{"id":6508,"date":"2021-03-15T18:18:41","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T18:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/?p=6508"},"modified":"2021-03-15T18:18:41","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T18:18:41","slug":"on-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/on-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"“On” in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

“On” in French<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Once again we have to talk about the complexity of\u00a0the French language,\u00a0for example the word “On” also has many meanings.\u00a0“On” is a\u00a0personal\u00a0pronoun\u00a0, that is, it is the subject who performs the action of the verb.\u00a0“On” is conjugated to the third person singular, like “he” or “she”.\u00a0However, while singular, “on” often refers to multiple people.<\/p>\n

The French pronoun “on” does not have an exact equivalent in Spanish<\/strong>, and yet it is one of the most commonly used subject pronouns in everyday French.<\/p>\n

It is necessary to know it and how to use it, because it makes your existence much easier<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n

The word has meaning traditional\u00a0“one”, “you”, “he \/ she”, “I”, “them”, etc<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0However, if you look at modern French, the translation of \u201cOn\u201d is usually \u201cwe\u201d.\u00a0The second aspect is that it always replaces the very\u00a0form of “il”.\u00a0<\/strong>Example:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • On croit au recyclage du plastique<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    (We believe in recycling plastic)<\/p>\n

      \n
    • On vit dans une p\u00e9niche<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      (We live in a houseboat)<\/p>\n

      Advice:<\/h3>\n

      When you’re writing,<\/strong>\u00a0you can eliminate the need for “On” and substitute other subject pronouns like\u00a0nous<\/em>.\u00a0The latter occurs mainly because formal writing, generally to sound “intellectual”, makes use of the\u00a0nous<\/em>.\u00a0So you would see politicians or researchers saying ”\u00a0Nous”<\/em>\u00a0instead of ”\u00a0On<\/em>\u00a0.”\u00a0But when it comes to speaking, the word often seems to be omitted as it is linguistically a nasal sound.\u00a0Also, the order in which it is used depends on the context.<\/p>\n

      So\u00a0how do you really identify their presence?\u00a0<\/strong>After reviewing the guide below, you will be able to appreciate some ideas about how this impersonal subject pronoun is used and some general knowledge of it.<\/p>\n

      Pronunciation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      As we have been saying,\u00a0“On” is a nasal sound<\/strong>\u00a0that implies that the lips are shaped like an “o”.\u00a0When you say the word, the air is blocked in such a way that it resonates within the nasal cavity.\u00a0Besides looking almost silent, the second problem is its connection to the letter “N”.<\/p>\n

      So\u00a0“on est<\/em>\u00a0” will sound like ”\u00a0on nait<\/em>\u00a0“.<\/p>\n

      Negative<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      On certain occasions, when it comes to writing in negative, it is very possible that due to the link with \u201cN\u201d (see previous paragraph), the sentence is misspelled.<\/p>\n

      So,<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Affirmative<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0on est anglais<\/em>\u00a0(I am English)<\/li>\n
      • Negative<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0on n’est pas anglais<\/em>\u00a0(I am not English)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Common mistake:\u00a0on est pas anglais<\/em><\/p>\n

        “On” is used to talk about people in general. As the statement says, let’s look at an example.<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Au Canada, on aime bine hoye au hockey<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          (In Canada, people love to play hockey)<\/p>\n

          On replaces “Someone”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

          \u00a0<\/strong>Example:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Entre quand on te le demand<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            (Come in, when we ask you)<\/p>\n

            On used for passive voice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

            As long as English has the option of passive-written sentences, then \u201cOn\u201d can be used in French.<\/p>\n

            Example:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • On lui a parl\u00e9 du monstre<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              (They told him about the monster)<\/p>\n

                \n
              • On a \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9couvert<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                (They caught us)<\/p>\n

                On with adjective agreement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

                Depending on the context,\u00a0the adjectives must be adapted.\u00a0<\/strong>This is seen when determining the meaning of \u201cOn\u201d.\u00a0Some contexts retain gender, as it could be a universal truth or fact.<\/p>\n

                Example:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • On est jolie quand on est enceinte<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  (One is cute when pregnant)<\/p>\n

                  “On”<\/em>\u00a0is replacing\u00a0“Nous<\/em>\u00a0“<\/strong>\u00a0, so the adjective used will be plural and the gender will depend on what ‘On’ is substituted for.<\/p>\n

                  Example:<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • On est populaire<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    (We are popular)<\/p>\n

                    On is replacing you \/ a \/ people, so the adjective is usually masculine.<\/p>\n

                    Example:<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Quand on a soif, on boit<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      (When you’re thirsty, you drink)<\/p>\n

                      “On” Used for one<\/strong><\/h2>\n

                      Here, the usage is for the purposes of the impersonal subject pronoun.\u00a0While this has become rare, let’s look at an example of the cases where you might need it.\u00a0Who knows what can make you seem knowledgeable in that situation?\u00a0Currently, however, “nous” and “il” are mainly used instead.<\/p>\n

                      Example:<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • On devrait \u00eatre fid\u00e8le \u00e0 soi-m\u00eame<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        (One must be true to oneself)<\/p>\n

                        On Used for Que l’on or Qu’on<\/strong><\/h2>\n

                        French is very particular about the melody of the spoken language and its meaning adds L\u00b4 before \u201cOn\u201d especially when it comes to Qu ‘on.\u00a0Due to the similarity of the pronunciation with a vulgar word<\/strong>\u00a0, Que l’on is written instead.\u00a0Example:<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • C’est le meilleur des bonbons que l’on ait eu<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          (It’s the best candy we’ve ever had)<\/p>\n

                          Purpose of adding L ‘<\/strong><\/h2>\n

                          Although\u00a0l ‘before “on” has no meaning,<\/strong>\u00a0to avoid vocal clashes and have a soft sound, the addition is made.\u00a0The suggestion is to look for words like “qui”, “si”, “ou”, “quoi”, “et” and “o\u00f9”. L’on generally follows these words.\u00a0With practice\u00a0this will develop into a reflex response<\/strong>\u00a0depending on the sound the French ear has learned to hear.<\/p>\n

                          Example:<\/p>\n

                          Qui l\u2019on prend<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0y no\u00a0Qui on prend<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                          Similary,<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • On laisse tomber and not L’on laisse tomber<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            (we’ll let it go)<\/p>\n

                            Common erros<\/strong><\/h2>\n

                            Before signing up, let’s see how to avoid some common mistakes.<\/p>\n

                            When\u00a0\u201cOn\u201d is used as a subject pronoun<\/strong>\u00a0, it is essential to remember that it takes the verb form of just \u201cil\u201d.\u00a0So it will be on lit ‘, \u201con fait\u201d and never \u201con lisez\u201d or \u201con faisons\u201d, even if \u201cOn\u201d replaces nous.<\/p>\n

                            “On” always replaces a living being or an action performed by a human being<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0It never replaces an idea.\u00a0This basically means that \u201cOn\u201d should not be translated as \u201cit\u201d in English.<\/p>\n\n\n

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                            \n \u00a1D\u00e9janos unas estrellitas si te ha gustado el post!<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                            “On” in French Once again we have to talk about the complexity of\u00a0the French language,\u00a0for example the word “On” also...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2637,"featured_media":6557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8073,8080,8092,8093,8094,8095,8072],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-level-a1-levels","category-level-a2-levels","category-level-b1-levels","category-level-b2-levels","category-level-c1-levels","category-level-c2-levels","category-french","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6558,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6508\/revisions\/6558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elblogdeidiomas.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}