What on really is
Grammatically, on is a third-person singular subject pronoun, exactly like il or elle. The verb therefore always takes the he/she form, no matter how many people you are talking about. Context tells you which meaning is in play.
you / people
General rules, customs and truths, like English you or people. English one is much stiffer than French on.
On ne fume pas dans les restaurants.
You don't smoke in restaurants.
Quand on est jeune, on a le temps.
When you're young, you have time.
we
In speech this is the everyday default. nous sounds stiff in conversation. To stress we, put nous in front: Nous, on préfère rester ici.
On se retrouve devant le cinéma ?
Shall we meet in front of the cinema?
Hier, on a passé la journée à la plage.
Yesterday we spent the day at the beach.
somebody / they
The doer is unknown or irrelevant. English usually uses a passive or a vague they here.
On a sonné à la porte.
Someone rang the doorbell.
On m'a volé mon vélo.
My bike was stolen.
Singular verb, participle by meaning
The verb always stays singular. Adjectives and participles, however, follow the people meant: when on stands for we, they go plural, and feminine if the group is all women.
Agreement follows the meaning
| on means | Sentence | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| you / people | Quand on est fatigué, on fait des erreurs. | masculine singular |
| we (mixed group or men) | On est arrivés en avance. | masculine plural |
| we (women only) | On est arrivées en avance. | feminine plural |
The verb stays singular; the participle does not
arrivé, arrivés and arrivées sound identical. You only see the agreement in the spelling.
Reflexive and possessive pronouns follow the meaning too. For you / people it is se and son / sa / ses; for we you often find notre / nos.
On oublie souvent ses clés.
People often forget their keys.
On a oublié nos clés à la maison.
We forgot our keys at home.
The impersonal il expressions
Alongside on there are structures with an il that refers to nobody, like the it in it's raining. This il is a pure placeholder. It can never be dropped, and the verb stays singular even when a plural noun follows.
The key expressions
| Expression | English | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| il faut | you need, you have to | + noun / + infinitive |
| il s'agit de | it is about | + noun / + infinitive |
| il reste | there is / are … left | + noun |
| il manque | there is / are … missing | + noun |
All of them built on an empty il
The expressions in sentences
Il faut du temps pour apprendre une langue.
It takes time to learn a language.
Il me faut un peu de temps.
I need a little time.
Dans ce livre, il s'agit d'une famille italienne.
This book is about an Italian family.
Il reste deux places dans le train.
There are two seats left on the train.
Il manque deux chaises.
Two chairs are missing.
falloir only exists impersonally. To say who needs something, use a pronoun in front: Il me faut du temps, never Je faut du temps. s'agir never takes another subject either: Dans ce livre, il s'agit d'une famille, or more simply Ce livre parle d'une famille.
