# Commencer Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Start”

> **Commencer** means “to start”. Présent: **je commence, tu commences, il commence, nous commençons, vous commencez, ils commencent**. The **ç** in *commençons* keeps the *c* soft before *o* — the same job the extra *e* does in *nous mangeons*.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |

**The rule** — 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.

**Every -cer verb does it** — 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 |

**Commencer par means “start with”** — 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate commencer in the present tense?

Je commence, tu commences, il / elle commence, nous commençons, vous commencez, ils / elles commencent.

### Why does commençons have a cedilla?

Because c would be hard before o. The cedilla keeps it as an s sound. It only ever appears before a, o or u.

### Where does the cedilla appear in commencer?

In nous commençons, in the imparfait forms with a endings (je commençais), and in the imperative commençons. Never in the futur or the subjonctif.

### What is the difference between commencer à and commencer par?

Commencer à is to begin doing something — je commence à travailler. Commencer par names the first of several things — je commence par le dessert.

### Which other verbs take a cedilla?

Every verb ending in -cer: avancer, lancer, placer, remplacer, prononcer.

## Related guides

- Manger conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/manger-conjugation
- Finir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/finir-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides