Hi guys! I would like an opinion from native English speakers. What is the main difference in the usage of the verbs to start and to begin? Especially I get confused which one to use in the past tense. I feel more comfortable to use "I started", but I've been noticing lately that in the articles or videos people more often use "I began". Which one is correct or used more commonly?
Use them both interchangeably. There is no difference.
I'm not a native speaker but that's a fact: they are more or less the same, so you can use each of them in most situations. However, there is at least one case where you can use only <em>to start</em>:
To start a car (завести машину) - you cannot begin a car
Similarly, you can start any machine like a water boiler but you cannot begin it.
There is no difference in meaning between the two words, and they can be used interchangeably.
One thing worth remembering, though, is that 'start' can combine with other words - for example, start out, start off, start up - whereas 'begin' can't.
Both are used.
"To start a car" is a different meaning - it means you are igniting the engine, or turning the car on.
For "start" and "begin", meaning <em>commence</em>, there's a lot of overlap in meaning. As Liza and Simone have pointed out, when either has a meaning other than commence (eg. "start" = ignite/turn on... we even use "start" to mean "react in shock"), then you obviously can't replace one with the other.
Most of the time, you can use either. I think only an advanced professional writer would think about the difference. It's quite an interesting difference. :)
If you're interested in more discussion on the topic, just search for "difference start begin" and you'll find plenty of links.
