at the beginning of the sentence

elle a commencé le piano à six ans — she started playing the piano when she was six

tu commences bien l'année! — that's a good start to the year!

le film est commencé — the film has already started

commencer à or de faire — to begin to do

je commence à comprendre — I'm beginning to understand

ça commence à bien faire (colloq) or à suffire! — (colloq) it's getting a bit much!

pour commencer, c'est trop cher — for a start, it's too expensive

commence par le plafond — start with the ceiling

par qui vais-je commencer? — who shall I start with?

commence par obéir! — for a start you can do as you're told!

commencer comme secrétaire — to start (off) as a secretary

Les cours commencent à huit heures. — Classes start at 8 o'clock.

commencer de faire qch — to start doing sth, to begin doing sth, to start to do sth, to begin to do sth

Il a commencé à pleuvoir. — It's started to rain., It's started raining.

J'ai commencé de réviser pour les examens. — I've started revising for the exams.

commencer par qch — to begin with sth

commencer par faire qch — to begin by doing sth

ne commencez pas! — don't start!

c'est lui qui a commencé! — he started it!

ça commence bien — that's a good start

as you go toward the bank, it's the first house on the left — yendo hacia el banco, es la primera casa a mano izquierda

he mellowed as he grew older — se fue ablandando con los años

as it was getting late, we decided to leave — como se hacía tarde, decidimos irnos

try as he might, he could not open it — por más que trató, no pudo abrirlo

(as) strange as it may seem — por extraño que parezca

much as I agree with you... — aun estando de acuerdo contigo como estoy...

in the 1980s, as in the 30s — en la década de los 80, al igual que en la de los 30

it's quite reasonable, as restaurants go — para como están los restaurantes, es bastante razonable

as I was saying — como iba diciendo

the situation, as we understand it, is... — la situación, tal como nosotros la entendemos, es...

I love her as I would my own daughter — la quiero como a una hija

do as I say — haz lo que te digo

she sang as never before — cantó como nunca

she arrived the next day, as planned/expected — llegó al día siguiente como se había planeado/como se esperaba

use form A or B as appropriate — use el formulario A o B, según corresponda

as things stand — tal (y) como están las cosas

it would be the end of civilization as we know it — significaría el fin de la civilización tal y como la conocemos

I'm only interested in the changes as they affect me — sólo me interesan los cambios en la medida en que me afectan a mí

Sri Lanka, or Ceylon, as it used to be known — Sri Lanka, o Ceilán, como se llamaba antes

as it is: we can't publish it as it is no podemos publicarlo tal y como está, no podemos publicarlo así como está; we've got too much work as it is ya tenemos demasiado trabajo; as it were por así decirlo; as was: our new president, our secretary as was — el nuevo presidente, ex secretario de nuestra organización

as... as — tan... como

I am as tall as you (are) — soy tan alta como tú

I left as soon as I could — me fui en cuanto pude

there weren't as many people as (there were) last time — no había tanta gente como la última vez

as if/as though — como si (+ subj)

he acts as if o as though he didn't care — se comporta como si no le importara

she made as if to open the door — hizo como si fuera a abrir la puerta

he looks as if o as though he's had enough — tiene cara de estar harto

it's not as cold today — hoy no hace tanto frío

I can't run as quickly now — no puedo correr tan rápido ahora

I have lots of stamps, but he has just as many/twice as many — yo tengo muchos sellos, pero él tiene tantos como yo/el doble (que yo)

I was disgusted and said as much — estaba asqueado y lo dije

as... as: these animals grow to as much as 12ft long estos animales llegan a medir 12 pies de largo; as recently as 1976 aún en 1976; as many as 400 people hasta 400 personas; as long ago as 1960 — ya en 1960

as a teacher... — como maestro...

she was brilliant as Cleopatra — estuvo genial en el papel de Cleopatra

he works as a clerk — trabaja de oficinista

they answered as one man — respondieron como un solo hombre

as against — frente a

as for — en cuanto a, respecto a

and as for you... — y en cuanto a ti..., y en lo que a ti respecta...

as to — en cuanto a, respecto a

as I was passing the house — cuando pasaba por delante de la casa

he came in as I was leaving — entró cuando yo salía

he came in as I was leaving — entró al salir yo

as we walked, we talked about the future — mientras caminábamos, hablábamos del futuro

he didn't mention it as he didn't want to worry you — como no quería preocuparte, no lo mencionó, no lo mencionó puesto que no quería preocuparte

patient as she is, she'll probably put up with it — con lo paciente que es, seguramente lo soportará

leave things as they are — dejad las cosas como están

I'm okay as I am — estoy bien tal como estoy

knowing him as I do, I'm sure he'll refuse — conociéndolo como lo conozco, estoy seguro de que no aceptará

the village, situated as it is near a motorway,... — el pueblo, situado como está cerca de una autopista,...

as I've said before... — como he dicho antes...

as I was saying... — como iba diciendo...

her door is the first as you go up — su puerta es la primera según se sube

she is very gifted, as is her brother — tiene mucho talento, al igual que su hermano

tired as he was, he went to the party — aunque estaba cansado, asistió a la fiesta

interesting as the book is, I don't think it will sell very well — el libro es interesante, pero aún así no creo que se venda bien, aunque el libro es interesante, no creo que se venda bien

unlikely as it may seem... — por imposible que parezca...

as if she knew! — ¡como si ella lo supiera!

the little dog nodded his head, as if to agree — el perrito movió la cabeza, como asintiendo

it's spelled with V as in Valencia — se escribe con V de Valencia

as it is, it doesn't make much difference — en realidad, casi da lo mismo

I've got quite enough to do as it is — tengo ya bastante trabajo

I'd understood the words, but I hadn't understood the question, as it were — había entendido las palabras, pero no había comprendido la pregunta, por así decirlo

I have become, as it were, two people — me he convertido como en dos personas

he was as it were tired and emotional — estaba de alguna forma cansado y con los nervios a flor de piel

that's the headmistress, the deputy as was — esa es la directora, que antes era la subdirectora

she was often ill as a child — de pequeña se ponía enferma con frecuencia

he succeeded as a politician — tuvo éxito como político

I don't think much of him as an actor — como actor, no me gusta mucho

she treats me as her equal — me trata de igual a igual

we're going as tourists — vamos en plan de turismo

he was there as adviser — estaba allí en calidad de asesor

he works as a waiter — trabaja de camarero

I am as tall as him — soy tan alto como él

this tree can grow as tall as 50 feet — este árbol puede llegar a medir 50 pies de alto

as big as a house — (tan) grande como una casa

she hit him as hard as she could — lo golpeó lo más fuerte que pudo, lo golpeó tan fuerte como pudo

he was writing as long ago as 1945 — en 1945 ya escribía

he ate as quickly as possible — comió lo más rápido posible

it was still being done by hand as recently as 1960 — en 1960 todavía seguía haciéndose a mano

the fresh snow was as white as white could be — la nieve fresca era todo lo blanca que podía ser

is it as far as that? — ¿tan lejos está?

is it as big as all that? — ¿es de verdad tan grande?

by saving as little as ten pounds a month — ahorrando tan solo diez libras al mes

I haven't got as many pairs of shoes as you — no tengo tantos pares de zapatos como tú

she gets as many as eight thousand letters a month — llega a recibir hasta ocho mil cartas al mes

she thought he was an idiot, and said as much — pensaba que era un idiota, y así lo expresó

I haven't got as much energy as you — no tengo tanta energía como tú

you've got as much as she has — tienes tanto como ella

it didn't cost as much as I had expected — no costó tanto como yo me esperaba

it can cost as much as $2,000 — puede llegar a costar 2.000 dólares

they all stood up as one — se levantaron todos a la vez

it's half as expensive — es la mitad de caro

it's twice as expensive — es el doble de caro

it's three times as expensive — es tres veces más caro

she's twice as nice as her sister — es el doble de simpática que su hermana

her coat cost twice as much as mine — su abrigo costó el doble que el mío

she gave me back the book without as much as an apology — me devolvió el libro sin pedirme siquiera una disculpa

as for the children, they were exhausted — en cuanto a los niños, estaban rendidos, los niños, por su parte, estaban rendidos

as for that... — en cuanto a esto...

as from tomorrow — a partir de mañana

as of yesterday/now — a partir de ayer/ahora

as to that I can't say — en lo que a eso se refiere, no lo sé

as to her mother... — en cuanto a su madre...

to question sb as to his intentions — preguntar a algn sus intenciones

they make decisions as to whether students need help — deciden si los alumnos necesitan ayuda

he inquired as to what the problem was — preguntó cuál era el problema

as you go toward the bank, it's the first house on the left — yendo hacia el banco, es la primera casa a mano izquierda

he mellowed as he grew older — se fue ablandando con los años

as it was getting late, we decided to leave — como se hacía tarde, decidimos irnos

try as he might, he could not open it — por más que trató, no pudo abrirlo

(as) strange as it may seem — por extraño que parezca

much as I agree with you... — aun estando de acuerdo contigo como estoy...

in the 1980s, as in the 30s — en la década de los 80, al igual que en la de los 30

it's quite reasonable, as restaurants go — para como están los restaurantes, es bastante razonable

as I was saying — como iba diciendo

the situation, as we understand it, is... — la situación, tal como nosotros la entendemos, es...

I love her as I would my own daughter — la quiero como a una hija

do as I say — haz lo que te digo

she sang as never before — cantó como nunca

she arrived the next day, as planned/expected — llegó al día siguiente como se había planeado/como se esperaba