# FR: we like (impersonal we)



## Gobblegirl

I've written this sentence:

"Ceux qu’on aimons sont précieux et unique seulement parce que on les aimons, et aussi que nous avons les résponsabilités vers nos êtres chers." [those we love are valuable and unique because we love them, and we have responsiblities towards those we love.]

but it doesn't seem right. Is "on" not conjugates the same as "nous"? Should I instead write:

"ceux qu’on aiment sont précieux seulement parce que on les aiment, et aussi que nous avons les résponsabilités vers nos êtres chers."

Merci d'avance


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## newg

"On" and "nous" MUST NOT be conjugated the same way !

_J'aime _
_Tu aimes_
_Il aime_
_*On aime*_
_*Nous aimons*_
_Vous aimez_
_Ils aiment_

_"Ceux qu'on aime sont précieux et uniques parce que nous les aimons et avons des responsabilités envers eux_



> "ceux qu’on aime sont précieux parce qu'on les aime et que nous avons des résponsabilités envers ceux que l'on aime/envers eux."


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## Cymralle

"On" is singular, "Nous" is plurial. Why so ? Well, normaly *On* is used with *L'* before : "l'on aime". But because people forget about why, the used to stop using the "déterminant" L' which though explains why "on" is singular.

"L' on" comes from "l'homme" in french (man) and it comes from a time where the spelling was not fixed yet.  It was (and still is) a way to say something general for everyone "Man can do that, Man loves this, etc." I may be wrong but remember that this kind of expression exists in English, we can say "ones like ice cream" or "man likes ice cream" meaning "we like ice cream" in a general meaning.

Because man is singular, "on" and the verb following are singular in the same way that He (for man...) would be singular.


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## WordRef1

Yes, we do use one in English, though not nearly as much as the French use "on". _deleted other comments for doubt_


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## Cymralle

How strange... I have never seen in French "on" being conjugated like "nous" or "ils", neither in written nor in spoken French (it would sound as if you were conjugating "tu" like "ils" or "nous" and changing the whole "conjugaison" thing. In some folk songs you can find some "false" mistakes like "j'avions" but never "tu avions" there is always a kind of logical not mixing a "je" with a "ils" or a "he" with a "nous" and "on" is closer to "he" than to "nous").
You have seen the "on" in French used with a nous or ils conjugaison in a book or in spoken French on forums ?


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## WordRef1

Cymralle said:


> How strange... I have never seen in French "on" being conjugated like "nous" or "ils", neither in written nor in spoken French (it would sound as if you were conjugating "tu" like "ils" or "nous" and changing the whole "conjugaison" thing. In some folk songs you can find some "false" mistakes like "j'avions" but never "tu avions" there is always a kind of logical not mixing a "je" with a "ils" or a "he" with a "nous" and "on" is closer to "he" than to "nous").
> You have seen the "on" in French used with a nous or ils conjugaison in a book or in spoken French on forums ?


Perhaps I am wrong and was just thinking of adjective agreement. One can find, however, examples with a web search of people using "on aimons" actually, not that a few search results makes it common or accepted grammar.


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## ddsl

I teach both English to foreigners (sometimes French-speakers) and French to beginners. I think you may have misunderstood. As the French members mentioned, "on is always singular and is often used as a substitute for "nous" when refering to a group or a general statement, as in "on parle français" in a shop window.


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## Cymralle

Thanks for looking for that ! Wow, a French teacher ! Well I have seen an English "French teacher" teaching "j'ai faite mon lit" to his students... and even a French "French teacher" saying "bonjour la classe" convinced that we could say that in France too although so many teachers say no... (my French English teachers said some strange things as well, if we can't trust our teachers anymore... how will we do  ?).

Maybe it was in a context where ones moke someone else ? Using "j'avions" in a folk song for example, is a way to say that the person talking is a poor country farmer who did not go to school etc. Still, I like sometimes to say "j'avions faim !" to be a bit funny and to play with language, to pretend to be that folk song country farmer. In the same way I could say maybe "Alors ?! On étions affamés ?!" but it does sound weird and it will be a way to say something funny-and-a-bit-joking way, but it's joke and fun only because the sentence is wrong and everybody knows that 

It would be like saying "me are hungry"


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## no_cre0

I have seen "accords" with adjectives relating to the use of "on" in a sentence before, although not very often. I think that they may do this sometimes in Quebec. For example, "Ensemble on est bien plus forts" which to me seems very strange after a singular verb, but that is how the Bloc Québécois subtitled one of its videos, so I dont know.


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## AlexAnnA

Yes you have to "accord" _on_ with adjectives and "participe passés", depending on who the _on_ is refeering to.

_On est belles_
_On est allés à la plage_
_..._


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## no_cre0

This is the rule in France too? I only very rarely use "on" when writing to refer to anything other than "one" and even then not very often, as "nous" is the preferred impersonal subject in academic writing. In conversation I would use "on" to mean we or they however.


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## AlexAnnA

no_cre0 said:


> This is the rule in France too? I only very rarely use "on" when writing to refer to anything other than "one" and even then not very often, as "nous" is the preferred impersonal subject in academic writing. In conversation I would use "on" to mean we or they however.


 
You're absolutely right 
But still, there are rules to write it correctly, for you will not always be asked to do academic writings.


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## Cymralle

I learnt that if you use "on" for "one can", for a general meaning, you don't "accord" the "participe passé", it's a (masculin) singular 
" Dans la vie, on n'est jamais content de ce qu'on a".

If you use "on" in a context where it means "nous" :
"Marie et moi, on est allées avec ta soeur manger une glace"
You "accord" the participe passé (the verb remains singular)


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## ddsl

Thanks for the info on agreement. It is very useful for written French. After 30 years I still hesitate sometimes, especially as I teach only to beginners, and not if a native-speaking teacher is available!


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## Gobblegirl

Cymralle said:


> "On" is singular, "Nous" is plurial. Why so ? Well, normaly *On* is used with *L'* before : "l'on aime". But because people forget about why, the used to stop using the "déterminant" L' which though explains why "on" is singular.
> 
> "L' on" comes from "l'homme" in french (man) and it comes from a time where the spelling was not fixed yet.  It was (and still is) a way to say something general for everyone "Man can do that, Man loves this, etc." I may be wrong but remember that this kind of expression exists in English, we can say "ones like ice cream" or "man likes ice cream" meaning "we like ice cream" in a general meaning.
> 
> Because man is singular, "on" and the verb following are singular in the same way that He (for man...) would be singular.




Ah yes, it's all coming back to me now. Thanks for your help everyone!


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