French guides · Verb tables + audio
Commencer: the hook under the c, and what it is doing there.
Commencer means “to start”, and it is regular apart from one accent that beginners often assume is decorative. The cedilla — the little hook under ç — is load-bearing. Without it, commencons would be read “ko-man-KOHN”. With it, the c stays an s sound, which is what the verb actually is.
Présent — where the cedilla appears
Five regular forms and one with a hook. Only nous takes it, for exactly the reason manger takes its extra e: the ending begins with o.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je commence | I start | |
| tu commences | you start | |
| il / elle commence | he / she starts | |
| nous commençons | we start | |
| vous commencez | you start | |
| ils / elles commencent | they start |
C is soft (an s sound) before e, i and y, and hard (a k) before a, o and u. When an ending forces a hard context onto a stem that needs to stay soft, French writes ç. The cedilla only ever appears before a, o or u — you will never see çe or çi, because they would be pointless.
Avancer (to move forward), placer, lancer (to throw), remplacer, prononcer. And you already know the pattern from a noun: français.
Commencer à or commencer par?
Both are common and they say different things — the same split finir makes with de and par.
| French | Means | |
|---|---|---|
| je commence à travailler | I’m starting to work | beginning the activity |
| je commence par le dessert | I’ll start with dessert | first of several |
| le film commence à huit heures | the film starts at eight | à for a time too |
| ça commence bien | that’s a great start | usually sarcastic |
It names the first item in a sequence, not the activity itself. Commençons par le début — “let’s start at the beginning”. Its opposite is finir par, “to end up”.
Passé composé — commencé
No cedilla — the ending is -é, so the c is already soft. J’ai commencé.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’ai commencé | I started / have started | |
| tu as commencé | you started / have started | |
| il / elle a commencé | he / she started / have started | |
| nous avons commencé | we started / have started | |
| vous avez commencé | you started / have started | |
| ils / elles ont commencé | they started / have started |
Imparfait — the cedilla returns
Four of the six imparfait endings begin with a, so the hook is back: je commençais. Nous commencions and vous commenciez take i endings and drop it.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je commençais | I used to start / was starting | |
| tu commençais | you used to start / was starting | |
| il / elle commençait | he / she used to start / was starting | |
| nous commencions | we used to start / was starting | |
| vous commenciez | you used to start / was starting | |
| ils / elles commençaient | they used to start / was starting |
Futur and conditionnel — no hook
Built on the full infinitive, where the c is followed by e: je commencerai. Nothing needed.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je commencerai | I will start | |
| tu commenceras | you will start | |
| il / elle commencera | he / she will start | |
| nous commencerons | we will start | |
| vous commencerez | you will start | |
| ils / elles commenceront | they will start |
Conditionnel — would start
Je commencerais par… is a natural way to offer a suggestion: “I’d start with…”.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je commencerais | I would start | |
| tu commencerais | you would start | |
| il / elle commencerait | he / she would start | |
| nous commencerions | we would start | |
| vous commenceriez | you would start | |
| ils / elles commenceraient | they would start |
Subjonctif — regular
Every ending begins with e or i, so there is no cedilla anywhere in this tense.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je commence | (that) I start | |
| tu commences | (that) you start | |
| il / elle commence | (that) he / she start | |
| nous commencions | (that) we start | |
| vous commenciez | (that) you start | |
| ils / elles commencent | (that) they start |
Impératif — commençons
Commence ! with no s, and commençons ! keeping its hook — “let’s begin”, and one of the few places you will actually write a cedilla by hand.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| commence ! | start! (to one person you know) | |
| commençons ! | let’s start! | |
| commencez ! | start! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had started
J’avais commencé.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’avais commencé | I had started | |
| tu avais commencé | you had started | |
| il / elle avait commencé | he / she had started | |
| nous avions commencé | we had started | |
| vous aviez commencé | you had started | |
| ils / elles avaient commencé | they had started |
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Quick answers
Commencer, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.