empezaba

In a sentence

• Empezaba a llover cuando salimos de casa.

  It was beginning to rain when we left home.

  Here, "empezaba" is the imperfect tense of "empezar," used to describe an action in the past that was starting, indicating an ongoing or unfinished action during that time.

• El concierto empezaba a las ocho anoche.

  The concert was scheduled to begin at eight last night.

  In this context, "empezaba" conveys the planned starting time of an event in the past, describing a habitual or scheduled action known from past information.

• Mientras ella empezaba su discurso, el público se sentó.

  As she was beginning her speech, the audience sat down.

  Here, "empezaba" describes the initiation of an action in the past, showing a simultaneous event where her action serves as a background for the other action.