Abstract: A changeover is made between a so-called low-pressure starting with a homogeneous mixture and a so-called high-pressure starting with a stratified mixture as a function of an engine coolant temperature. Since, during the high-pressure starting of the internal combustion engine, injection is released only when a pressure in a high-pressure accumulator exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the injected fuel is better prepared. During such high-pressure starting, injection is predetermined by an injection quantity and an angle of an end of injection. Predetermining the angle of the end of injection, in contrast to predetermining an angle of commencement of injection during conventional low-pressure starting, ensures that there is an ignitable mixture present at the sparkplug, specifically irrespective of a duration of injection.