Aller vs partir

Question

In 1969, we went to conquer the moon. I wrote on est allés but was marked wrong for not using parti when another lesson used on est allés for “we went” so I’m confused and the lesson is about agreement with on. Doesn’t explain why parti is right and allés is wrong. Also, I don’t get email notifications so don’t see any answers to questions unless I happen to run across it elsewhere. Help! Thanks.

Accepted Answer

Hi Liz, 
‘Partir’ is used here because it conveys the idea of a voyage - We left (the earth) to conquer the moon.
But you would use ‘aller’ to go to the bank, to the market etc.
As for your email notifications, I will ask someone to look into it.

Answer

If you wrote "on est allés" then it means that you and a group went to conquer the moon. The impersonal "we" -- meaning humankind rather than you and your friends -- would be "on est allé".I suspect that the problem lies with the agreement issue and maybe not the choice of words. Aller and partir do mean something different, though: aller is a general "to go" and partir is a "set out", "leave".

Answer

Thanks for the clarification. Chris you’re right about the agreement. I keep getting this backwards!