French uses a small set of lexical aspectual verbs — commencer, se mettre à, continuer, persister, finir, arrêter, cesser, achever, terminer, débuter, entamer — to name the phases of an event: its beginning, its middle, its end, and its iteration. These verbs are not auxiliaries, and they are not the periphrastic markers like aller (going to) or venir de (just did) that the periphrastic aspectual page covers. They are full lexical verbs that have grammaticalized into aspectual operators while keeping their conjugation, prepositions, and selectional restrictions.
This page maps the whole system, then drills how to choose between near-synonyms — commencer vs se mettre à, finir de vs finir par, arrêter vs cesser, continuer à vs continuer de. Each pair carries a specific shading that learners often miss; the wrong choice is rarely ungrammatical but is consistently un-French. By the end of this page you should be able to scan an event, identify the phase you want to mark, and pick the right verb without hesitation.
The four aspectual zones
Aspect is not tense. Tense locates the event in time (past, present, future); aspect describes its internal contour — whether it is starting, continuing, ending, or repeating. French populates four aspectual zones with lexical verbs:
| Zone | Common French verbs | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Inceptive (start) | commencer à, se mettre à, débuter, entamer, engager | start, begin, take up |
| Continuative (keep) | continuer à/de, persister à, s'obstiner à, maintenir | keep, continue, persist in |
| Terminative (stop / finish) | finir de, arrêter de, cesser de, achever de, terminer | stop, finish, cease |
| Iterative / habitual | avoir l'habitude de, passer son temps à, se contenter de, ne pas arrêter de | be used to, spend time, keep on |
Most of these verbs take an infinitive complement with a preposition — commencer *à, finir de, persister à* — and the preposition is fixed by the verb, not derivable from the meaning. This is one of the persistent traps in French: there is no shortcut, and you must memorize the preposition with the verb.
Inceptive: starting an action
Five verbs name the start of an action in modern French. They differ in register, suddenness, and the kinds of subjects they take.
commencer à + infinitive — the neutral default
The everyday "start to / begin to." Works with any subject and any verb, treats the start as the beginning of a process expected to continue.
Il commence à pleuvoir, prends ton parapluie.
It's starting to rain — take your umbrella.
Je commence à comprendre pourquoi il a refusé.
I'm starting to understand why he refused.
Les enfants commencent à s'ennuyer dans la voiture.
The kids are starting to get bored in the car.
commencer par + infinitive — start by
A different construction with the same verb: commencer par + infinitive = "start by doing X" — the first step in a sequence.
Je vais commencer par te raconter ce qui s'est passé hier.
I'm going to start by telling you what happened yesterday.
On va commencer par le hors-d'œuvre.
We'll start with the appetizer.
The contrast with commencer à is sharp. Commencer à manger = "start to eat" (the action begins). Commencer par manger = "start by eating" (eating is the first item; something else will follow).
se mettre à + infinitive — sudden onset
The pronominal se mettre à frames the start as a moment of switching states — abrupt, often emotional, usually unexpected. It pairs especially well with verbs of crying, laughing, running, shouting, raining hard.
Quand il a vu la facture, il s'est mis à rire.
When he saw the bill, he burst out laughing.
Tout à coup, elle s'est mise à courir vers la porte.
Suddenly she took off running toward the door.
Il s'est mis à pleuvoir dès qu'on est sortis.
It started raining the moment we went out.
The se pronoun agrees with the subject and the past participle agrees in the passé composé (elle s'est mise). This is full pronominal verb behavior.
débuter — formal, intransitive
Débuter describes the start of an event from the outside — a film, a season, a career. It is intransitive (no infinitive complement) and slightly more formal than commencer.
Le concert débute à 20h précises.
The concert begins at 8 pm sharp. (formal — concert announcement)
Sa carrière a débuté dans un petit théâtre de quartier.
His career began in a small neighborhood theatre.
In conversational French, commencer is more common; débuter belongs to programs, schedules, and formal announcements.
entamer — transitive, formal
Entamer = "begin / open up / launch into." It takes a direct object — a conversation, a meal, a project — and is slightly formal.
Ils ont entamé une discussion sur l'avenir du projet.
They began a discussion about the future of the project.
On a entamé le dessert avant que tu arrives.
We started on the dessert before you arrived.
Entamer often carries the nuance of "cutting into" or "broaching" — it preserves a faint connection to its etymological sense of cutting the first piece. Entamer une bouteille = "open a bottle (and start drinking from it)."
For the full inceptive treatment, see inceptive aspectuals.
Continuative: keeping an action going
continuer à / de + infinitive
Both continuer à and continuer de are accepted by the Académie française and by major dictionaries. The difference is stylistic, not semantic: continuer à is more common in spoken French; continuer de is slightly more literary or careful.
Elle continue à étudier le japonais malgré les difficultés.
She keeps studying Japanese despite the difficulties.
Il continue de pleuvoir depuis ce matin.
It keeps raining — it's been raining since morning. (slightly literary)
A practical rule: avoid two adjacent vowels. Continuer à arriver (à + a-) is awkward, so continuer d'arriver is preferred. Native speakers do not stress this distinction in conversation.
persister à + infinitive — keep doing despite
Persister à = "persist in / keep doing despite obstacles." The verb carries a connotation of stubbornness — the subject is going against advice, evidence, or common sense.
Il persiste à dire qu'il n'était pas là, malgré les preuves.
He persists in saying he wasn't there, despite the evidence.
Pourquoi tu persistes à l'appeler tous les jours ?
Why do you keep calling him every day?
s'obstiner à + infinitive — be stubborn about
Stronger than persister. S'obstiner à = "be obstinate about / dig in on." Almost always pejorative.
Elle s'obstine à porter ce manteau, même quand il fait chaud.
She insists on wearing that coat, even when it's hot.
Ne t'obstine pas, change ta réponse.
Don't dig in — change your answer.
maintenir + direct object — uphold, keep up
Used with a direct object (not an infinitive). Maintenir = "maintain / keep up / uphold."
Il faut maintenir l'effort jusqu'à la fin du semestre.
We have to keep up the effort to the end of the term.
Elle a maintenu sa position malgré la pression.
She maintained her position despite the pressure.
rester + adjective / participle — remain, keep being
Rester + adjective = "stay / remain (in a state)." This is the everyday equivalent of "keep being X."
Reste calme, ce n'est pas grave.
Stay calm — it's not a big deal.
Elle est restée silencieuse pendant toute la réunion.
She remained silent throughout the meeting.
The slightly more formal demeurer is used in literary or elevated registers (demeurer fidèle à ses principes = "to remain faithful to one's principles").
Terminative: ending an action
The terminative zone is where the most consequential split lives — finir de vs finir par. Five verbs are in everyday use.
finir de + infinitive — finish doing
Finir de = "finish doing." The action runs to its natural completion.
J'ai fini de lire ton article, c'est très intéressant.
I've finished reading your article — it's really interesting.
Quand tu auras fini de manger, on partira.
When you've finished eating, we'll leave.
finir par + infinitive — end up doing
Finir par does not mean "finish doing." It means "end up doing / eventually do" — the action that finally happens after a process or delay.
Après deux heures de discussion, ils ont fini par accepter.
After two hours of discussion, they ended up accepting.
Tu finiras par comprendre, ne t'inquiète pas.
You'll eventually understand, don't worry.
The contrast is sharp. J'ai fini de manger = "I finished eating" (the eating is complete). J'ai fini par manger = "I ended up eating" (after some hesitation, I finally ate). Mixing them up is one of the most reliable markers of a non-native speaker.
arrêter de + infinitive — stop doing
Arrêter de = "stop / quit." The action is interrupted, often deliberately, often as a permanent decision. Strongly imperative-friendly: arrête de ! is a frequent command.
Arrête de me regarder comme ça, ça me met mal à l'aise.
Stop looking at me like that — it's making me uncomfortable.
J'ai arrêté de fumer il y a deux ans.
I quit smoking two years ago.
cesser de + infinitive — cease
Cesser de = "cease to / stop." Slightly formal, more literary than arrêter. The most common use is in the negative (ne) cesser de, which paradoxically means "constantly do."
Il n'a pas cessé de pleuvoir de la journée.
It didn't stop raining all day.
Elle ne cesse de répéter la même histoire.
She doesn't stop repeating the same story.
The literary form ne... cesser de without pas — il ne cesse de parler — is a fossil of the old French negation system; it means the same as il ne cesse pas de parler but sounds elevated. You'll meet it in journalism and literary prose.
achever de + infinitive — finish completing
Achever de = "finish (the last part of)." The action is in its final stage and completing.
Il a achevé de lire son rapport avant la réunion.
He finished reading his report before the meeting.
Cette nouvelle a achevé de la convaincre.
That news finished convincing her. (idiomatic — sealed her conviction)
The construction is slightly more formal than finir de and emphasizes the completion of a process. In everyday French, finir de is more common.
terminer + direct object — finish (a thing)
Terminer is transitive — it takes a direct object, not an infinitive. Terminer son travail, terminer son repas, terminer son livre.
J'ai terminé mon rapport hier soir.
I finished my report last night.
On va terminer la bouteille avant de partir.
We'll finish the bottle before we leave.
To say "finish doing" with terminer, you need a noun phrase — terminer la lecture du livre — or use finir de + infinitive instead. Terminer de lire is grammatical but less common than finir de lire.
For the full continuative/terminative treatment, see continuative and terminative aspectuals.
Iterative and habitual
The fourth aspectual zone marks repeated or habitual action.
avoir l'habitude de + infinitive — be in the habit of
The everyday way to mark habitual action. Avoir l'habitude de + infinitive = "be used to / be in the habit of."
J'ai l'habitude de lire avant de dormir.
I usually read before sleeping. / I'm in the habit of reading before bed.
On n'a pas l'habitude de manger si tard.
We're not used to eating so late.
This is the closest French gets to an explicit habitual marker; the imparfait does similar work for past habits but lacks the explicit "be used to" reading.
passer son temps à + infinitive — spend time doing
Passer son temps à = "spend one's time doing." Often pejorative, suggesting wasted effort.
Il passe son temps à se plaindre du gouvernement.
He spends his time complaining about the government.
Elle passe son temps sur les réseaux sociaux.
She spends her time on social media.
ne pas arrêter de + infinitive — not stop doing
A periphrastic intensifier: ne pas arrêter de = "not stop / keep on." The negative form converts arrêter into a continuous-iterative.
Le bébé n'arrête pas de pleurer depuis ce matin.
The baby hasn't stopped crying since this morning.
Tu n'arrêtes pas de me poser la même question !
You keep asking me the same question!
This is more colloquial than cesser de and far more common in spoken French.
se contenter de + infinitive — limit oneself to
A subtle marker: se contenter de = "settle for / limit oneself to." Often signals minimal effort or restricted scope.
Je me contente de regarder, je n'achèterai rien.
I'm just looking — I won't buy anything.
Il s'est contenté de hocher la tête.
He just nodded. / He limited himself to nodding.
For the iterative-specific treatment with the re- prefix, see repetitive and iterative aspectuals.
Walking through one event with all four zones
The same lexical verb — say, travailler — can be threaded through all four aspectual zones:
Il commence à travailler à 9 heures.
He starts working at 9. (inceptive)
Il s'est mis à travailler quand le patron est arrivé.
He started working when the boss arrived. (sudden inceptive)
Il continue à travailler malgré la fatigue.
He keeps working despite the fatigue. (continuative)
Il a fini de travailler à 18 heures.
He finished working at 6. (terminative — natural completion)
Il a fini par travailler le week-end.
He ended up working on the weekend. (terminative — eventual outcome, very different meaning)
Il a arrêté de travailler à cause du stress.
He stopped working because of stress. (terminative — interruption)
Il a l'habitude de travailler tard le soir.
He's in the habit of working late at night. (iterative)
This sequence — and the choice between finir de and finir par, between commencer à and se mettre à, between arrêter de and cesser de — is the fluent core of how French marks the shape of an action.
Pronouns, negation, and tense
All lexical aspectual verbs follow the same syntactic patterns:
- Negation wraps the conjugated verb, not the infinitive. Je ne commence pas à comprendre (not je commence à ne pas comprendre, which means something different).
Il n'arrête pas de parler.
He doesn't stop talking.
Je n'ai pas fini de manger.
I haven't finished eating.
- Object pronouns sit before the infinitive, not before the conjugated verb.
Je commence à le comprendre.
I'm starting to understand him. (le before comprendre)
Tu as fini de les lire ?
Have you finished reading them?
Il a fini par l'accepter.
He ended up accepting it.
- The conjugated verb takes the tense. Every aspectual verb can move into any tense. Je commençais à comprendre (was starting to), j'avais fini de manger (had finished eating), je finirai par accepter (I'll end up accepting).
Quand tu m'as appelé, je commençais à m'endormir.
When you called me, I was starting to fall asleep.
Elle finira par te pardonner, j'en suis sûr.
She'll end up forgiving you, I'm sure.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using the wrong preposition.
❌ Il commence de pleuvoir. / J'ai fini à manger.
Commencer takes à; finir takes de. The pairings are fixed.
✅ Il commence à pleuvoir. / J'ai fini de manger.
It's starting to rain. / I've finished eating.
Mistake 2: Confusing finir de and finir par.
❌ Après deux heures de débat, ils ont fini d'accepter.
Wrong meaning. Finir de = complete the action. For 'end up doing' = finir par.
✅ Après deux heures de débat, ils ont fini par accepter.
After two hours of debate, they ended up accepting.
Mistake 3: Conflating commencer à and se mettre à.
❌ Soudain, il commence à crier de toutes ses forces.
Possible but flat. Soudain (sudden) calls for se mettre à.
✅ Soudain, il s'est mis à crier de toutes ses forces.
Suddenly he started shouting at the top of his lungs.
Mistake 4: Treating terminer like a periphrastic verb.
❌ Termine de manger, on part dans cinq minutes.
Possible but unidiomatic in spoken French. Use finir de + infinitive.
✅ Finis de manger, on part dans cinq minutes.
Finish eating — we're leaving in five minutes.
Mistake 5: Using cesser in casual contexts.
❌ Cesse de me déranger, je travaille.
Grammatically fine but stiff in informal speech. The everyday verb is arrêter.
✅ Arrête de me déranger, je travaille.
Stop bothering me — I'm working.
Mistake 6: Putting object pronouns before the aspectual verb.
❌ Il l'a commencé à comprendre.
The clitic attaches to the infinitive, not the aspectual verb.
✅ Il a commencé à le comprendre.
He started to understand it.
Key takeaways
French marks the internal contour of events with a small set of lexical aspectual verbs that operate independently of tense. The four zones are inceptive (commencer à, se mettre à, débuter, entamer), continuative (continuer à/de, persister à, s'obstiner à, maintenir, rester), terminative (finir de, finir par, arrêter de, cesser de, achever de, terminer), and iterative/habitual (avoir l'habitude de, passer son temps à, ne pas arrêter de, se contenter de).
Most of these verbs require a fixed preposition before the infinitive complement. The most consequential pairs to memorize are commencer à (start) vs commencer par (start by), finir de (finish doing) vs finir par (end up doing), commencer à (neutral start) vs se mettre à (sudden start), and arrêter de (everyday "stop") vs cesser de (formal "cease"). Drill these contrasts as pairs — the quickest path to fluent aspect in French is to internalize them as opposing units rather than as items in a list.
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- Inceptive Aspect: commencer à, se mettre à, and MoreB1 — How French marks the start of an action: the neutral commencer à, the sudden se mettre à, the formal débuter and entamer, and the colloquial partir + infinitive. Each verb covers a different shading of beginning.
- Continuative and Terminative Aspect: continuer, finir, arrêter, cesserB1 — How French marks ongoing and ending actions: continuer à/de, persister à, finir de vs finir par, arrêter de, cesser de, achever de. Includes the high-stakes contrast between finir de and finir par.
- L'Aspect Itératif: re- préfixe et réitérationB2 — French marks repetition through several distinct strategies: the productive *re-* prefix (*refaire*, *redire*, *recommencer*), iterative periphrastics (*ne pas arrêter de*, *passer son temps à*), the imparfait of habit, and the adverbial machinery of *toujours*, *encore*, *de nouveau*. Each carves up the repetition space differently.
- Aspectual Periphrases: How French Marks Aspect Without InflectionB1 — French has no inflectional progressive or perfect aspect like English -ing or have done. Instead it builds aspect with periphrases — verb + preposition + infinitive — to mark beginnings, continuations, endings, habits, imminence, and recency.
- Être en Train de + Infinitive: The ProgressiveA2 — French has no inflected progressive aspect. Where English contrasts 'I eat' and 'I am eating,' French uses the simple present for both — and reaches for être en train de + infinitive only when emphasizing that an action is happening right now. Learn when to use it, when to leave it out, and why overuse is a tell-tale sign of an English speaker.
- De vs À with Verbs Before an InfinitiveA2 — When one French verb is followed by another in the infinitive, the link between them is either nothing, the preposition de, or the preposition à. The choice is largely arbitrary and must be memorised verb by verb — but there are patterns and tendencies that make the lists learnable.