French Phrase
Note quand les symptômes ont commencé.
Meaning
A directive meaning ‘Record/Note when the symptoms started.’ It is commonly used in medical contexts to ask someone to write down the exact moment the first signs of an illness appeared.
When to use
Use this sentence when filling out a health questionnaire, during a medical interview, or in a personal health‑tracking app where you need to log the onset of symptoms.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Notequandlessymptômesontcommencé
Imperative (2nd person singular)
‘Note’ is the imperative form of the verb ‘noter’ addressed to ‘tu’; it gives a direct instruction.
Quand (conjunction)
‘Quand’ introduces a temporal clause meaning ‘when’. It is followed by a full clause with its own verb.
Definite article ‘les’
‘Les’ marks the noun ‘symptômes’ as a specific, known set of symptoms, and agrees in number (plural).
Passé composé with ‘avoir’
‘Ont commencé’ is the passé composé of ‘commencer’, formed with the auxiliary ‘avoir’ + past participle ‘commencé’.
🗨In Conversation
Note quand les symptômes ont commencé.
Note when the symptoms started.
Ils ont commencé hier soir, vers 20 h.
They started last night, around 8 p.m.
✕Common Mistakes
Notez quand les symptômes ont commencé.
‘Notez’ is the plural/formal imperative; it is correct in a formal setting but not a mistake. The common error is using it in an informal context where ‘Note’ is expected.
les symptômes sont commencé.
‘Commencer’ uses ‘avoir’ as its auxiliary, not ‘être’. The correct form is ‘ont commencé’.
Note quand symptômes ont commencé.
The definite article ‘les’ is required before ‘symptômes’.
↔Alternatives
Enregistrez le moment où les symptômes ont débuté.
Record the moment when the symptoms began.
Veuillez indiquer la date et l’heure d’apparition des symptômes.
Please indicate the date and time the symptoms appeared.
Notez à quelle heure les symptômes ont commencé.
Note at what time the symptoms started.
Cultural Tip
In French medical communication the tone is usually formal. While ‘Note’ is correct, many professionals prefer the polite form ‘Veuillez noter…’ or the plural imperative ‘Notez…’ when addressing a patient. Also, ‘symptôme’ is masculine, so adjectives agree in the masculine plural (e.g., ‘les symptômes graves’).