"Voy a empezar a caminar."
Translation:I am going to start walking.
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It is a set structure: any form of "empezar" or "comenzar" + infinitive = +a.
Empecé a saltar, comencé a hablar, empezaban a correr, comenzara a escuchar.
It is the same with "terminar" or "acabar" + de + infinitive.
Terminaron de comer, acabando de cenar, termina de hablar, acababa de recoger.
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I see, this helps a lot! Thank you. So it's always a set of the verb and the preposition (resp. wihtout any preposition) that are used together. Gracia!
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In Spanish, many verbs must be followed by a preposition, which may or may not correspond to the preposition (if any) used in English. check the links:
a + infinitive
http://www.elearnspanishlanguage.com/grammar/verb/verbswithprep-a.html
a + object
http://www.elearnspanishlanguage.com/grammar/verb/verbswithprep-a2.html
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What is the difference : " I am going to start walking " " I am going to start to walk " Which one is more common ?
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"I am going to start to walk" sounds redundant and incorrect in colloquial english. "I am going to start walking" is the way to go. Why? because grammar. It sounds strange to have two infinitives right beside each other in english.
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Yeah, haha after 8 months I got the answer by myself, but for the ones who are taking a look here, your answer is gonna help a lot, Thanks!
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De nada, no sé por qué la pregunta no fue respondió. ¡Buena suerte en el futuro!
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Voy = 1st person, singular (yo voy), van = 3rd person, plural (ellos/ellas van). Was it that what you were asking?
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When do we use a and the infinitive (a caminar) versus the participle (caminando)?
When an action is in progress, you can use a verb that shows the continuation (seguir, continuar) plus the present participle (-ing words in English): continuar caminando, seguir caminando
You can´t use the same construction with ¨empezar¨ because you either start, or you do not. I do believe you can say ¨continuar a caminar,¨ but "continuar caminando" is the preferred construction.
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In Spanish the particle like "a" between 2 verbs is linked to the first one. Here, 'empezar a' 'to begin TO' then 'to' translated 'to' from the following infinitive is voided, but if you're a native speaker of English, it should still make sense if you think about it as "to begin to to walk".
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The first one is i am going to start to walk. They second is they are going to continue walking Empezar : to start Continuar : to continue Caminar is to walk, but caminando is 'walking'
This is something you just would not say, unless you were currently in a wheelchair and a miracle was in the process of unfolding.
Really? How about this:
-How will you get there? -i am going to walk.
Is there some reason that would never be said in Spanish that i am not aware of?
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I find this a little confusing. DL gives me the thumbs up for "I am going to begin to walk." and then gives "I am going to start walking." as 'another correct solution.' Is there a difference? Are they interchangeable? I thought the phrasal future was "conjugation of 'ir' + a + infinitive." "To walk" is the infinitive, not "walking," yes?
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You have a lot going on in your short post. :) You are right that the phrasal future is "conjugation of 'ir' + a + infinitive" ,so voy a empezar = I am going to start
For the last part of your comment, there are many situations where in English we use the "-ing" form of a verb but in Spanish the infinitive would be used. So, the Spanish infinitive is sometimes the English infinitive and sometimes the Englsih gerund (-ing form).
In English, in some verb combinations the second verb must be an infinitive while in other situations the second verb will usually be a gerund.
http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerund_list.htm http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/infinitive_list.htm
In Spanish the second verb would most likely be an infinitive.
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Many thanks! I think part of the confusion for me is that DL's "gerund" unit isn't actually about gerunds at all. It sent me off on the wrong path and I had to sort of back up and straighten out the English gerund and the Spanish gerundio -- and then rethink the use of the infinitive as a gerund in Spanish. You gave some good links, thank you!
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Just a word of advice, it's a lot simpler to imagine "voy/vas" as "will" instead of "going to."
if i said "voy a empezar caminar" would it still be understood because i havent really grasped when to use the specific articles before a word
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Wouldn't it be also correct if we say "empezar de caminar" Because in another example, duolingo showed me a sentece that included "terminar de comer"
These both phrases are familiar I guess?
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Different verbs require different prepositions, verbs that are often followed by a particular preposition are called phrasal verbs. "Terminar de hacer algo" = "to stop doing something". "Empezar a hacer algo" = "to start doing something".
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No and no.
The subject is "I", as seen from the conjugation voy - "I am going". Also you left out a translation of empezar from your sentence.
Your sentence would translate to "Vamos a caminar."
