commencer

Senses

1. 1.

   to begin, to start

   to initiate an action, event, or state

2. 2.

   to start (with), to begin (with)

   to open or introduce with something specific

Examples

• "Le film commence à 20 heures."

  The film starts at 8 p.m.

• "Je vais commencer par lire le chapitre un."

  I'm going to start by reading chapter one.

• "Nous avons commencé notre projet la semaine dernière."

  We began our project last week.

Usage

Common, everyday verb. Followed by a noun takes the preposition "par" (to start with something); followed by an infinitive requires "à" (to start to do something) or simply the infinitive after certain constructions. Note: "commencer à" + infinitive is standard modern usage.