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Puis, la petite nacelle commence à tourbillonner.

Puis, la petite nacelle commence à tourbillonner.
Then, the small gondola starts to whirl.
From Lesson 424:Time duration nouns (an / année, jour / journée)·French

Questions & Answers about Puis, la petite nacelle commence à tourbillonner.

Why use puis here instead of alors?
Puis is used to indicate a sequence of events, meaning "then" or "after that." Ensuite would also work perfectly here. You wouldn't typically use alors in this context, because alors usually implies a logical consequence ("so" or "therefore") or refers to a specific moment in the past ("at that time").
Why do we need the preposition à after commence?
In French, the verb commencer (to begin) requires the preposition à when it is followed by an infinitive verb. It acts as a necessary bridge between the conjugated verb (commence) and the action being started (tourbillonner).
What kind of object is a nacelle?
A nacelle refers to a suspended basket, cabin, or pod. Depending on the context, it is commonly the passenger basket of a hot air balloon, a car on a Ferris wheel or spinning fairground ride (as implied here), or even the engine housing on an airplane.
As a quick refresher, why is petite placed before the noun?
While most French adjectives follow the noun, petit falls into a small category of very common adjectives that go before it. You might remember these with the acronym BANGS, which stands for adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size.

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