This is the 8455th most frequent Russian word.
начали
"Начали" means "started" or "began" in English.
The word 'начали' here is used to indicate the commencement of an action in the past, specifically the start of cooking dinner.
Мы начали готовить ужин.
We started preparing dinner.
In this sentence, 'начали' signifies the initiation of an activity, referring to starting the project's implementation in the past.
Начали выполять проект после утверждения.
They started implementing the project after approval.
Here, 'начали' is used to indicate the start of the habitual action of using an umbrella, after the rainy season commenced.