I started playing vs I started to play

Both "I started playing" and "I started to play" are correct and commonly used in English. They can be used interchangeably in most contexts without any significant difference in meaning.

Last updated: April 08, 2024 • 1393 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"I started playing"

This phrase is used to indicate the beginning of an action or activity. It is a common and natural way to express that you have begun playing a game, sport, musical instrument, etc.

Examples:

I started playing the piano when I was five years old.
She started playing soccer last year.
He started playing video games after finishing his homework.

Show examples from the web [+]

I started playing football at Andorinha.
I was 12 when I started playing online.
I started playing harpsichord at seven.
More recently I started playing with his quartet.
I started playing online shortly thereafter.
THE ORIGINS - I started playing basketball watching my older brothers.
A few weeks ago, I realized why I started playing basketball.
I started playing when I was four.
When I started playing, I had all these musician friends.
I started playing classic poker when I was twenty with some friends.
Around 2006 I started playing with Joshua in the band Chance Jones under the name Outo Bol.
It was when I started playing basketball.
I started playing ball on West 4th Street 1984.
I started playing less and less.
A: I started playing at a very early age.
Then he arrived, after a month I started playing and I never stopped.
I started playing when I was very young, my parents play.
You're the reason I started playing football, sir.
I started playing bass fall of 1981, on the sixth floor of Jesse Hall.
Lene: I started playing the guitar and writing songs when I was 15 years old.

Alternatives:

I began playing
I commenced playing
I initiated playing
I kicked off playing
I launched playing

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"I started to play"

This phrase is also used to indicate the beginning of an action or activity. It is a common and natural way to express that you have started engaging in playing a game, sport, musical instrument, etc.

Examples:

I started to play the guitar when I was in high school.
She started to play tennis at a young age.
He started to play chess with his grandfather.

Show examples from the web [+]

Antek: after Such a Surge quit I started to play guitar and wrote some songs.
I started to play the piano when I was three or four.
I started to play the game Prototype 2, so far I have not had problems with games,(Crysis2,Battlefield 3... itd...)
Remember the old ad that used to run endlessly in magazines and newspapers: "They laughed when I sat down at the piano... but when I started to play..."? I remember very well the first time I played piano for a group.
My mother was a preacher and she took me with her on her revivals, and I started to play the piano in church.
Later, we were with Tony Scott; I started to play with him in '58.
I watched an unsuspecting visitor turn his head in several directions when I started to play Roger Waters 'Amused to Death' with its Q sound special effects.
Then I started to play guitar at 14 years old and the band that made the click was Megadeth, my favorite band of all time.
As you know, I was the last member to join The Beatles. I started to play drums in the group 1962.
A.D.: I began to play classical trumpet when I was 8 years old in Wales, but I started to play jazz later when I was 17 years old because in Wales there was mainly a classical music scene.
It have always been a part of me but it haven't had the chance of taking expression until I started to play the guitar (I guess it's possible that it took expression in other obscure ways before that).
2007-11-13 22:16:19 - They laughed when i sat down at the piano... but when i started to play...
Ever since I started to play chess, my power of thinking has grown a hundredfold.
From then, I started to play in a team and I got to know Paula who was really young when we met, she was the daughter of the club President so we were going out in secret." "A person who changed my life?
I started to play more freely.
I started to play with friends and online 3 years ago.
Then I started to play big tournaments live.
From then on, I started to play tennis.
And at some point, I started to play a role I've been stuck in for all of my life.
It's very long time that we exist as band and still far away is the time I started to play gigs, in 1974.

Alternatives:

I began to play
I commenced to play
I initiated to play
I kicked off to play
I launched to play

Our Customers Love Us!

We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283125 votes, and

4.9 Excellent - Reviews 2.137

"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"

Zubair
from Bangladesh

"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"

Arturo
from Mexico

"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."

Selena
from USA

"Wow, it's just so excellent. I never would have believed I could have a sure and excellent English companion. Thanks, TextRanch."

Ifiok
from Nigeria

"This is my first time using TextRanch, and I like how the editors take time to correct my text. To everyone who has never used TextRanch before, I highly recommend trying it."

Wilson
from France

"It is an amazing source of feedback because, as a non-native speaker, I really need to have a reliable helper correct my text."

Susan
from Germany