I can understand what on means in three different sentences, say “Chez nous, on fait la bise”, and turn “T'as raison” and “Je sais pas”, heard in speech, into the full written form.
On : we, people, and someone
On : we, people, and someone
The short word on covers three English ways of talking about people, and the French use it all the time in conversation.
The meaning “we” is the most common: On va au cinéma ? = Nous allons au cinéma ?
The meaning “people in general”: En France, on mange tard — English says “people eat late in France”.
The meaning “someone”: On a téléphoné ce matin — “someone called this morning”.
The verb after on always has the same form as after il and elle, even when on means “we”: on parle, on est, on a, on fait, on va.
In the negative with a reflexive verb, ne goes before se and pas after the verb: le dimanche, on ne se lève pas tôt.
Register: in conversation the French say on, but in writing and in exams they write nous. Understand the casual doubled subject, but don't write it.
Casual speech is shorter than written French: ne often drops out, tu merges with the verb (t'as, t'es), oui sounds like ouais, people say bouffer instead of manger and le boulot instead of le travail. Recognize these forms, but write and answer in full. The table shows both columns.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “On sont français” → “On est français”.
• NOT “On parlent français ici” → “On parle français ici”.
• NOT “Nous, on va au cinéma” → “Nous allons au cinéma”.
• NOT “Il a pas compris” in writing → “Il n'a pas compris”.
Three meanings of on
The verb after on is always in the third person singular.
| Meaning | Sentence with on | Another way to say it |
|---|---|---|
| we | On part demain. | Nous partons demain. |
| people in general | En France, on mange tard. | Les gens mangent tard. |
| someone | On a téléphoné ce matin. | Quelqu'un a téléphoné ce matin. |
We hear one thing and write another
Understand these forms by ear; in your answers and in writing, use the full form.
| What you hear in conversation | What you write |
|---|---|
| ouais | oui |
| t'as | tu as |
| t'es | tu es |
| Je sais pas. | Je ne sais pas. |
| bouffer | manger |
| le boulot | le travail |
Lesson notes
On : we, people, and someone
The short word on covers three English ways of talking about people, and the French use it all the time in conversation.
The meaning “we” is the most common: On va au cinéma ? = Nous allons au cinéma ?
The meaning “people in general”: En France, on mange tard — English says “people eat late in France”.
The meaning “someone”: On a téléphoné ce matin — “someone called this morning”.
The verb after on always has the same form as after il and elle, even when on means “we”: on parle, on est, on a, on fait, on va.
In the negative with a reflexive verb, ne goes before se and pas after the verb: le dimanche, on ne se lève pas tôt.
Register: in conversation the French say on, but in writing and in exams they write nous. Understand the casual doubled subject, but don't write it.
Casual speech is shorter than written French: ne often drops out, tu merges with the verb (t'as, t'es), oui sounds like ouais, people say bouffer instead of manger and le boulot instead of le travail. Recognize these forms, but write and answer in full. The table shows both columns.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “On sont français” → “On est français”.
• NOT “On parlent français ici” → “On parle français ici”.
• NOT “Nous, on va au cinéma” → “Nous allons au cinéma”.
• NOT “Il a pas compris” in writing → “Il n'a pas compris”.