I started to scare

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "I started to scare" is not correct in standard English.
It may be intended to express the beginning of a feeling of fear or the act of frightening someone, but it is not used in this form. Example: "I started to scare my little brother with ghost stories."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Then I started to scare up the money to direct it, and once I did that I thought I couldn't be in it.

Independent

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

"I get really stressed about it and it starts to scare me, actually, because we won by 0.7sec, and I start thinking: God, we could have lost.

The Guardian - Sport

"About three years into it, it actually started to scare me.

The Guardian - Music

"He started to scare me when he began talking about doing this helicopter drop into a remote area you can't get to except from the air.

The New York Times

Jen got a little too into the game and started to scare her fellow models.

Huffington Post

Facebook is starting to scare me as I see that in real life, people seem to lose loved ones every single day, and not just the elderly ones.

Huffington Post

I'm like that now, and it's starting to scare me.

The New York Times

You're starting to scare me".

The New Yorker

"It's starting to scare the hell out of me," said one Rio resident, Maria Teixeira.

The Guardian

Tom Hiddleston is the husband of questionable morality who is starting to scare his innocent young bride (Mia Wasikowska).

The Guardian - Film

And with 250 million users worldwide, it's starting to scare more than just the titans of text messaging.

The Guardian - Tech

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Reframe the sentence to clarify whether you are starting to feel fear or starting to cause fear in someone else. Use more common phrasing such as "I was starting to get scared" or "I started to frighten him".

Common error

Ensure your sentence clearly indicates who is experiencing the fear and who is causing it. "I started to scare" is vague; specify the target of the action if you mean you were causing fear in someone else: "I started to scare my little brother with ghost stories."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "I started to scare" functions as an incorrect attempt to describe the beginning of either feeling fear or causing fear in another. Ludwig AI indicates that it deviates from standard English usage.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Science

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "I started to scare" is considered grammatically incorrect by Ludwig, even though it appears in published articles. It is meant to convey the beginning of experiencing fear or causing fear in someone else. Because of its deviation from standard English, alternative phrases such as "I started to get scared" or "I started to frighten" are recommended for improved clarity and grammatical correctness. Pay special attention on clearly indicating whether you are experiencing the fear or you are causing the fear.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

I was starting to get scared

This variation uses a continuous tense to emphasize the ongoing process of becoming scared.

I began to feel scared

This alternative replaces "started to scare" with "began to feel scared", focusing on the internal feeling of fear.

I was starting to feel afraid

A further slight adjustment to focus on the experience of beginning to feel afraid.

I began to get frightened

This alternative shifts the focus to the onset of being frightened, using 'frightened' as an alternative adjective.

I began to be afraid

This alternative substitutes "started to scare" with "began to be afraid", using a simpler and more common expression.

I began feeling fearful

This alternative replaces "started to scare" with "began feeling fearful", emphasizing the emotion experienced.

I started feeling apprehensive

This option uses 'apprehensive' to describe the initial feeling of unease, offering a nuanced alternative to pure fear.

I began to instill fear

This alternative focuses on the action of causing fear in others, rather than experiencing it personally.

I started to frighten

This alternative uses "frighten" as a verb to express the action of making someone afraid.

I started to intimidate

This alternative shifts the meaning towards exerting influence through fear, rather than causing a general feeling of fear.

FAQs

What's a more grammatically sound way to say "I started to scare"?

Instead of "I started to scare", you could say "I started to get scared" if you mean you began to feel afraid, or "I started to frighten" if you mean you began to cause fear in someone else.

How can I rephrase "I started to scare" to emphasize my growing fear?

To emphasize your growing fear, use phrases like "I was starting to get scared" or "I began to feel afraid".

Is it correct to use "I started to scare" if I mean I began to frighten someone?

While understandable, it's better to say "I started to frighten" or "I began to frighten" for clarity. "I started to scare" is not standard usage.

What's the difference between "I started to scare" and "I started to get scared"?

"I started to scare" is grammatically questionable and suggests you began causing fear in others. "I started to get scared" means you began to feel fear yourself.