This is the 11148th most frequent Spanish word.
empezaba
"Empezaba" means "was starting" or "began" in English, referring to the past imperfect tense.
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.
Empezaba a llover cuando salimos de casa.
It was beginning to rain when we left home.
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.
El concierto empezaba a las ocho anoche.
The concert was scheduled to begin at eight last night.
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.