Commencer in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Commencer means “to begin”, and this page covers exactly one thing: commencer in the present tense. The present is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for commencer, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about commencer in the present. For example: “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of commencer exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Commencer in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je commence
tu commences
il/elle commence
nous commençons
vous commencez
ils/elles commencent

Gerund: commençant · Past participle: commencé

The gerund is commençant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is commencé, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is ai commencé, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how commencer is used.

How the present of commencer is formed

The present of commencer is irregular: the forms do not follow the regular -er pattern, so learn them as a set — je commence, tu commences, il/elle commence, nous commençons, vous commencez, ils/elles commencent. There is no single stem that produces all six forms, which is why this verb is listed as irregular in the present in the verified tables. Say the six forms aloud in order, je to ils, until the set feels like one unit rather than six separate words.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the imperfect is built from the present nous form, and the present subjunctive is built from the present ils form, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. The gerund commençant and the participle commencé belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise commencer in every tense.

When to use the present of commencer

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use commencer in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Beginning work at eight o'clock — the everyday use

Commencer is the verb for beginning work at eight o'clock. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.”

2. Beginning a book this evening — a second everyday use

Commencer also covers beginning a book this evening. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu commences un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “You begin a book this evening every day.”

3. Beginning to learn French — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use commencer for beginning to learn French. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Il commence à apprendre le français tous les jours.” — “He begins to learn French every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and commencer is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous commençons le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “We begin work at eight o'clock every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. French often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with commencer in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Vous commencez un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “You begin a book this evening every day.”

Present Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as tous les jours or hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Je commençais le travail à huit heures autrefois.” — “I used to begin work at eight o'clock in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Tu commences un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “You begin a book this evening every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu commençais un livre ce soir autrefois.” — “You used to begin a book this evening in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Nous commençons à apprendre le français tous les jours.” — “We begin to learn French every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous commençions à apprendre le français autrefois.” — “We used to begin to learn French in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: commencer in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Je commence un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “I begin a book this evening every day.”

  2. “Tu commences à apprendre le français tous les jours.” — “You begin to learn French every day.”

  3. “Il commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “He begins work at eight o'clock every day.”

  4. “Nous commençons un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “We begin a book this evening every day.”

  5. “Vous commencez à apprendre le français tous les jours.” — “You begin to learn French every day.”

  6. “Ils commencent le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “They begin work at eight o'clock every day.”

  7. “Je commence un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “I begin a book this evening every day.”

  8. “Tu commences à apprendre le français tous les jours.” — “You begin to learn French every day.”

Common mistakes with commencer in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je commencent le travail à huit heures.” Right: “Je commence le travail à huit heures.” Why: The je form is commence, not commencent. Commencent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous commencent le travail à huit heures.” Right: “Nous commençons le travail à huit heures.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: commençons, not commencent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Le travail à huit heures” with the infinitive: “Je commencer le travail à huit heures.” Right: “Je commence le travail à huit heures.” Why: The infinitive commencer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form commence.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je commence le travail à huit heures.” Right: “Il est important que je commence le travail à huit heures.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use commence here, not the indicative commence.

Quiz: commencer in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ un livre ce soir.”

  • (A) commencez
  • (B) commence
  • (C) commences
  • (D) commençons

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ à apprendre le français.”

  • (A) commençons
  • (B) commencez
  • (C) commences
  • (D) commence

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ le travail à huit heures.”

  • (A) commencez
  • (B) commence
  • (C) commences
  • (D) commençons

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ un livre ce soir.”

  • (A) commences
  • (B) commencez
  • (C) commençons
  • (D) commence

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ à apprendre le français.”

  • (A) commence
  • (B) commences
  • (C) commençons
  • (D) commencez

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ le travail à huit heures.”

  • (A) commence
  • (B) commences
  • (C) commençons
  • (D) commencent

7. What does commencer mean in English?

  • (A) to begin
  • (B) to call
  • (C) to allow
  • (D) to look at

8. What is the past participle of commencer?

  • (A) regardé
  • (B) commencé
  • (C) appelé
  • (D) permis

Answer key

  1. B) commence — The je form is commence.
  2. C) commences — The tu form is commences.
  3. B) commence — The il/elle form is commence.
  4. C) commençons — The nous form is commençons.
  5. D) commencez — The vous form is commencez.
  6. D) commencent — The ils/elles form is commencent.
  7. A) to begin — commencer means “to begin”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) commencé — The past participle of commencer is commencé; the present is formed with avoir + commencé.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of commencer formed?

The present of commencer is irregular, so the six forms must be learned as a set from the table above: je commence, tu commences, il commence, nous commençons, vous commencez, ils commencent. There is no regular pattern that produces them.

When do I use the present of commencer?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

What is the difference between the present and the imperfect of commencer?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the imperfect describes what used to happen or was happening in the past. Compare “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” with “Je commençais le travail à huit heures autrefois.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it used to be.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for commencer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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