commençons

Commençons is the first-person plural present tense form of the French verb commencer, meaning “to begin.” It is commonly used to express a suggestion or invitation in the inclusive sense of “let us begin.” The form appears in sentences such as Commençons par étudier les faits, which translates to “Let us start by examining the facts.”

Form and pronunciation: Comme nounced in the standard form, commençons is spelled with a cedilla under c (commençons) to produce a soft /s/ sound before the following vowel. The final -ons corresponds to the nous form of the present tense for -er verbs. In careful speech the word is typically pronounced roughly as [kɔ.mɑ̃.sɔ̃].

Etymology: The verb commencer originates from Old French comencier/commencer and ultimately traces back to Latin incipere, meaning “to begin.” The present-tense ending in -çons reflects regular conjugation patterns for -er verbs in the nous form, with the cedilla helping preserve the intended /s/ sound before the vowel that follows.

Usage notes: Commençons is used to propose a collective action, often followed by words like par… or à… to indicate what will be started. It is appropriate in both formal and informal contexts, including writing and spoken discourse. It should not be confused with the imperative vous or tu forms; those are used to direct a command to a second person.

Translations and equivalents: In English, commençons most directly translates to “let’s begin” or “let us begin.” It can also introduce a sequence: Commençons par… (Let us begin by…). See also commencer, the base verb and its conjugation across tenses and moods.