Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to commence
Participle: commenced
Gerund: commencing
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | commence |
| you | commence |
| he;she;it | commences |
| we | commence |
| you | commence |
| they | commence |
Perfect
| I | have commenced |
| you | have commenced |
| he;she;it | has commenced |
| we | have commenced |
| you | have commenced |
| they | have commenced |
Past
| I | commenced |
| you | commenced |
| he;she;it | commenced |
| we | commenced |
| you | commenced |
| they | commenced |
Pluperfect
| I | had commenced |
| you | had commenced |
| he;she;it | had commenced |
| we | had commenced |
| you | had commenced |
| they | had commenced |
Future
| I | will commence |
| you | will commence |
| he;she;it | will commence |
| we | will commence |
| you | will commence |
| they | will commence |
Future Perfect
| I | will have commenced |
| you | will have commenced |
| he;she;it | will have commenced |
| we | will have commenced |
| you | will have commenced |
| they | will have commenced |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | commence |
| you | commence |
| he;she;it | commence |
| we | commence |
| you | commence |
| they | commence |
Perfect
| I | have commenced |
| you | have commenced |
| he;she;it | have commenced |
| we | have commenced |
| you | have commenced |
| they | have commenced |
Imperfect
| I | commenced |
| you | commenced |
| he;she;it | commenced |
| we | commenced |
| you | commenced |
| they | commenced |
Pluperfect
| I | had commenced |
| you | had commenced |
| he;she;it | had commenced |
| we | had commenced |
| you | had commenced |
| they | had commenced |
Conditional
Present
| I | would commence |
| you | would commence |
| he;she;it | would commence |
| we | would commence |
| you | would commence |
| they | would commence |
Perfect
| I | would have commenced |
| you | would have commenced |
| he;she;it | would have commenced |
| we | would have commenced |
| you | would have commenced |
| they | would have commenced |
Imperative
| you | commence |
| we | Let's commence |
| you | commence |
Verbs conjugated like 'commence'
abacinate,
abalienate,
abase,
abate,
abbreviate,
abdicate,
abduce,
aberrate,
aberuncate,
abirritate,
abjudge,
abjudicate,
abjugate,
abjure,
ablactate,
ablaqueate,
able,
ablegate,
abligate,
abnegate, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'commence'
commerce,
commend,
comment,
commerge,
commune,
compense,
compesce,
condence,
recommence,
cadence,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to take the first step into something
- begin, go, inchoate, initiate, open, originate, rock and roll, start
- start
- initiate, inaugurate, begin, open, launch, originate
Antonyms
- to finish (something)
- begin, continue, execute, inaugurate, launch, maintain, proceed, restart, start, end
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. 1314, from O.Fr.
comencier, from V.L.
*cominitiare, orig. "to initiate as priest, consecrate," from L.
com- "together" +
initiare "to initiate." The academic sense of
commencement "action of taking a full degree," is in M.E.
2. From Middle English commencen, comencen (also as contracted comsen, cumsen), from Anglo-Norman comencer, from Vulgar Latin *cominitiāre, formed from Latin com- + initiō (whence English initiate).
Verbs referencing "commence"
Esperanto
komenci, Ido komencar.
Sample Sentences
-
Both gentlemen laughed uproariously. “ Now, Jim, ” said his master, “ show us how old Elder Robbins leads the psalm. ” The boy drew his chubby face down to a formidable length, and commenced toning a psalm tune through his nose, with imperturbable gravity.
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
‘There was one of two ways to be adopted: either to go on to build up a language of signs on the basis of the natural language which she had already commenced herself, or to teach her the purely arbitrary language in common use: that is, to give her a sign for every individual thing, or to give her a knowledge of letters by combination of which she might [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
‘This was the period, about three months after she had commenced, that the first report of her case was made, in which it was stated that “ she has just learned the manual alphabet, as used by the deaf mutes, and it is a subject of delight and wonder to see how [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
‘Profiting by the experience I had gained in the other cases, I omitted several steps of the process before employed, and commenced at once with the finger language. Taking, therefore, several articles having short names, such as key, cup, mug, &c., and with Laura for an auxiliary, I sat down, and taking his hand, placed it [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
‘He learned more than a half-dozen letters in half an hour, and seemed delighted with his success, at least in gaining approbation. His attention then began to flag, and I commenced playing with him. It was evident that in all this he had merely been imitating the motions of my fingers, and placing his hand upon the key, cup, &c., as part of the process, without any perception [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
[...] six or eight and fifty; with deep lines graven as it were into his face, dark hair, and a stern, keen eye. Yet the general character of his countenance was pleasant and agreeable. The service commenced with a hymn, to which succeeded an extemporary prayer. It had the fault of frequent repetition, incidental to all such prayers; but it was plain and comprehensive in its doctrines, and breathed a [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
But the dance commences. Every gentleman sets as long as he likes to the opposite lady, and the opposite lady to him, and all are so long about it that the sport begins to languish, when suddenly the lively hero dashes in [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
[...] there, by way of expressing her good-will; and was conscious of a kind of sunshine beaming down upon her from her large, clear, brown eyes. She saw Ruth's husband come in,—saw her fly up to him, and commence whispering very earnestly, ever and anon, with impressive gesture, pointing her little finger toward the room. She saw her, with the baby in her arms, sitting down to tea; she saw them all at table, [...]
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
Miss Ophelia commenced opening a set of drawers.
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
So Eva put her golden head close to his, and the two commenced a grave and anxious discussion, each one equally earnest, and about equally ignorant; and, with a deal of consulting and advising over every word, the composition began, as they both felt very [...]
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)