Language is full of references to specific kinds of starts<\/strong> and beginnings<\/strong>: we have dawns<\/strong> – not only of days: we can talk about the dawn<\/strong> of civilization, of history, of a new era,<\/strong> or even of time<\/strong> itself. \u00a0And there is the birth of a child<\/strong> but did you know that we can also refer to the birth of a nation, of a political movement <\/strong>or of democracy? <\/strong>It\u2019s clearly a word that adds gravitas to creation.<\/strong><\/p>\n There are formal inaugurations <\/strong>of events like conferences and exhibitions and ceremonial openings <\/strong>for prestigious affairs: from the opening of parliament<\/strong> to the opening ceremony <\/strong>of the Olympic Games and the opening night <\/strong>of the latest Broadway show. And while we launch ships <\/strong>and rockets<\/strong>, shuttles<\/strong> and satellites<\/strong>, we can also launch products<\/strong>, book, campaigns <\/strong>and political parties.<\/strong><\/p>\n A word that denotes a less positive beginning<\/strong> is onset <\/strong>as it tends to be used in collocations such as the onset of winter<\/strong> or the onset of illness\/symptoms etc. Onset <\/strong>is not to be confused with outset, <\/strong>which is also a synonym of the general meaning of beginning <\/strong>and most commonly used in the prepositional phrase at\/from the outset.<\/strong><\/p>\n At the beginning<\/strong> of this post you may have noticed a couple of pertinent phrasal verbs, and we\u2019re now going to look at a few more. For example, to set about<\/strong> doing something means to start doing something with vigour and determination, while to set off<\/strong> or out<\/strong> is to begin a journey. To get down to<\/strong> something is to begin<\/strong> to do or give serious attention to, common in the phrase let\u2019s get down to business<\/em>! Finally, to kick off <\/strong>is a phrasal verb that comes from football and can be used in any context: what time does the party kick off?<\/em>\u00a0 The noun kick-off<\/strong> is also common and can mean the start of a football match or the beginning of other events and activities.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/virtualcampus.kingstraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/olympics.jpg\")
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