Learn French: En juin, les vacances commencent.

En juin, les vacances commencent.

In June, the holidays start.

Breakdown of En juin, les vacances commencent.

les vacances

the vacation / the holidays

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Questions & Answers about En juin, les vacances commencent.

Why is it en juin instead of dans juin?

To say "in" a certain month, French always uses the preposition en. Notice also that months of the year like juin are not capitalized in French unless they are the first word of a sentence.

Why is les vacances plural when we often say "vacation" in the singular in English?

In French, the word for holidays or vacation is almost always used in the plural form: les vacances. Because the noun is plural, it must be paired with the plural word for "the", which is les.

Why does the verb commencent end with "-ent"?

The verb commencer (to start) must match its subject. Since les vacances is plural (equivalent to "they"), you must use the plural "they" ending for regular -er verbs, which is -ent.

How do I pronounce the "-ent" at the end of commencent?

You do not pronounce it at all! A major rule in French is that the -ent ending on plural verbs is completely silent. You pronounce commencent exactly the same way as the singular form commence.