Monday, May 18, 2020
For On Est Allé, Agreement is Optional
Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them. When you want to say we went or  they went in French, you dont have to use the French subject pronouns nous or ils/elles. You can choose to use the indefinite subject pronoun on. Its always conjugated in the third person singular, and it may or may not agree with the subject it replaces or any adjectives present. Using on as an informal replacement for these plural subject pronouns, there are actually two options: Either the past participle allà © agrees in gender and number with the plural masculine pronoun that on replaces, or it doesnt. Actually, you can choose either. Agreement is optional. Both forms are correct Both on est allà © AND on est allà ©s are correct. Its your choice. The French pronoun on is a little strange. It literally translates to the indefinite one as in one shouldnt do that, but it can also mean we, you, they, or people in general. One often hesitates over agreement when on replaces a plural. Since on has to take the third person singular form of the verb, it might seem as though agreement should also be singular. In other words, no agreement. In fact, agreement with whatever subject on replaces is optional. Either way is correct.    Nous sommes allà ©s au cinà ©ma. / On est allà © au cinà ©ma. / On est allà ©s au cinà ©ma. These all mean: We went to the movies. They are all correct.   Sont-elles prà ªtes ? / Est-on prà ªt ? / Est-on prà ªtes ? These all mean: Are they ready? They are all correct. What Is On? 1. On (listen) is the indefinite pronoun and literally means one. Its often equivalent to the English passive voice.    On ne devrait pas poser cette question.   One shouldnt ask that question.    On demande : caissier.   Cashier wanted.   On ne dit pas à §a.   That isnt said.    Ici on parle franà §ais.   French is spoken here. 2. On is also an informal replacement for we, you, they, someone, or people in general.    On va sortir ce soir.   Were going out tonight.    Alors les enfants, que veut-on faire ?   OK kids, what do you want to do?    On dit que ce resto est bon.   They say that this restaurant is good.    On a trouvà © mon portefeuille.   Someone found my wallet.    On est fou !   People are crazy!    On ne sait jamais.   You never know. Agreement With On There are two related debates about whether agreement is required with the subject implied by on: 1. Adjectives: In on est content (we/they are happy OR someone is happy), should the adjective agree?   feminine: On est contente.   plural: On est contents.   feminine plural: On est contentes.2. Être verbs: In on est tombà ©Ã‚ (we/they/someone fell), should the past participle agree?   feminine: On est tombà ©e.   plural: On est tombà ©s.   feminine plural: On est tombà ©es. There is no real consensus, so heres my opinion: On is a neuter singular pronoun, so there shouldnt be agreement, but its really up to you...or your French teacher. Additional Resources On: indefinite subject pronounOn vs. lonAgreement
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