French language query?

Question

Any good French speakers: can you please explain your use of 'on'. My teacher says it's the 'informal 'nous' ' but his explanation wasn't very clear...!

How do I know when to use it?!

Merci beaucoup.

Answer 1

Use it when you would say - ONE
i.e. How does one have to fill in a form?
Can one buy stamps in this shop? etc.etc.

Answer 2

Basically is the same as nous, with the following considerations:
FIRST Consideration:
Verb after "nous" has to be in 1st person plural: Nous regardons
Verb after "on" has to be in 3rd person plural: On regarde
The meaning of both expressions is identical. The first expression is more formal, the second expression is more popular.

SECOND Consideration:
You can also use ON as impersonal, in this case it doesnt work as "nous" is more similar to "ils" but not exactly the same ie:
On a bâti ce muséum en 1905. (This museum has been built in 1905)

Bonne chance

Answer 3

I'm french and I understand your problem, which I know can be quite annoying for foreign people. And there are some wrong answers here...so here's the truth :p

In fact "on" means "nous". You use "on" with friends and people you're close to, or even someone you just met, in a friendly situation or in the street. When you are with important people (as in a professional environment for example or with people you want to impress or not to be too familiar with) you use "nous".

Here's the grammar trick: The verb after "on" is not to conjugate in the same way as nous. But in the same way as "il" or "elle".

Nous faisons. Nous prenons. Nous partons.
On fait. On prend. On part.
(as Il/elle fait. Il/elle prend. Il/elle part)

Get it?

On is more used than "nous", which is rather used in written form or in very formal situations.

Another use of "on":

Can one have a bath after minight? (don't know, hotel situation? lol )

Here "one" is replaced by "on".
Peut-on prendre un bain après minuit?

In fact we say "pouvons nous prendre un bain" or "peut-on prendre un bain".

Hope it helps.

Answer 4

Use 'on' whenever you are with your friends or people that are your age or younger. If the person/people you are talking to are older or in a place of authority, use 'nous'.

Answer 5

it's more general than 'nous'. you can use it any time you want to say 'we' in the context of 'one', or basically anytime instead of 'nous', as it's more informal.
'On' is used more generally by native speakers than 'nous'.

Answer 6

You can use 'on' in the same way as you use 'nous'.
On va a la musée or Nous allons a la musée means "We are going to the museum."

Answer 7

Bonsoir :o)
"On" is a more common way of saying "Nous"
In example, On avais is equal to Nous avions
On regarde,...............Nous regardons
On mange,................Nous mangeons
and so on.
You can use either one anytimes without problems.

I hope this helps.
bonne soiree.
If you require more help, you can Email me by looking at my "profile".

:o) xxx

Answer 8

it means 'one' , as well as the informal 'nous'

often used to mean 'one' when making a general point, a bit like in english....

eg: on va jouer au foot, tu veux venir? = we're going to play soccer, you want to come?

it is also used to avoid the passive:

eg instead of saying: il a ete frappe par quelqu'un (he was hit by someone),

they say: "on l'a frappe"

Answer 9

in French "on" = "nous" .
We use it in familiar speaking, not often in writting
E.G. : On va à Londres = nous allons à Londres !

Answer 10

it means "we". Your teacher meant "nous" because nous means we.
so for example for "i visit the monument" "je visite le monument"
it would be "we visit our dad" "on visite le monument"

so you only need to use it when you're talking about yourself with 1 person or more.
its not as hard as it looks! good luck!

et merci! xxxx

Answer 11

Use 'on' in French when you would use 'one' in English. It is more non specific as 'I' or 'we'. The Royals use it all the time!