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 addition to le passé composé (perfect or compound past tense), you can also use l'imparfait (imperfect tense) to talk about things that occurred in the past. So, when should you choose l'imparfait over le passé composé? Let's explore both tenses.

Before we embark on the specific uses of l'imparfait, let's find out how to form this past tense. Just take the nous (we) form of the present tense, as in nous faisons (we do/are doing), remove the -ons, and add the ending -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, or -aient. So, nous faisons (we do/are doing) becomes nous faisions (we were doing/used to do). Margaux and Manon will show you how to conjugate the rest of the verb faire in the imparfait:

Je faisais... Tu faisais. Il ou elle faisait.

I was doing... You were doing. He or she was doing.

Nous faisions. Vous faisiez.

We were doing. You [pl. or formal] were doing.

Ils ou elles faisaient.

They [masc.] or they [fem.] were doing.

Captions 31-33, Margaux et Manon - Conjugaison du verbe faire

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Now that you know how to form the imperfect tense, let's discuss how to use it. Usually, l'imparfait indicates ongoing actions in the past that have a stronger connection to the present than le passé composé, which describes a completed action. In his conversation with Lea in the video below, Lionel uses the imperfect form tu me parlais (you were telling me) as a subtle cue that he wants to hear more about the animals in the park. It's an invitation to Lea to elaborate:

Tu me parlais aussi tout à l'heure de la

You were also telling me earlier about the

présence d'animaux dans ces parcs.

presence of animals in these parks.

Caption 43, Lea & Lionel L - Le parc de Bercy - Part 2

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If Lionel wanted to say something like “you already told me earlier” and then changed the subject, he would have used passé composé:

Ah oui, tu m’en as déjà parlé tout à l’heure.

Oh yes, you already told me about that earlier.

But l'imparfait is not only used to evoke an ongoing action drifting into the present. It's also the ideal tense for talking about things you used to do or describing repeated actions. In the following video, Claire remembers how elle allait (she used to go) to the park with her daughter:

Oh,  j'y allais beaucoup avec ma fille, il y a quelques années.

Oh, I used to go there a lot with my daughter a few years ago.

Caption 47, Claire et Philippe - La campagne

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L'imparfait is very helpful for setting a background and creating a mood. In his poem "Barbara," Jacques Prévert sets the scene by describing the incessant rain in the city of Brest, which was destroyed during the Second World War:

Il pleuvait sans cesse sur Brest ce jour-là

It was raining nonstop in Brest that day

Caption 2, Le saviez-vous? - "Barbara" de Jacques Prévert

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Later on, the poet uses the imparfait again to describe the romantic encounter that follows:

Tu souriais

You were smiling

Et moi je souriais de même

And I smiled back

Captions 9-10, Le saviez-vous? - "Barbara" de Jacques Prévert

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(Note that we used the perfect tense in English for je souriais [I smiled]. The French imparfait does not always correspond to the English imperfect, as we'll discuss further below.)

Prévert then adds more to the background: a man who s’abritait (was taking shelter) under a porch and interrupted the scene with a shout. Whereas the imparfait is used for background or habitual actions, single actions interrupting an ongoing action are usually expressed in passé composé:

Un homme sous un porche s'abritait

A man was taking shelter under a porch

Et il a crié ton nom

And he shouted your name

Captions 17-18, Le saviez-vous? - "Barbara" de Jacques Prévert

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While all verbs can be conjugated in both the passé composé and the imparfait, certain verbs by their very nature express a state of mind, an attitude, a condition, or a desire, thus lending themselves better to the use of the imparfait. These verbs include avoir (to have), croire (to believe), désirer (to desire), espérer (to hope), être (to be), penser (to think), pouvoir (to be able to), savoir (to know), vouloir (to want). Note that some of these verbs don’t usually take the imperfect in English. For example, we can say on savait, but we don’t really say “we were knowing” in English. In the video below, on ne savait pas translates as "we didn't know":

On ne savait pas que le marché de Noël ouvrait aujourd'hui

We didn't know that the Christmas market was opening today

Caption 8, Alsace 20 - Ouverture du marché de Noël de Colmar

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In another example using the verb penser (to think), the imperfect form is necessary for expressing repetition in French, but not in English:

Je pensais souvent à toi.

I often thought of you.

Caption 38, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Ma femme est-elle réellement morte ?

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However, just like in English, when referring to a completed action, we switch to passé composé in French. In the example below, the action was completed hier (yesterday), hence the use of the perfect tense (j’ai pensé). So, paying attention to adverbs in French can help you choose the correct tense:

J’ai pensé à toi hier.

I thought of you yesterday.

In some rare cases, a verb's meaning can change depending on what tense it's in. For example, the verb connaître (to know) usually means “to know” in the imparfait but "to meet" in the passé composé:

Je l'avais fréquenté pendant plusieurs années et je le connaissais.

I had socialized with him for several years, and I knew him.

Caption 63, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mes parents se préparent à la fin du monde

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J'ai connu Gérard y a une dizaine d'années.

I met Gérard about ten years ago.

Caption 39, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai escroqué mon assurance !

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In the first example, the speaker uses the imparfait to describe an old acquaintance she has known for a long time—something in the past that has an effect on the present. In the second example, we're dealing with a singular event that can't be repeated, when the speaker first met Gérard. So the passé composé is in order here. 

Sometimes certain grammatical structures dictate which tense you should use. For example, to describe hypothetical situations, we use the construction si + imparfait. Zaz uses this construction throughout her song "Si" (If):

Si j'étais l'amie du bon Dieu

If I were the good Lord's friend

Caption 1, Zaz - Si

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Now that you’re familiar with the imparfait and passé composé, why not write your own story in the past tense using both forms? Yabla videos are at your disposal for inspiration.