# begun

/ˈbeɪɡən/ (US) · /bɪɡˈʌn/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/begun
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. past participle of begin

verb · CEFR A2

the form of 'begin' used after 'have', 'has', or 'had' to show that an action started in the past.

For teachers: the past participle of the irregular verb 'begin'. It is used to form the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses.

- The rain had already begun by the time we reached the house.
- By the time the delegates arrived for the summit, the preliminary discussions had already begun in the smaller conference rooms.

Usage: Always requires an auxiliary verb like 'have', 'has', or 'had' in standard modern English.

## Examples

- The movie has already begun.
- By the time we arrived at the stadium, the match had already begun and the home team was leading.
- The project, having begun under a different administration, faced significant structural challenges that required the new team to rethink their entire strategy from the ground up.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.