In our previous lesson, we learned that the indefinite pronoun on is quite versatile and easy to use, as it always takes a verb in the third person singular regardless of whether on means “one," "we," "you," "they," or "people." What is not so simple, however, is how we should apply agreements when on refers to more than one person. Grammarians still have conflicting views on the matter. In any case, let's find out what happens with on in everyday speech. 

When on is used as an indefinite pronoun, in the sense of “one” or “people,” it usually does not trigger agreement with adjectives or past participles. In other words, it doesn't trigger agreement when it's being used to make generalizations—for example, when talking about traditions. In her video on the ancient custom of duals for honor, Patricia uses the construction on (one) + past participles vexé (offended) and blessé (hurt), which remain singular:

Quand on était vexé, quand on était blessé dans son honneur, on provoquait le coupable en duel à l'épée.

When one was offended, when one's honor was hurt, one would challenge the culprit to a sword duel.

Captions 3-5, Le saviez-vous? Le dernier duel à l'épée pour l'honneur en France

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The same is true when on is used in a proverb or set expression. Although on translates as “we” in this example, “we” is meant in a general sense:

On n'est pas sorti de l'auberge !

We aren't out of the inn [out of the woods]!

Caption 2, Le saviez-vous? "On est pas sorti de l'auberge!"

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Likewise, when on represents a collective entity, as in “we as a nation," the subject is not readily definable and therefore no agreement is necessary:

On a des racines françaises, mais on était marqué par l'Amérique.

We have French roots, but we were marked by America.

Caption 1, Le Québec parle aux Français - Part 5

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So far so good. We have learned that adjectives and past participles do not take agreements in the presence of on as an indefinite pronoun. Now let's find out what happens when on stands for more than one specific person. 

Although purists are still debating the matter, the consensus is that adjectives and past participles can agree in gender and number with the person(s) that on represents, as long as the implied subjects are identifiable. (Read this article to learn more.) In this case, on is synonymous with nous (we), which generally is only used as a definite pronoun, with identifiable subjects.

In fact, in casual speech it's common to combine the two in the same sentence: Nous, on + verb. In this case, there is no doubt that on is synonymous with nous:

Nous, on a bloqué le R.E.R., les moyens de transports, les nationales.

We, we blocked the R.E.R. [regional train], the means of transport, the main roads.

Caption 29, Interviews à Central Park Discussion politique

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Since auxiliary avoir does not trigger agreement, let's see what happens with auxiliary être (to be), which does:

Nous, on était bloqués dans le R.E.R.

We were stuck in the R.E.R.

In this case, the past participle agrees with nous, so we add an s to bloqué to make it plural.

Here is another example where on means nous. In this example, on and nous refer to two singers who are proud to be nominated for the Grammy Awards. Hence, the adjective fières takes the feminine plural as it agrees with the implied subject, the female singers:

Nous vivions tous les deux ensemble... Alors on est quand même très, très fières, en tant que Françaises, très, très fières  d'avoir été nominées au Grammy Awards

We were both living together... So anyway we are very, very proud, as French people, very, very, proud  to have have been nominated for the Grammy Awards

Captions 24-26, Les Nubians Présentation

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Sometimes it is not always easy to identify who on stands for. Here are two similar examples with the phrase on serait capable(s) (we’d be capable) to illustrate the difficulty. In the first video, Elisa and Mashal are talking about what the two of them would be capable of, such as daring to show up in an evening dress at a job interview: 

T'imagines! -On serait capables.

Can you imagine! -We could do that.

Caption 69, Elisa et Mashal CV

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Capable takes an s here because it's referring to the two speakers—and only them. In the second example, however, the person is speaking on behalf of all Spanish speakers, including herself. This on is a collective plural in a general statement, so no agreement is necessary:

On serait tout à fait capable de le parler très correctement.

We would be totally able to speak it very correctly.

Caption 19, Les Nubians Les langues

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Now let's discuss on combined with a possessive adjective. How do you decide which pronoun you should use? First you will need to see if on is acting as an indefinite pronoun or whether it stands for more than one specific person. You need to rely on context to help you. In the following video, the speaker does not include himself in the statement. He is talking about what other “people” (winemakers) are doing, so he uses the singular possessive adjective son. 

À Paris, on fait son vin et on a ses propres productions.

In Paris, people make their wine and they have their own productions.

Caption 25, Lea & Lionel L Le parc de Bercy - Part 2

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But sometimes you'll even see on used with the possessive form of nous, notre:

On force ainsi notre cerveau à être plus attentif et plus actif.

Thus we force our brains to be more attentive and more active.

Caption 41, Le saviez-vous? Les bénéfices de la dictée

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Though Patricia is making a general statement, thus using on instead of nous, she may have chosen notre over son to sound more informal (just as "we force our brains" sounds more informal than "one forces ones brain").

Here is an example with on + nos (the plural of notre) in which on refers to a group of specific people. Victoria, the proud owner of one of the last herbalist’s shops in France, talks about what she and her staff have on offer: 

Ensuite on a tous nos bonbons.

Then we have all our sweets.

Caption 80, Victoria dirigeante de Millymenthe

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On a fini notre leçon sur « on ». On espère que vous avez tout compris ! (We've finished our lesson on on. We hope you understood everything!) If you need more help, fear not. Des « on », on en trouve partout dans nos videos sur Yabla. (You'll find lots of ons in our Yabla videos.)

In our last lesson, we discussed the differences in meaning between the two ways of saying "day" in French, le jour and la journée. The masculine term jour refers to a specific moment in time, or a unit of time with an emphasis on quantity, while its feminine counterpart journée emphasizes quality, content, and duration. We also mentioned that there were other words pairs, namely matin/matinée (morning), soir/soirée (evening), and an/année (year), that work similarly. 

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In this lesson, we will focus on the word pairs soir/soirée and matin/matinée.

Like jour (day), matin (morning) and soir (evening/night) indicate a point in time. You can use them to specify the time of day, as in six heures du matin (six o’clock in the morning).

To clarify whether it’s morning or afternoon on the twelve-hour clock, simply add du matin (in the morning) and du soir (in the evening) to the time:

New York, six heures du matin

New York, six o'clock in the morning

Caption 2, Boulbar New York, 6 heures du matin

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(Du matin is equivalent to “a.m.” and du soir is equivalent to “p.m.”).

You can also combine matin/soir with other time expressions, as in le lendemain matin/le lendemain soir (the next morning/evening):

Le lendemain matin, Jean-Paul est rongé par la culpabilité.

The next morning, Jean-Paul is consumed with guilt.

Caption 1, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mon histoire d'amour est impossible - Part 6

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Similarly, you can pair matin/soir with hier (yesterday). In the example below, we have hier soir (last night): 

T'étais où hier soir?

Where were you last night?

Caption 42, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils - Part 7

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The nouns le soir and le matin aren't necessarily accompanied by an adverb of time. They can be used on their own to indicate a time of day. In the example below, the restaurant owner explains how many people typically come for lunch or dinner:

Cinquante personnes le midi, cinquante personnes le soir

Fifty people at noon, fifty people in the evening

Captions 31-32, Christian Le Squer Je ne fais que goûter!

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In the example below, Elisa and Mashal discuss what they usually have for breakfast, and Elisa is surprised to hear that Mashal likes to eat a slice of chicken le matin (in the morning).

Le matin? -Ouais. Une tranche de poulet le matin?

In the morning? -Yeah. A slice of chicken in the morning?

Captions 5-6, Elisa et Mashal Petit-déjeuner

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Unlike in English, you don't need a preposition in French to say "in the evening/in the morning." You can simply say le soir/le matin (in the evening/morning). 

When the time is less specific or crucial, and the emphasis is on what happened during that time, it’s better to use the feminine version dans la matinée/soirée (in the morning/evening). This time, the preposition dans (in) is included.

Let’s look at what Alexandre and Sophie were doing dans la soirée (in the evening) in the example below. What matters most is what happened during the evening—Alexandre calling Sophie:

Dans la soirée, Alexandre appelle Sophie.

In the evening, Alexandre calls Sophie.

Caption 7, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai piégé mon fan - Part 3

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In the next example, Alexandre calls Sophie at a different time: en fin de matinée (in the late morning). Since timing is approximate, we use matinée: 

Alex, l'agent de Sophie, m'a appelée en fin de matinée.

Alex, Sophie's agent, called me in the late morning.

Caption 15, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai piégé mon fan - Part 6

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You can substitute matinée (morning) with soirée (evening) here: en fin de soirée (in the late evening).

When estimating how long it might take to perform a task, use the suffix -ée to indicate duration. In the example below, the person needs la matinée (the whole morning or the better part of the morning) to do her shopping:

Je vais faire des courses. J'en ai pour la matinée.

I'm going to do some shopping. I'll be out for the morning.

Caption 2, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mon histoire d'amour est impossible - Part 6

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When describing how much you can accomplish in the span of a morning, you say dans une matinée (in a morning). Watch the video below to find out how many madeleines this amazing baker makes dans une matinée (in a morning):

Mais vous, tout seul, dans une matinée, vous faites combien de madeleines?

But you by yourself, how many madeleines do you make in a morning?

Caption 53, Lionel L'usine de madeleines de Liverdun - Part 2

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Unlike the baker in the example above, the lady in the video below decides to prendre la matinée (take the morning off):

Elle a pris sa matinée aujourd'hui.

She took her morning off today.

Caption 41, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils - Part 5

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Taking the morning off is a great opportunity to faire la grasse matinée (to sleep in; literally, "to do the fat morning"). That is precisely what the animal in this funny zoo recommends doing while on holiday:

Pas question. Vacances égalent grasse matinée.

Out of the question. Vacations equal sleeping in.

Caption 33, Les zooriginaux Repos corsé - Part 3

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And if you’re in the mood, you can watch a matinée performance. Une matinée can stretch into an early afternoon, the start of the day for very late risers.

For evening people, how you spend la soirée (the evening) is more important. In the video below, Cinderella was having such a good night out that la soirée (the evening) flew by:

Avec la musique et la danse, la soirée passa comme dans un rêve.

With the music and the dancing, the evening passed like in a dream.

Captions 21-22, Contes de fées Cendrillon - Part 2

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Elisa and Mashal also remember a memorable evening, cette soirée (that evening), as they look at old photos:

C'est vrai. Je me rappelle de cette soirée.

That's true. I remember that evening.

Caption 53, Elisa et Mashal Photos

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If it had been a formal event, une soirée (a soirée), Elisa and Mashal might have worn une robe de soirée (an evening gown). 

On the other hand, une robe de soirée (an evening gown) would not be appropriate for a job interview, as Mashal jokingly points out:

On va pas se ramener, euh... -Avec une robe de soirée, quoi.

We're not going to show up, uh... -In an evening gown, right?

Caption 67, Elisa et Mashal CV

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In any case, it’s always good form to wish someone bonne soirée (have a good evening) when parting ways, and save bonsoir (good evening) for the beginning of the evening, as it’s a greeting.

Now that we’ve explored soir/soirée (evening) and matin/matinée (morning), we’re ready to tackle an/année (year) in a future and final lesson.