Using notre/nos versus son/sa/ses with "on" depending on its meaning (French Possessive Adjectives)

In French, when you use start a sentence with the subject pronoun "on" and you need to use a possessive adjective, you can either use "son/sa/ses" or "notre/nos".

Possessive adjectives with 'on' in French

On est son propre maître.One is one's own master 

On aime toujours sa famille.One always loves one's family. / People always love their family.

On doit toujours apprendre de ses erreurs.One must always learn from one's mistakes.

On mange notre repas.We are eating our meal.

On porte nos sacs.We are carrying our bags.

Possessive phrases containing on can use either : 

- son/sa/ses if on is used in a general sense (one, people)
or
-notre/nos when on means we

 

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Examples and resources

ON - "we"


On mange notre repas.We are eating our meal.
On porte nos sacs.We are carrying our bags.

ON - general meaning, "one"/"people"


On est son propre maître.One is one's own master 
On aime toujours sa famille.One always loves one's family. / People always love their family.
On doit toujours apprendre de ses erreurs.One must always learn from one's mistakes.
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