza a las ocho.
Voy a empezar a estudiar español hoy.
¿Cuándo empieza la película?
Use with time words: empieza mañana, a las tres, ahora mismo.
Common beginner phrases with empezar
Vamos a empezar.
¿Podemos empezar?
Hoy empiezo un curso nuevo.
How to use terminar to indicate completion
Use terminar when something ends or when you finish an action. It often pairs with de + infinitive to say you just finished doing something.
Simple structures:
terminar + de + infinitive — to finish doing something
terminar + noun — to finish something
Examples:
Ella terminó la tarea anoche.
Acabo de terminar de comer.
El concierto termina a las diez.
Common beginner phrases with terminar
He terminado ahora.
¿Ya terminaste?
Necesito terminar esto hoy.
How to use seguir for continuing or following
Use seguir to say that an action continues or that someone follows another person or instruction. Two common patterns are seguir + gerund to say continue doing something and seguir + noun to mean follow someone or something.
Simple structures:
seguir + gerundio (gerund) — to continue doing something
seguir + a + persona — to follow someone
Examples:
Sigo estudiando español.
Continúa caminando, sigue recto.
Ellos siguen al guía.
Common beginner phrases with seguir
Sigue las instrucciones.
No sigues la receta correctamente.
¿Sigues trabajando aquí?
Comparing the three verbs in practice
It helps to see the three verbs in similar sentences to understand differences. Each example uses the same noun or action so you can compare meaning.
La clase empieza a las nueve. — The class begins at nine.
La clase termina a las diez. — The class ends at ten.
Después del recreo, la clase sigue con ejercicios. — After recess, the class continues with exercises.
Using infinitives and gerunds
Use empezar + a + infinitive: Empezó a llover.
Use terminar + de + infinitive: Terminé de leer el libro.
Use seguir + gerundio: Sigue lloviendo.
Practical vocabulary and short dialogues
Vocabulary list for these verbs:
hora — time
clase — class
tarea — homework
trabajo — work
película — movie
instrucciones — instructions
ejercicio — exercise
lista de frases y situaciones:
En una clase: La clase empieza ahora. Por favor, tomen asiento.
En el trabajo: ¿A qué hora terminas hoy?
En la cocina: Sigue cocinando por cinco minutos más.
En un mensaje: He terminado el informe. Te lo envío.
En la calle: La película empieza a las ocho y termina a las diez.
Common mistakes beginners make
Mixing structures: Do not use empezar directly with a gerund. Use empezar + a + infinitive, not empezando for the same meaning.
Incorrect: Empiezo estudiando español. — Better: Empiezo a estudiar español.
Confusing terminar + de + infinitive with terminar + gerund. Correct: Terminé de trabajar. Using gerund after terminar is uncommon.
Using seguir with infinitive to mean continue: Use seguir + gerund. Incorrect: Sigo estudiar. Correct: Sigo estudiando.
Watch stem changes: For empezar, use empiezo not empezo. For seguir, use sigo not seguo.
Beginner tips for practicing these verbs
Create simple daily sentences: Write three sentences each day using empezar, terminar, and seguir.
Label your schedule: Use Spanish times and write when activities empiezan and terminan.
Listen for these verbs in short audio: Songs, podcasts for learners, or slow news often use starting, ending, and continuing verbs.
Practice with role-play: One person asks when something starts or ends; the other answers. Example: ¿Cuándo empieza la clase? — A las nueve.
Short exercises for beginners
Fill in the blanks with the correct form:
1. La película ______ a las ocho. (empezar)
2. Ellos ______ de comer. (terminar)
3. Yo ______ estudiando. (seguir)
Answers:
1. empieza
2. terminaron / terminaron de
3. sigo
Real-life scenarios and sample sentences
Ordering at a café: El concierto empieza a las siete, ¿quedamos a las seis?
At school: ¿Has terminado la tarea? — No, todavía estoy terminando.
On public transport: El servicio sigue hasta la próxima estación.
At work: Voy a empezar el informe ahora y terminaré más tarde.
Quick reference cheat sheet
empezar + a + infinitive — start to do something. Example: Voy a empezar a leer.
terminar + de + infinitive — finish doing something. Example: Acabo de terminar de comer.
seguir + gerundio — continue doing something. Example: Sigo aprendiendo.
Conclusion
Mastering empezar, terminar, and seguir gives you practical tools to talk about time, actions, and progress in everyday Spanish. Use the simple patterns here: empezar + a + infinitive, terminar + de + infinitive, and seguir + gerundio. Practice short, realistic sentences from daily life to build confidence quickly.
