Le four est chaud ; du coup, je commence.

Le is the definite article, so it means the oven rather than an oven.

French often uses the definite article when the thing is already known from the situation. If someone is cooking, the oven is usually understood to be a specific oven, so le four sounds natural.

Using un four would introduce it as just any oven, which would feel less natural here.

Est is the he/she/it is form of être.

So:

• le four = the oven
• est = is
• chaud = hot

Together, Le four est chaud means The oven is hot.

French often uses être + adjective just like English uses to be + adjective.

Chaud agrees with the noun it describes.

Here, four is:

• masculine
• singular

So the adjective is the masculine singular form: chaud

Other possible forms would be:

• chaude for feminine singular
• chauds for masculine plural
• chaudes for feminine plural

For example:

• La soupe est chaude
• Les plats sont chauds

Here, du coup means something like:

• so
• as a result
• therefore
• because of that

It links the first idea to the second one:

• Le four est chaud → the oven is hot
• du coup, je commence → so / as a result, I start

In everyday spoken French, du coup is very common.

It is mostly informal to neutral spoken French.

Native speakers use du coup all the time in conversation, sometimes very often. It is perfectly normal in everyday speech, but in more formal writing, people may prefer expressions like:

• donc
• par conséquent
• ainsi

So this sentence sounds natural in conversation, but in very formal writing it might be a little too conversational.

Literally, du coup comes from an idea like from that blow / from that stroke, but that literal meaning is usually not helpful for learners.

In modern everyday French, it usually works as a connector meaning:

• so
• then
• as a result

So it is better to learn it as a fixed expression rather than word by word.

The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses:

• Le four est chaud
• du coup, je commence

It shows a stronger break than a comma, but less separation than a full stop.

So the writer is connecting two complete ideas very clearly:

1. the oven is hot
2. therefore, I start

In everyday writing, many people would also simply use:

• Le four est chaud, du coup je commence.
• Le four est chaud. Du coup, je commence.

Also, in French typography, a semicolon normally has a space before it: chaud ;

French often uses the present tense for something happening right now or immediately.

So je commence can mean:

• I’m starting
• I start
• I’m going to start now

Because the oven is already hot, the speaker is starting at that moment. English often prefers a progressive form, but French does not need one here.

Commencer can be used either:

• with an object: Je commence le repas
• without an object: Je commence

When there is no object, it means I begin / I get started and the thing being started is understood from the context.

Here, the context is probably cooking or baking, so je commence means something like I’ll get started or I’m starting now.

Yes. Je vais commencer is also possible.

The difference is roughly:

• je commence = I’m starting / I start
• je vais commencer = I’m going to start

Both can work here. Je commence feels a bit more immediate and direct.

Because the subject is already clearly named: le four.

When you have a specific noun as the subject, French normally uses the regular verb pattern:

• Le four est chaud

C’est chaud means It’s hot, but it does not name the oven directly. It is more general and would usually be used in a different structure or after the thing has already been introduced.

So:

• Le four est chaud = The oven is hot
• C’est chaud = It’s hot / That’s hot

Yes, very easily.

You could say:

• Le four est chaud ; du coup, je commence.
• Le four est chaud. Du coup, je commence.

Both are natural.

When du coup starts a clause, a comma after it is common because it marks it as a connector.

A rough pronunciation is:

luh foor eh show ; duh koo, zhuh koh-mahns

A few useful points:

• four sounds like foor
• est is pronounced like eh
• chaud sounds like show
• the final d in chaud is silent
• je sounds like zhuh
• commence has a nasal vowel at the end, not a clear English s

You do not pronounce the semicolon, of course; it just marks a pause.