Begin / Start

Marieva wrote:Is there a rule as to when to use start or begin

Start can used in the same way as begin when you say,
"The race will start in five minutes." or 'The race will begin in five minutes"
It seems to that they are interchangeable.
Any other points of view. This is a good one.

Hi - yes, usually they are interchangeable, although begin can sometimes seem slightly more formal. But only as verbs with the meaning commence. In other contexts they're different :

• You can only use start with the meaning set in motion for a car or other machine : My car won't start
• Only start can be a phrasal verb : We started off OK / He's starting up his own companyAs nouns start and beginning can't always be alternatives - for example, in set phrases like The beginning of the end
• Starter and Beginner are never alternatives - they have quite different meanings. A[I] beginner [/I]= a person inexperienced in the field; a [I]starter [/I]= the person who starts a race; the first course of a meal; the thing you use to start a car. Then there's the expression [I]For starters [/I](= first of all)