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The children are eager to start the novel.

or

The children are eager to begin the novel.

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  • "To start the novel" could have a slightly different meaning than "begin the novel."
    – avpaderno
    Commented Apr 14, 2011 at 14:17
  • and whats that difference? could you explain
    – aliya
    Commented Apr 14, 2011 at 14:19
  • well, you could start the beguine, but there wouldn't be much point.
    – sibbaldiopsis
    Commented Apr 15, 2011 at 2:35

5 Answers 5

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Begin, when used as transitive verb, means "start, perform, or undergo the first part of an action or activity."
Start, when used as transitive verb, means "cause (an event or process) to happen", or "cause or enable someone or something to begin doing or pursuing something."

In "the children are eager to start reading the novel," start means "embark on a continuing action."

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  • 10
    For example, begin would mean they're going to read chapter 1. start could mean that they've been reading it every night and tonight they will be on chapter 12.
    – Sam
    Commented Apr 14, 2011 at 14:47
  • this is a good answer. I would edit it to make clear that in their intransitive forms they are the same.
    – Kevin
    Commented Apr 14, 2011 at 17:39
  • 2
    “Oh my!” she said, starting.
    – avpaderno
    Commented Apr 14, 2011 at 18:20
  • My -1 is based on the following test: Could I confidently match the two meanings you give (namely, "start, perform..." and "cause (an event...") to the two words "begin" and "start"? For me the answer is "No", so I conclude that the words are synonyms. It's true that you can't begin a fire or a car, so "start" has at least one extra meaning, but I think they are perfectly synonymous in most places, and in particular in the OP's sentence.
    – j_random_hacker
    Commented Apr 8, 2015 at 9:08
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Not much. Both of those sentences are acceptable and mean the same thing.

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    I agree. I think it would be spurious over-analysing to attempt to differentiate here, even though there are potentially at least two underlying meanings. Either sentence could be used in either sense.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Apr 14, 2011 at 15:37
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The meanings are quite similar. The main difference is that start is both a noun and a verb. Begin is only a verb, with beginning as its noun version.

Someone pointed out another difference - that start can imply causation. ie - Start a fire. Begin doesn't really suggest this

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"Begin" might also be for something that has already started. But to "start" marks the actual/exact time of launching an activity (to understand more clearly, consider these two examples: This is just the beginning [meaning, all the initial period] . It's 10:00 o'clock, folks; let's get started [whenever we talk about a specific time, we rather use the word "start"]. Since we are bound by the two sentences above, we cannot speak of the noun-verb possibility of each word as a difference.

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In the context of your posted sentence, there is little difference between the use of the two verbs. Most readers would assume the sentences mean the same thing. In a different context, there is a potential ambiguity in both usages associated with the missing verb:

I must begin the novel.

Do I mean?:

I must begin reading the novel.

or:

I must begin writing the novel.

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