
begin
( began pt) ( begun pp )
[+talks, book, career, ceremony] commencer
→ He had begun his career as a painter.
→ The vicar began the ceremony with a reading.
to begin work
(=start one's working day) commencer à travailler
→ Both begin work at around 9am.
to begin to do sth, to begin doing sth
[cry, laugh, sweat, sing] se mettre à faire qch
He stood up and began to sing. Il se leva et se mit à chanter.
She began writing the book in 1995. Elle a commencé à écrire ce livre en 1995.
People began to leave. Les gens commençaient à partir.
[rain, snow] se mettre à faire qch
It began to snow. Il s'est mis à neiger.
Snow began falling again. La neige s'était remise à tomber.
(used emphatically)
I can't begin to thank you je ne sais comment vous remercier
→ I can't begin to thank you, you've done so much to help.
you can't begin to imagine ... tu ne peux pas t'imaginer ...
→ You can't begin to imagine how much that saddens me.
we can't begin to understand ... on ne peut pas s'imaginer ...
→ We can't begin to understand what it feels like.
vi
(=start) commencer
→ The concert begins at 5 p.m.
→ My career as a journalist was about to begin.
to begin with
(=at first) d'abord, pour commencer
→ To begin with, I was sceptical, but I was soon convinced.
(=in the first place) déjà pour commencer, pour commencer
To begin with, it's too expensive. Déjà, pour commencer, c'est trop cher.
to do sth to begin with
(=first) commencer par faire qch
You should invite your best friends to begin with. Tu devrais commencer par inviter tes meilleurs amis.
→ You should invite your closest friends to begin with, and then see if there's room for anybody else.
beginning from Monday à partir de lundi
Traduction Dictionnaire Collins Anglais - Francais  

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"Collins English French Electronic Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers 2005"