Start or begin
Is there any difference between "start" and "begin"?. Are they interchangeable? It would be interesting to know your answers.
7 Answers
As for this yes they are interchangeable. When other words are added to them, of course, they are not interchangeable.
I think that, based on her previous questions, Nila is sophisticated enough to understand that all words require context to demonstrate any difference that may exist. I think what Jason is saying is (and feel free to correct me if I am wrong) that the words are synonyms, but the degree to which they are interchangeable is dependent on the context of the sentence.
My own dictionary, Webster's New World, makes this distinction between the two:
Begin - The most general of these terms (begin, commence, start, initiate and inaugurate), indicates merely a setting into motion of some action, process or course.
Start - Carries the particular implication of leaving a point of departure in any kind of progression
I would like to make two comments on this regarding usage. It seems that the word "start" implicates a suddenness of movement into an action; whereas, "begin" has more of a gradual feel of moving forward in a particular process. Or said another way, it seems that, although the difference is extremely subtle, "start" focuses more on the initiation of an action; while, "begin" focuses the attention more on the process itself as it continues on in perpetuity. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but it seems like "start" almost has a slightly more violent feel about it (as it focuses on change in states) while "begin" acts as a vehicle to get one to the more active portion of the sentence (i.e. the process that continues on after the "start")
So sentences like:
The school day began/The school day started
The workday began/The workday started.
Are each possible, yet the sentence with "began" points to the continuation of the process; whereas, "started" points more strongly towards a departure from what was occurring or the change in states between the school day/workday and what was occurring previously. Here, the difference is extremely subtle and it would probably not make much difference to use either one. However, it is possible to note the difference if you choose a process whose longevity magnifies the difference. For example.
Long before history began, the dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Long before history started, the dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Nothing moved on the face of the earth when the world began.
Nothing moved on the face of the earth when the world started.
Comparing these two sets of sentences, it is more difficult to make the same substitution because the disparity between the more "violent" or "sudden" change of states (starts) and the "initiation" of a process that continues on (begins).
One place where the difference appears to diminish occurs when either verb is immediately followed by a present participle or an infinitive. This may be because the gerund/infinitive forces the attention onto (the process) itself.
I started running/I began running
The motor began to run/The motor started to run
I started washing the dishes/I began washing the dishes
I started cooking dinner/I began cooking dinner
I started driving when I was 18/I began driving when I was 18
This, again, can be contrasted by looking at the effect of placing a noun that describes an object (rather than an action/process) directly after the verb. In each of the following sentences, the verb "begin" would not be used because the focus is on the change of states inherent to the object itself rather than to the process that follows the change in states:
I started the lawnmower/boat/car/computer/dishwasher/washing machine
Again, these are my own observations on the subject, and I cannot think of any particular exceptions to this at the moment, but I would be interested to see how they hold up to further scrutiny.
In essence, they have the same meaning, but different usage.
Here's another difference:
Start can be a verb (to start) or a noun (the start).
Begin is only a verb. (The noun form is beginning.) 
"false start"; has a specific meaning in sports (like racing) you cannot say "false beginning". (not interchangeable, even though generally synonymous)
You start your car, you begin/start your trip. (You cannot begin your car).
it looks like nila45 is just asking about the two words, alone, meaning the same thing.
That's a very dicey proposition (especially because Nila is a fairly sophisticated student/user/teacher of language). For practical purposes, one never uses a word "alone". There is always some context (even if people who pose questions fail to provide context). People don't speak words, they utter sentences (possibly sentence fragments).
If words used in different contexts mean different things, they can hardly be said to be "interchangeable"; at best, one could say that "in some contexts, they are "used interchangeably".
All of the answers have been helpful so far.
Also, if you are using the word "begin" as a noun, you must use the gerund "beginning".
"At the start of the winter Olympics...." "At the beginning of the winter Olympics..."
True qfreed but it looks like nila45 is just asking about the two words, alone, meaning the same thing. As for this yes they are interchangeable. When other words are added to them, of course, they are not interchangeable.
