Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Introduction to the verb commencer
The English translation of the French verb commencer is “to begin” or “to start.” The infinitive form of commencer is pronounced “koh-meh(n)-seh.”
The word commencer comes from the Latin word “cominitiare,” meaning “to initiate.” It is a regular -er verb in French and is one of the most commonly used verbs in everyday speech.
In the Passé Antérieur tense, which is the literary past tense, commencer is used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past.
- J’eus commencé à étudier avant que mes amis arrivent. (I had started studying before my friends arrived.)
- Il eut commencé à pleuvoir juste après que nous ayons fini le pique-nique. (It had started raining just after we finished our picnic.)
- Elle eut commencé à travailler avant d’avoir pris son diplôme. (She had started working before getting her diploma.)
In these examples, the action of “commencer” occurred before the actions of “arriver,” “finir,” and “prendre,” respectively.
Table of the Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of commencer
Pronoun | Conjugation | Short Example | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | j’eusse | J’eusse commencé | I had begun |
tu | tu eusses | Tu eusses commencé | You had begun |
il | il eût | Il eût commencé | He had begun |
elle | elle eût | Elle eût commencé | She had begun |
on | on eût | On eût commencé | One had begun |
nous | nous eûmes | Nous eûmes commencé | We had begun |
vous | vous eûtes | Vous eûtes commencé | You had begun |
ils | ils eurent | Ils eurent commencé | They had begun |
elles | elles eurent | Elles eurent commencé | They had begun |
Other Conjugations for Commencer.
Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer (this article)
Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commencer
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Commencer – About the French Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense
Formation of the Passé Antérieur
Common Usage Patterns
Literature
Historical Texts
Formal Writing
Interactions with Other Tenses
Passé Composé (Present Perfect)
Imparfait (Imperfect)
Futur Antérieur (Future Perfect)
Summary
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