Passé Composé (Present Perfect) 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 as “kom-mahn-say.”
The word commencer comes from the Latin word “cominitiare,” which means “to initiate.” It entered the French language in the 12th century and has been used in various forms and tenses since then.
In everyday French, commencer is most often used in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) tense to talk about a past action or event that has been completed. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be) in the present tense, followed by the past participle of the verb.
Here are three examples of commencer used in the Passé Composé tense with the respective English translations:
- J’ai commencé mon nouveau travail hier. (I started my new job yesterday.)
- Elle a commencé à apprendre le français il y a deux ans. (She started learning French two years ago.)
- Nous sommes déjà entrés dans le théâtre quand le spectacle a commencé. (We had already entered the theater when the show started.)
Table of the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of commencer
Pronoun | Conjugation | Short Example | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | ai commencé | J’ai commencé à étudier. | I started studying. |
tu | as commencé | Tu as commencé ta carrière. | You started your career. |
il | a commencé | Il a commencé le projet. | He started the project. |
elle | a commencé | Elle a commencé le travail. | She started the work. |
on | a commencé | On a commencé à parler. | We started talking. |
nous | avons commencé | Nous avons commencé à danser. | We started dancing. |
vous | avez commencé | Vous avez commencé à chanter. | You started singing. |
ils | ont commencé | Ils ont commencé à étudier. | They started studying. |
elles | ont commencé | Elles ont commencé à s’entraîner. | They started training. |
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 (this article)
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
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 Composé (Present Perfect) Tense
Formation of the Passé Composé
Set the auxiliary verb with either
Conjugate the auxiliary verb
Add the past participle
Common everyday usage patterns
Narrating Past Events
Sequential Actions
Describing Completed Actions
Interactions with other tenses
Imperfect Tense
Conditional and Future Tenses
Summary
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