Conjugation of commencer in French
commencerto begin, to startirregular
Présentpresent
Actions happening now or habitually.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | commence | |
| tu | commences | |
| il/elle/on | commence | |
| nous | commençons | |
| vous | commencez | |
| ils/elles | commencent |
Common mistakes in the Présent
- nous
commenceonscommençonsThe spelling changes before -ons: use ç to keep the soft c sound.
Passé composépresent perfect
Past actions with a bearing on the present.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | ai commencé | |
| tu | as commencé | |
| il/elle/on | a commencé | |
| nous | avons commencé | |
| vous | avez commencé | |
| ils/elles | ont commencé |
Imparfaitimperfect
Ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | commençais | |
| tu | commençais | |
| il/elle/on | commençait | |
| nous | commencions | |
| vous | commenciez | |
| ils/elles | commençaient |
Futur simplefuture
Actions that will happen.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | commencerai | |
| tu | commenceras | |
| il/elle/on | commencera | |
| nous | commencerons | |
| vous | commencerez | |
| ils/elles | commenceront |
Common mistakes in the Futur simple
- nous
commençeronscommenceronsThe future stem is commencer-; do not keep the cedilla in the future tense.
Conditionnel présentconditional
Actions that would happen under some condition.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | commencerais | |
| tu | commencerais | |
| il/elle/on | commencerait | |
| nous | commencerions | |
| vous | commenceriez | |
| ils/elles | commenceraient |
Subjonctif présentpresent subjunctive
Wishes, doubts and possibilities in the present.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | commence | |
| tu | commences | |
| il/elle/on | commence | |
| nous | commencions | |
| vous | commenciez | |
| ils/elles | commencent |
Common mistakes in the Subjonctif présent
- nous
commençonscommencionsThe subjunctive uses commenc- here: commençons is present indicative/imperative, not subjunctive.
Impératifimperative
Commands and requests.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| tu | commence | |
| nous | commençons | |
| vous | commencez |
Participe passépast participle
The form used in compound tenses and the passive.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| je | commencé | |
| tu | commencé | |
| il/elle/on | commencé | |
| nous | commencé | |
| vous | commencé | |
| ils/elles | commencé |
commencer — frequently asked questions
Is commencer a regular verb?
No — commencer is an irregular French verb, so some of its forms do not follow the standard endings.
What does commencer mean?
commencer is a French verb meaning "to begin, to start".