Commencer Conjugation in French
commencer means “to begin” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 49 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about beginning work at eight o'clock, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of commencer — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: commencer
- English: to begin
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: commençant
- Past participle: commencé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read commencer in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about commencer
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle commencé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is commençant and the participle is commencé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for commencer. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commence |
| tu | commences |
| il/elle | commence |
| nous | commençons |
| vous | commencez |
| ils/elles | commencent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With commencer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je commence un livre ce soir tous les jours.” — “I begin a book this evening every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commençai |
| tu | commenças |
| il/elle | commença |
| nous | commençâmes |
| vous | commençâtes |
| ils/elles | commencèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu commenças un livre ce soir hier.” — “You began a book this evening yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commençais |
| tu | commençais |
| il/elle | commençait |
| nous | commençions |
| vous | commençiez |
| ils/elles | commençaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il commençait un livre ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to begin a book this evening in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commencerai |
| tu | commenceras |
| il/elle | commencera |
| nous | commencerons |
| vous | commencerez |
| ils/elles | commenceront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je commencerai un livre ce soir demain.” — “I will begin a book this evening tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commencerais |
| tu | commencerais |
| il/elle | commencerait |
| nous | commencerions |
| vous | commenceriez |
| ils/elles | commenceraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu commencerais un livre ce soir un jour.” — “You would begin a book this evening one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai commencé |
| tu | as commencé |
| il/elle | a commencé |
| nous | avons commencé |
| vous | avez commencé |
| ils/elles | ont commencé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a commencé un livre ce soir cette semaine.” — “He has begun a book this evening this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais commencé |
| tu | avais commencé |
| il/elle | avait commencé |
| nous | avions commencé |
| vous | aviez commencé |
| ils/elles | avaient commencé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais commencé un livre ce soir avant la fête.” — “I had begun a book this evening before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai commencé |
| tu | auras commencé |
| il/elle | aura commencé |
| nous | aurons commencé |
| vous | aurez commencé |
| ils/elles | auront commencé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras commencé un livre ce soir pour demain.” — “You will have begun a book this evening by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais commencé |
| tu | aurais commencé |
| il/elle | aurait commencé |
| nous | aurions commencé |
| vous | auriez commencé |
| ils/elles | auraient commencé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait commencé un livre ce soir hier.” — “He would have begun a book this evening yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commence |
| tu | commences |
| il/elle | commence |
| nous | commençions |
| vous | commençiez |
| ils/elles | commencent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With commencer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je commence un livre ce soir.” — “It is important that I begin a book this evening.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commençasse |
| tu | commençasses |
| il/elle | commençât |
| nous | commençassions |
| vous | commençassiez |
| ils/elles | commençassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu commençasses un livre ce soir.” — “It is important that you begin a book this evening.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | commence |
| nous | commençons |
| vous | commencez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With commencer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Commence un livre ce soir !” — “Begin a book this evening!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | commence |
| nous | commençons |
| vous | commencez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With commencer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne commence pas un livre ce soir.” — “Do not begin a book this evening.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en commençant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En commençant le travail à huit heures, je passe un bon moment.” — “While beginning work at eight o'clock, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | commencé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai commencé le travail à huit heures cette semaine.” — “I have begun work at eight o'clock this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with commencer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.”
- “Tu commenças un livre ce soir hier.” — “You began a book this evening yesterday.”
- “Il commençait à apprendre le français autrefois.” — “He used to begin to learn French in the past.”
- “Je commencerai le travail à huit heures demain.” — “I will begin work at eight o'clock tomorrow.”
- “Tu commencerais un livre ce soir un jour.” — “You would begin a book this evening one day.”
- “Il a commencé à apprendre le français cette semaine.” — “He has begun to learn French this week.”
- “J'avais commencé le travail à huit heures avant la fête.” — “I had begun work at eight o'clock before the party.”
- “Tu auras commencé un livre ce soir pour demain.” — “You will have begun a book this evening by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il commence à apprendre le français.” — “It is important that he begin to learn French.”
- “Commence le travail à huit heures !” — “Begin work at eight o'clock!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je commencer le travail à huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Je commence le travail à huit heures.”
The infinitive commencer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form commence.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je commencent le travail à huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Je commence le travail à huit heures.”
commencent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with commence.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je commençai le travail à huit heures tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.”
The passé simple commençai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present commence.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je commence le travail à huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je commence le travail à huit heures.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use commence here, not the indicative commence.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis commencé le travail à huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Je ai commencé le travail à huit heures.”
The passé composé of commencer is formed with avoir plus the past participle commencé: the je form is ai commencé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “commence” written without its accent
✓ Right: “commence”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on commencer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of commencer in the Present indicative?
- A) commencez
- B) commence
- C) commences
- D) commençons
What is the il/elle form of commencer in the Passé simple?
- A) commençâmes
- B) commença
- C) commençai
- D) commenças
What is the nous form of commencer in the Imperfect?
- A) commençiez
- B) commençions
- C) commençais
- D) commençait
What is the tu form of commencer in the Future?
- A) commencerai
- B) commencera
- C) commencerons
- D) commenceras
What is the je form of commencer in the Conditional?
- A) commencerions
- B) commenceriez
- C) commencerais
- D) commencerait
What is the il/elle form of commencer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a commencé
- B) ai commencé
- C) as commencé
- D) avons commencé
What is the il/elle form of commencer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) commençiez
- B) commence
- C) commences
- D) commençions
What is the je form of commencer in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) commençât
- B) commençassions
- C) commençasse
- D) commençasses
What is the gerund of commencer?
- A) en commençant
- B) en appelant
- C) en permettant
- D) en regardant
What does commencer mean in English?
- A) to begin
- B) to call
- C) to allow
- D) to look at
Answer key
- B) commence — the je form of commencer in the Present indicative is commence. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) commença — the il/elle form of commencer in the Passé simple is commença. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) commençions — the nous form of commencer in the Imperfect is commençions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) commenceras — the tu form of commencer in the Future is commenceras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) commencerais — the je form of commencer in the Conditional is commencerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) a commencé — the il/elle form of commencer in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a commencé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) commence — the il/elle form of commencer in the Present subjunctive is commence. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) commençasse — the je form of commencer in the Imperfect subjunctive is commençasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en commençant — the gerund of commencer is en commençant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to begin — commencer means “to begin” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does commencer mean in English?
commencer means “to begin”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is commencer regular or irregular?
commencer is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is commençant and the past participle is commencé.
What are the gerund and past participle of commencer?
The gerund is commençant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is commencé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai commencé.
Which auxiliary does commencer take in the passé composé?
commencer takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai commencé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle commencé.
How do I say “I begin” in French?
Say “Je commence le travail à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I begin work at eight o'clock every day.” The je form of the present is commence, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of commencer — every tense of commencer in one place.
- Commencer in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Commencer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Appeler conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Permettre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Regarder conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise commencer with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise commencer with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise commencer with the interactive tool.