In Spanish we use this verbal structure (known in grammar jargon La perífrasis verbal) to express "To begin/start doing[something]".
Have a look and listen to the following examples in different tenses:
Yo he empezado a bailar esta semana.
I started dancing this week.
Manuel comienza a gritar cuando no le escuchas.
Manuel starts shouting when you don't listen to him.
Nosotros empezaremos a estudiar alemán la semana que viene.
We will start studying German next week.
Ellos comenzaron a construir las casas ayer.
They started building the houses yesterday.
Notice how the preposition "a" always follows empezar/comenzar. In Spanish, unlike in English, after "a" we do not use a gerund (-ing form) but the infinitive.
Marcos empieza a trabajar hoy.
Marcos empieza a trabajando hoy.
Marcos begins/starts to work today.
See also:
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Ellos comenzaron a construir las casas ayer.
They started building the houses yesterday.
Nosotros empezaremos a estudiar alemán la semana que viene.
We will start studying German next week.
Yo he empezado a bailar esta semana.
I started dancing this week.
Manuel comienza a gritar cuando no le escuchas.
Manuel starts shouting when you don't listen to him.
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