Start Vs. Begin
I would say 'Sorry I was away so long', but I suspect the silence was golden ;) This is something I was asked about recently by one of my new colleagues. (By “new colleagues” I mean ‘one of my colleagues in the translating office that I work in at my new job (yes, I am once again gainfully employed and free of the glass-walled tyranny of freelancing from home – hence the new material. ;)). Let’s begin, as we traditionally do, with the OED definitions: begin (v) 1) perform or undergo the first part of an activity; 2) come into being, or have its starting point at a certain time or place Jakub had just begun a life sentence for murder. It was beginning to snow. The cycle path begins at the base of Kopiec Kościuszki. Our story begins in France, in 1412. The event began quietly, with minimal fuss or bother. The road to understanding begins with one small email. We began unpacking the sniper rifle after the proofreader had left the building. start (v) 1) cause to happen or begi...