64 - How to Use the Subject Pronoun "On" in French

 
 

Listen to this episode to find out how to use the subject pronoun “on” in French! 🤓

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Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!

Hi everyone! Bonjour à tous! Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast. This is episode number 64, numéro 64. 

In today's episode, you'll learn when to use the subject pronoun "on" in French, and I'll share some examples with you too. I've had a lot of questions about this in my emails, so finally, here it is. 

If you're new here, well, first, welcome, but if you don't know what a subject pronoun is, it's no big deal, but please go back to episode number 14, where I talk about subject pronouns in French. Otherwise, you might be a little lost. The link is in the episode notes.

Then, make sure you have your lesson cheat sheet in front of you, so you can listen and read the words at the same time. It's free. Then after the episode, you can head over to the French Made Easy library, where you can access the lesson's exercises. It's free too. 

Let's see the meaning of the subject pronoun "on."

"On" can have 3 different meanings: It can mean "we", "someone" and "people in general."

There are a few other meanings, but I don't think it's going to be very useful to you as a beginner, so I'm only going to focus on these three meanings today. 

  • "On" can mean "we."

And this is the most common use. It is an informal, casual way of saying "nous" which means "we." 

Now attention, I'm not saying it's slang; I'm saying it's casual. 

"Nous" ("we") in modern French is a lot more formal, whether it's used in writing or when speaking. To be honest with you, I don't hear many French speakers use "nous" except maybe in the news on the TV or when reading a French article. 

A lot of French speakers use "on" instead of "nous" most of the time in casual speech or casual writing. And I do too.

For example, let's just say I'm Facetiming my parents and I'm asking them what they're doing today.

-"Vous faites quoi aujourd'hui ?" (What are you guys doing today?)

-"Oh, rien de special, on va à la plage." (Oh nothing special, we're going to the beach.)

They're in Paris, so they're probably not going to the beach, but that's just an example. 

They could also say "Rien de spécial, nous allons à la plage." There's nothing wrong with that at all, but very unlikely that I'll hear this, it sounds very formal. 

Alright, so now you know that "on" means "we" most of the time, in casual speech or casual writing. But, it's not as simple as that.

If you decide to use "on", you have to conjugate the verb that follows it in the third person of the singular, not in the plural. Very important.

❌ You can't say "on allons à la plage." You have to say "on va à la plage."

Now, if the conjugation with "on" confuses you, then you can stick with "nous"; there's no problem with that if that's easier for you. But if you want to converse with French speakers, you at least have to understand the meaning behind "on" because that's what many French speakers use. You can need to understand both "on" and "nous.


Alright, meaning number 2, a little bit more advanced but good to know:

  • "on" can also mean "someone."

For example, "quelqu'un frappe à la porte" means "someone" is knocking at the door. 

You can also say "on frappe à la porte" quelqu'un frappe à la porte. Same meaning. Someone is knocking at the doors. i've just replaced "quelqu'un" with "on"

Meaning number 3, again a bit more advanced:

  • "on" can also mean "people in general," for example: 

"En France, les gens parlent français." (People, in general, speak French in France.) 

I can replace "les gens" by "on" "On parle français en france." Now attention, it's a general statement; it doesn't mean everyone speaks French in France.

Ok so to recap': 

"on" in French can mean:

  • "we" (informal) -> "On va à la plage." (We're going to the beach.)

  • "someone" -> "On frappe à la porte." (Someone is knocking at the door.)

  • "people in general" -> “En France, on parle français." (In general, people speak French in France.)

Alright, so that's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this episode and that it cleared a few questions you might have had about the subject pronoun "on.

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate a quick rating and review on Apple Podcast. 

Now, don't forget to go and download your lesson's exercises to practice what you've learned today. 

À la semaine prochaine, talk to you next week.

Merci beaucoup, et à bientôt! 🧡

 
Mathilde KienComment